Drinks in Spain - General

- Leche Merengada -

Leche Merengada is a very popular drink found all over Spain and is served in Heladerías (ice cream shops) and Horchaterías (the closest English equivalent would be a café where Horchata, another popular Spanish drink made from tiger nuts is sold). It is especially popular in the summer but is drunk throughout the year, however, certain shops only sell this in summer (as we found out the hard way....but more on that later).

Leche Merengada is a drink made using egg whites, milk and sugar with cinnamon often added to give extra flavour. It is served cold and the texture is somewhere between a milkshake and a granita (or akin to shaved ice drinks common to many Asian countries). While the above is the traditional recipe, nowadays, it is often adapted by adding additional flavours such as citrus or coffee, It is so popular that it is frequently sold as a flavour of ice cream in Spain.


As I said before, while this drink is commonplace all over Spain, it is especially popular in Madrid with one of the most well known shops being Horchatería Alboraya (which is perhaps better known for their Horchata's) but their Leche Merengada is still superb (and for only 3.80 euros). Founded in 1980 and located between Goya metro station and the Parque de El Retiro, they serve a wide selection of drinks (such as milkshakes and slushies) and also sell a dazzling range of flavours of ice cream (as indeed do a lot of Horchaterías).

Another place I would recommend would be Labonata, located next to Chueca metro station where they serve both ice-cream (would recommend!) and cold drinks. However, as we found out (after a wasted trip), they only serve their cold drinks such as Horchata and Leche Merengada in the summer and when we went in early Spring, they barely had half their ice cream out. A sad day indeed. Nonetheless, we went back a few months later and found that their reputation was well deserved. It was a half-day well spent just lazing in the sun, catching up with friends and (most importantly) relaxing with a cool glass of Leche Merengada in hand.

While I have recommended two places in Madrid, they are (as I said earlier) popular in all of Spain so chances are, you will be able to try this in most cities in Spain (if you want some recommendations, feel free leave a comment and ask) and don't need to go especially to Madrid, so go forth and drink!