Horchata (/ɔːrˈtʃɑːtə/; Spanish: [oɾˈtʃata] ^ⓘ), or orxata (Valencian: [oɾˈtʃata]), is a name given to various beverages that are generally plant-based but sometimes contain milk. In Spain, it is made with soaked, ground, and sweetened tiger nuts. In Mexico, it is made with rice, cinnamon and other ingredients and it is well known as a type of Mexican agua fresca.

The name probably derives from a Latin word for barley, the term hordeata, which in turn comes from hordeum (barley), related to a Mediterranean tradition of grain-based beverages. The Italian and Maltese orzata and the French and English orgeat have the same origin, although the beverages have diverged and are generally no longer made from barley.

A barley drink originated in ancient Egypt, where the Romans got to know it as hordeata, from the Latin word for barley, hordeum. The main ingredient changed in time to tiger nuts, which were brought to the Iberian peninsula in the 8th century, during Muslim rule, and became a staple ingredient in the area of Valencia. It is estimated that during the 11th century it began to spread throughout Hispania (now Spain and Portugal). There are 13th-century records of an horchata-like beverage made near Valencia, where it remains a common drink.

From Spain, the concept of horchata was brought to the Americas. Drinks called agua de horchata or simply horchata came to be made with white rice and cinnamon instead of tiger nuts. Sometimes these drinks had vanilla added, or were served adorned with fruit. Similarly, flavored plant-based beverages are sold in various parts of the world as varieties of horchata or kunnu.

The drink now known as horchata de chufa (also sometimes called horchata de chufas or, in West African countries such as Nigeria and Mali, kunnu aya). It is made from soaked, ground and sweetened tiger nuts.

The Valencian or Chufa horchata is made with dried and sweetened tiger nuts (Cyperus esculentus). This form of horchata is now properly called orxata de xufa.

It remains popular in Spain, where a regulating council exists to ensure the quality and traceability of the product in relation to the designation of origin.

The majority of the Spanish tiger nut crop is utilised in the production of horchata de chufa. Alboraya is the most important production centre. In total, sixteen Valencian municipalities grow tiger nuts protected by the quality seal, the only one that guarantees its Valencian origin, which in aggregate covered around 485 hectares of tiger nut fields, with an approximate annual production of 8,000 tonnes, which is normally all sold by the time it is harvested.