Mezcal is a handcrafted spirit made by Indigenous producers in Oaxaca

Tequila is made from the blue agave plant and can only be produced in Mexico

By law, tequila must be produced from blue Weber agave grown in Jalisco and a handful of other Mexican states. The plant takes years to mature before harvest, after which it is cooked, crushed, fermented, and distilled into blanco, reposado, or añejo, depending on its aging process.

Tequila overtook whiskey as a top US spirits subcategory in 2023

Tequila sales in the US totaled $6.5B in 2023, surpassing whiskey's $5.3B. The shift was partially driven by premiumization, with the majority of supplier revenues coming from premium and super-premium tiers and brands.

Mexican Americans have become a part of Napa's tradition

While the Napa wine world was largely homogenous for many decades, things are beginning to change. This short video highlights Mexican American winemakers in Napa, focusing on the story of Elias Fernandez of Shafer Vineyards. Fernandez began his wine journey as a migrant grape-picker and has been making wine for over 40 years. In 2008, his vintage won Wine Spectator’s Wine of the Year.

What's so special about Mayan bees and their honey?

Melipona honey was utilized by the ancient Maya and produced by stingless bees located in Mexico's Yucatan peninsula. With a history dating over three millennia, this honey was traditionally used for medicinal purposes due to its high fructose content and antioxidant properties. Unlike regular honey, Melipona honey is less prone to crystallization and has a distinctive watery texture. Learn more about the honey here.

The long history of an ancient Andean beer made from corn

And often chewed before brewed. From dank chicherias in small towns to gourmet big-city restaurants catering to tourists, the traditional fermented-corn beverage chicha is still being drunk throughout the Andes. Read more here.

Cinco de Mayo is a regional holiday concentrated in Puebla and celebrated with local cuisine

Puebla is considered by many food experts to be an excellent culinary destination. Traditional dishes you may find there on Cinco de Mayo include mole poblano, a complex, dark sauce born in a 17th-century convent; chalupas, fried tortillas topped with salsa and meat; and chiles en nogada, stuffed peppers topped with walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds.

Chicano artists shaped the celebration of Day of the Dead in the US

Beginning in the 1970s, Mexican-American artists have used Day of the Dead components like ofrendas and festivals to combine cultural identity with social justice movements, highlighting indigenous traditions to address issues like gang violence.

Sinaloan sushi is a Mexican take on the Japanese classic

Sushi became popular in Mexico in the early 20th century, thanks to Japanese immigrants who settled in Sinaloa, a Mexican state that runs along the Pacific Ocean. The region’s modern-day sushi blends both cultural traditions, evident in items like the Mar y Tierra roll, which includes carne asada and shrimp.

The mysterious qualities of obsidian and magnetite

Obsidian is a dark volcanic glass created when lava cools quickly and frequently contains magnetite, a key early mineral used in compasses. Large deposits were discovered and used in central Mexico by the Toltecs roughly 1,000 years ago at the ancient site of Teotihuacan. This essay explores obsidian's cultural impact and the mysterious presence of magnetite in migratory birds.

Hikers can walk through Maya routes on Mexico’s first long-distance trail

The Camino del Mayab is a 68-mile trail west of Cancún that follows ancient Maya paths and modern railways. Built in collaboration with local Maya communities, it promotes Indigenous culture, preserves heritage, and supports community-based tourism along the route.

What were the Aztecs really like?

Does the society live up to its blood-thirsty stereotype? Archaeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma answers this question and more in this short article. Moctezuma was the principal excavator of the major Aztec archaeological site Templo Mayor in the 1970s. He shares how the culture grew from a combined emphasis on war and agriculture, and ruled one of the world's largest cities at the time.

What is salvia divinorum?

After centuries of use by Mexican spiritual healers, Salvia divinorum is surging in popularity in the U.S. — and the government has taken notice.

The world's biggest silver producers, mapped

Mexico, with its deep history of silver mining, is the dominant leader in silver production, with over 200 million ounces (as of 2023), with China and Peru in second and third place. The precious metal is increasingly important for the electronics industry, and its price is expected to keep rising. See a chart of the biggest silver miners here.

Cava is Spain's sparkling wine

Champagne is delicious, but it’s not the most budget-friendly beverage. Cava is a Spanish wine produced through the same traditional method used to make Champagne but often sold at a lower price. Cava can be produced in several different regions, offering the possibility of more diversity than what is typically found in Champagne.

The frozen margarita was invented in Dallas using a repurposed soft-serve machine

On May 11, 1971, Dallas restaurateur Mariano Martinez adapted an ice cream machine to produce frozen margaritas using his father's recipe. The original machine now sits in the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History.

Cocktails now increasingly feature strange ingredients like bacon fat

Cocktail mixology has evolved in recent decades, shifting from a revival and reimagining of old favorites to pure experimentation. Where drinks were at one time anchored by a long-established favorite, now drink menus can feel incomprehensible to the average drinker, and little to indicate what the ultimate flavor profile of the libation will be.

Ibogaine, a psychedelic substance, can be used to treat mental illness

Although the substance is banned in the US, it's legal in Mexico. Americans who have traveled there for treatment, including the NFL's Braden Smith, say the drug helps deal with conditions like obsessive-compulsive disorder.

A comprehensive taxonomy of American tacos

Tacos may be a Mexican food, but they're wildly popular in America and in a number of different styles. This lengthy guide from Serious Eats was compiled after visiting more than 1,000 taco shops. It breaks down the differences between the many variations on the form (including breakfast, barbacoa, and Deli Mex) you'll encounter in different regions of the country. We don't recommend reading on an empty stomach!

Differences in the ratio of sugars help distinguish Mexican and American Coke

Mexican Coke is sweetened with cane sugar (sucrose), which dissolves into equal amounts of fructose and glucose, whereas American Coke, which uses high-fructose corn syrup, contains more fructose than glucose.

Flour tortillas are more common in northern Mexico

Of the several hypotheses for the origins of flour tortillas, the most likely is that European colonists in the region began cultivating wheat, which they used instead of corn when making tortillas.

How five of the world's most expensive salt and spices are made

Part of the charm of certain spices and salts is their exotic origin, hailing from difficult-to-access locales or hewn via special processes. That also explains why they can be so expensive. Dive into the businesses of producing and marketing five of the world's most expensive food additives with this engaging video.

Many artisan cheesemakers avoid modern methods

While much of the cheese found at the supermarket has been made in a factory, there are still plenty of artisan cheesemakers who do things the old-fashioned way. There is also a burgeoning vegan cheese market, which has quickly evolved from plasticky neon-orange shreds to Camembert-style soft cheeses made using traditional techniques.

'Omakase' roughly translates to 'I'll leave it up to you'

An omakase restaurant allows sushi chefs to craft custom-made rolls for patrons. The meals are often expensive, but there are good reasons for that: They include the freshest ingredients the restaurant has to offer and usually have limited spots. This short documentary focuses on Royal Sushi and Izakaya in Philadelphia.

Some tourist hotspots are shunning tourists

Locals in Barcelona sprayed tourists with water guns while protestors in Mexico City demanded politicians work against gentrification. Despite the economic boost tourism provides, protestors believe tourism has contributed to housing shortages and rising costs.

See a 3D reconstruction of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital that was home to an estimated population of 200,000 to 400,000.

Opium is a milky liquid substance extracted from unripe poppy plant seeds

It's been used for ages to reduce pain and induce euphoria, both of which are side effects of the plant's alkaloids—nitrogen-based compounds with pronounced physical effects. Isolating and synthesizing derivatives of these naturally occurring chemicals enabled the invention of morphine, heroin, and other opioids.

Jimmy Carter signed a 1978 bill that legalized home brewing, a move credited with kick-starting the craft beer industry.

Memecoins are a type of cryptocurrency—a form of digital currency with a wide variety of uses—created around popular 'memes,' or viral internet jokes.

Fast-casual restaurant Chili's is experiencing a resurgence, with its parent company recently reporting a nearly 32% increase in sales, thanks to passionate Gen Z fans on TikTok.

See how fireworks are made and learn how metals like magnesium and copper are responsible for different colors.

The word 'jazz' evolved from 'jasm,' 19th-century American slang for 'energy'

The use of fungi to detoxify land and water—a process known as mycoremediation—has been used to clean up natural resources affected by the 2025 California wildfires.

'Shogun,' a 1980s TV series, helped popularize sushi in the US by stimulating an American interest in Japanese culture.

Poison ivy is in the same family as mangoes, cashews, and pistachios—and they all produce oily urushiol in their raw, unprocessed state—but they are typically prepared in ways to avoid causing human discomfort.

The first horror movie is believed to be George Méliès' 1986 short 'The Haunted Castle,' which pioneered the use of special effects

See photos of Meteora, a mountainous site in central Greece, home to 14th-century monasteries perched atop soaring outcroppings.

One disco producer saw 'Star Wars' four times on its opening weekend and was so inspired that he recorded the album 'Star Wars and Other Intergalactic Funk,' which produced a chart-topping single.

American short story writer Flannery O'Connor raised 40 peacocks, which became potent symbols for her fiction's elegant violence

See the evolution of Ebola vaccine and treatment development.

For centuries, it was common to sleep in two shifts: a few hours at the beginning of the night, and a longer period beginning around midnight

The American cockroach is actually from Africa, an apparent hitchhiker aboard ships carrying enslaved people, with evidence suggesting the bug may have arrived in the New World as early as the 1600s.

When a Paris department store hesitated to sell Estée Lauder's perfume, she 'accidentally' broke a bottle, causing the smell to spread throughout the store and shoppers to start asking to buy the scent.

While El Niño moves warm Pacific Ocean waters east along the equator, La Niña moves them west, shifting where rainfall will become more common for months.

The Nasdaq's 'Magnificent 7' companies are responsible for roughly 40% of the Nasdaq 100 index's gains, while the remaining 93 companies account for the other 60%.

44% of Americans say they pray at least once a day—discover how your state's religiosity stacks up against the rest of the country.

Gerrymandering works through two techniques: cracking opposing voters across districts to dilute their power, and packing them into a few to waste their votes in lopsided majorities.

After her fellow cult members tried to kill her with an LSD-infused hamburger, one member of the Manson Family, the murderous cult led by Charles Manson, decided to testify against the group's leader.

The hormonal disorder PCOS was renamed PMOS in 2026, a move designed to improve care and research by shifting the focus to the hormonal causes of this condition that affects 1 in 8 women.

Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.

'Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone,' a work by American painter Thomas Moran, inspired Congress to establish Yellowstone National Park.