There is regular soda, and then there is Mexican soda. Real cane sugar, thick glass bottles, and flavors that actually taste like fruit instead of a chemistry set. If your entire soda life has been whatever was closest in the checkout cooler, this is your starting lineup.
We sell a lot of these. SimpleBev delivers soda, snacks, and candy by the case anywhere in the LA area, and the Mexican soda aisle is one of the busiest corners of our catalog. So this ranking is built on what people actually reorder week after week, plus a fair amount of arguing in our break room.
Want to skip to the good part? Browse the full soda selection and get a case delivered to your door. Free delivery kicks in at 10 cases in our closest zone.
Why Mexican sodas taste different
It mostly comes down to two things, and one of them is more real than the other.
Cane sugar instead of corn syrup
This is the real one. Cane sugar has a cleaner, quicker sweetness that leaves your mouth faster, while high fructose corn syrup lingers and coats. Put the two side by side at the same temperature and most people pick out the difference in one sip, even if they cannot name what they are tasting.
The glass bottle
This one is part chemistry and part theater. Glass is inert, so it does not trade flavor with what is inside it the way plastic can over time, and it holds cold better once chilled. Whether that changes the taste or just changes how you experience the taste is a question nobody drinking one on a hot afternoon in Boyle Heights has ever cared to settle.
The flavors are just braver
American soda mostly lives in cola, lemon lime, and root beer. Mexican soda goes to tamarind, guava, mandarin, apple, and grapefruit without apologizing for any of it. Half the fun is that there is an actual world to explore instead of three flavors and a diet version of each.
The best Mexican sodas, ranked
Rankings are personal. This one is weighted toward flavor, food friendliness, and how often people come back for another case. Fight us on it, but try them all first.
1. Jarritos Mandarin
The king, and it is not close. Bright, citrusy, orange without being syrupy, and light enough to drink through a whole meal instead of quitting halfway. It goes with any taco. If you buy one Mexican soda in your life, make it Jarritos Mandarin in the 12 ounce glass bottle.
2. Sangria Senorial
A deep red grape and citrus sparkler that tastes fancier than it costs. Zero alcohol, all flavor, with a slightly tannic edge that makes it feel grown up. It looks like it belongs on the dinner table and it cuts through rich food better than anything else here. Get a case of Sangria Senorial and watch it vanish at a barbecue.
3. Jarritos Tamarindo
Sweet, sour, and a little earthy at once. Hand this to anyone who claims soda is boring, because it tastes like no soda they have had before. Polarizing on the first sip, addictive by the third. Available in the 2 liter eight pack.
4. Sidral Mundet Apple
Apple soda done right. Crisp, not cloying, somehow both nostalgic and refreshing. The sleeper pick that becomes somebody’s favorite about once a month. Try the classic Sidral Mundet in glass, or the green apple version for more tart snap.
5. Jarritos Grapefruit
Toronja. Slightly bitter, deeply refreshing, criminally underrated. The adult choice of the Jarritos family, and the best of the bunch with salty food. Grab the grapefruit two liter pack.
6. Manzanita Sol
Another apple, and yes it earns its own slot, because it plays completely differently from Sidral. Sweeter, rounder, more candy apple than orchard apple. Kids go feral for it. The glass bottle 24 pack is the version to buy.
7. Boing Mango
Technically a fruit pulp beverage rather than a soda, and technically nobody cares, because it is fantastic. Thick, sunny, closer to a bottled agua fresca. Ice cold on a hot day it is unbeatable. Start with Boing Mango, then guava.
8. Jarritos Pineapple
Loud, tropical, and unapologetically sweet. This is a party soda, not a sipping soda, and it is a genuinely great mixer base if that is your evening. The pineapple two liter pack is the efficient way to buy it, and mango lands in the same neighborhood.
9. Mineragua and Topo Chico
Not sweet at all, and that is the point. Hard carbonation with a mineral bite that resets your palate between bites of anything rich or spicy. Once you get used to Topo Chico or Mineragua, softer sparkling waters feel like they gave up.
10. Squirt Ruby Red
The grapefruit soda for people who want citrus without the bitterness. It is the standard paloma base, criminally easy to drink, and the Ruby Red case vanishes faster than anyone plans for.
The wildcard: Fanta exotic flavors
Not Mexican, but people who love this aisle usually love these too. The green cream exotic soda in the little 250ml glass bottles is the one people photograph before they drink it.
What to drink them with
Mexican sodas are food sodas. Matching them properly is the difference between a nice drink and a genuinely great meal.
Tacos, al pastor, carne asada
Mandarin or grapefruit. Citrus and bubbles cutting through fat and salt. The pairing this whole category is famous for, and it holds up every time.
Anything spicy
Mineral water, full stop. The carbonation and salinity scrub your palate between bites in a way a sweet soda cannot. If you want sweet with heat, tamarind is the one that survives it.
Burgers, pizza, fried chicken
Apple soda. Sweet apple against salt and grease is an underrated combination people discover by accident and then keep on purpose.
Dessert, or as dessert
Boing mango or guava over a scoop of vanilla ice cream. It is a float, it takes ten seconds, and it makes you look like you planned something.
A big spread with a lot of people
Put three or four flavors in an ice tub and let people choose. Mandarin, tamarind, sangria, and a mineral water covers every preference in the room. Add a few bags from the chips and candy aisles and you have built a party. Our guide to building the perfect party snack table covers the rest.
How to actually serve them
Small things, big difference. None of this is complicated.
- Colder than you think. An hour in the fridge is fine, twenty minutes buried in ice water is better, because the contact is total.
- Do not add ice to the glass. These are already balanced. Melting ice takes a cane sugar soda from crisp to watery in about four minutes.
- Lime helps almost all of them. A wedge squeezed into the neck works on mandarin, grapefruit, mineral water, and Squirt. Skip it on the apple sodas.
- Serve from a tub, not a fridge. An ice tub in the middle of the room does more social work than a fridge in the kitchen. People browse, they try things, they talk about it.
- Keep a bottle opener where the drinks are. Obvious, forgotten constantly, and the number one reason a glass bottle goes undrunk at a party.
Where to get Mexican sodas in Los Angeles
You can find these at a good market or corner store in most LA neighborhoods, and you should support the ones near you. What you usually cannot do is find every flavor you want, in glass, in the quantity you need, on the day you need it. That is the gap we fill.
How SimpleBev works
Browse the shop, add cases to your bag, and check out. No account required, and both Apple Pay and Google Pay work, so on a phone it takes about a minute. Your order arrives at your door and you put the cold ones in the fridge.
Delivery zones and case minimums
We deliver across Los Angeles and most surrounding cities, split into two zones based on distance from our warehouse. Within roughly 20 miles, orders start at 5 cases: 5 to 9 cases is a flat 30 dollars for delivery, and at 10 cases delivery is free. From 20 to 50 miles out, orders start at 10 cases with free delivery at 20. Not sure which zone you are in? Type your ZIP code into the checker in the footer of any page and it will tell you instantly. The full walkthrough is in our post on how SimpleBev delivery works.
Why buying by the case is the move
Cases are the better deal, and they are the reason we can deliver at these prices. Beyond the math, a case in the garage means you are never the house that runs out during the game or the birthday party. Mix flavors, build a shelf, stop making grocery runs for drinks.
Frequently asked questions
Are Mexican sodas actually made with real sugar?
Most of the ones on this list are, yes. Cane sugar is the traditional sweetener and it is the main reason people say these taste cleaner than the American versions of similar drinks. Formulations do change by production location, so the ingredient panel on the bottle is always the final word.
Which Mexican soda should I try first?
Jarritos Mandarin. It is the most universally liked, it goes with almost any food, and it is the easiest entry point if you are used to standard American soda. If mandarin lands, try tamarind next, because that is where the category gets interesting.
Is there a difference between the glass bottles and the 2 liter plastic?
Flavor wise they are the same drink. Glass holds carbonation and cold better and is the better call for serving guests. The 2 liter plastic packs are the value play when you are refilling a fridge for a household or a long party.
Do you deliver Mexican sodas anywhere in Los Angeles?
We deliver across LA and most surrounding cities in two zones. Inside about 20 miles from our warehouse the minimum is 5 cases, and from 20 to 50 miles it is 10 cases. Put your ZIP into the checker in the footer to see your exact zone, minimum, and delivery cost before you order.
How long do sodas stay good?
Unopened and stored somewhere cool and out of direct sunlight, expect many months of good drinking, and check the date printed on the bottle or case. Carbonation is what fades first. Once a bottle is opened it is a same day proposition, which is a strong argument for single serve glass.
Can I mix flavors in one order?
Yes, and you should. Cases are per product, but your order can be any combination you like. The most popular orders we see are one crowd pleaser, one adventurous flavor, and a mineral water, plus something from the snack aisle.
What if I want something that is not on the site?
Ask us. We carry well over two thousand items and the catalog moves constantly, so send a note through the contact page and we will tell you whether we can get it.
Build your case
The best way into this category is not reading about it, it is putting four flavors in a tub of ice and letting people find their favorite. Start with mandarin because everyone likes it, add tamarind because somebody will fall in love with it, throw in sangria for the adults and a mineral water for whoever does not want sugar.
Everything above is on the site right now. Start in the soda aisle, browse every category to build a full order, and check your ZIP in the footer to see your delivery minimum. If you want a hand picking flavors, message us.
Still in a nostalgic mood? Read our take on the retro sodas that deserve a comeback next.
