What Charanda means
Charanda is a Mexican drink name of Purépecha origin meaning "red earth". It comes from charanda (reddish soil). It is pronounced chah-RAHN-dah, and it is most associated with Michoacán.
The sugarcane spirit is named for Cerro La Charanda near Uruapan, whose iron-red soil gives the hill and then the drink its Purépecha name. It is one of the few Mexican spirits whose name is neither Nahuatl nor Spanish.
Charanda is one of the many Mexican food words formed in Purépecha. Spanish borrowed it, and in several cases English borrowed it again from Spanish. See how Nahuatl builds words and the full list of Mexican food names.
This is a site about what Mexican words mean, so there is no recipe here. For the name itself: Agua fresca, horchata, atole, tepache, pulque, mezcal. Most Mexican drink names are the name of the plant or grain they are made from, and the agave spirits are named for the towns and regions that make them.
