What Are Mood Drinks?
Remember those mood rings we used to have as kids? (Or as adults—no shame here.) The color-changing rock on the ring would inform its wearer of their mood. Was the rock turning blue? Then you were totally chill. What if it went black? Uh-oh, then you actually needed to chill.
I used a similar methodology to create this book, but instead of a color-changing rock, we use your mood as the compass. The mood you want to create is the goal, and a perfectly paired drink will help you get there.
I have categorized the drinks into four chapters led by mood and the flavor profiles I associate with that mood. This way you can find a drink according to your mood, but also according to your taste. Once you get good at identifying and building a mood, you can totally mix and match the recipes as you wish. It would be fun to discover what would happen when you serve both chill and uplift drinks at your next gathering. What kind of interaction and moods would result? I’m intrigued!
As you may already have noticed, the intention of this book is to be more mindful of what we do, and drinks are our way to bring this intention forward. Being able to identify the mood we are in, or the mood we want to create, and make a recipe based on that takes a bit of practice! But once you understand the concept, it becomes second nature. Hopefully, this practice ofbuilding the mood will spill beyond your drink and into other aspects of your life. Cheers to a well-balanced mood!
Introduction:
Dear reader, I am so happy you picked up this book! I am very excited to get in the mood with you and make a drink or two. But before we get all moody, let me tell you a bit about myself, my journey and how I came about this idea of mood drinks.
I was born in Teotihuacán, the famous town and archaeologicalsite in the heart of Mexico. Living there meant I was always surrounded by culture, beautiful, rugged landscapes and lots of food. There was no escaping the magical pull of this place. My parents would go for their morning jog around the Pyramid of the Sun and I would play in the nearby ruins. It sounds wild, doesn’t it? It definitely was a magical time and place.
Our family has been in that area for generations. Sometime back in 1906, one of our great-great ancestors opened a restaurant inside a grotto, right next to the archaeological site. This unique spot was a place of celebration, good food and gatherings. When I was a child, the restaurant was one of our favorite places to hang out. I still remember the cool dampness of the grotto (which was a blessing during scorching hot days in the summer) and the wilderness around it.
I experienced my first mood-related drink in this place. After playing, we would sit at the table to enjoy a cold drink. Adults were served margaritas or micheladas, and kids would get horchatas or agua de jamaica (cold hibiscus tea). Snacks would make their way to the table. It was a time to pause, cool off and reset. It was a ritual of coming together, to create a calm, relaxed mood.
In that memory of mine at the family restaurant, the key elements that built the mood were the company, the incredible space (we were all eating in a grotto, hello!) and the delicious cooling drinks. It’s the last that interests me the most in this book, as a catalyst for both interaction and introspection.
Can a drink be more than a party favor? Can a drink, combined with the right elements, put us in a desired mood? To answer those questions I created this book! To go beyond the glass and into our mood. To think about using drinks to create the right atmosphere: to enhance our joy, celebrate our friendships, bring comfort when we need it and help us discover new ways of being.
You could say that this is my manifesto: to create a new way of drinking, where we sip concoctions that not only look beautiful and taste delicious but also enhance our overall mood. Where we are conscious and intentional about the ingredients we use, the spaces we inhabit, the people we invite into our lives. It’s about being mindful, but also nonchalant. And above all, it’s about feeling alive.
Let me tell ya, it’s a mood!
Copyright © 2025 by Gabriel Cabrera. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
