Evolving towards making drinks that truly feel right…...

At El Gusto Loco, we no longer start from a technique, a process, or a fixed idea of how a drink should be made.We start from something far less visible, yet ultimately decisive: what happens when someone takes a sip — and, even more so, what happens after that sip.

Because a drink can look perfectly balanced on paper, be technically sound in its construction, and still do something that doesn’t sit right — coming in too sharp, lingering too heavily, or forcing the body to correct what should have unfolded naturally.

We make drinks that the body understands, before the mind gets involved.

That is why we look beyond fermentation alone. Fermentation remains one of our tools — and a valuable school of learning — but never a goal in itself. Some drinks ask for fermentation, because it brings depth, softness and layering. Others ask for something entirely different: space, clarity, or calm.

What matters is not how something is made, but how it drinks, let's say.

We work with honest ingredients, chosen for what they do rather than what they promise. Ingredients that support one another instead of competing, that are given time to come together into a whole that doesn’t demand attention, but quietly invites you to take another sip.

Mouthfeel plays a central role in it. Not as a technical concept, but as an experience. How a drink spreads in the mouth, how acidity is carried, how sweetness rounds off without clinging, how herbs and botanicals are present without dominating. These are subtle shifts — almost invisible to those who look only at formulations, yet unmistakable to those who feel.

We don’t believe in excess. Not in more acidity, not in more stimulation, not in labels that promise what a drink can never truly deliver. What we seek is balance.

A good drink doesn’t need to explain itself. You feel it when you drink it.

What we make must not only taste good in the moment, but also feel right afterwards. No heaviness, no restlessness, no urge to wash it away with something else — just the quiet sense that something landed where it should.

That requires attention. Tasting. Starting over. Letting go of what may be technically interesting but doesn’t hold up sensorially. And above all: daring to trust what the body tells you, even when it can’t be immediately captured in numbers or processes.

Perhaps that is the essence of how we work today. Not starting from a method, but from an experience.

Fermentation is a possibility. Not an obligation.

What drives us is simplicity that feels right, complexity that remains gentle, and drinks that add something without imposing themselves.

And that is what we continue to search for every day, sip by sip.

We work with brands who feel that a drink can be more than a recipe or a marketing story. Brands who want to start from taste, mouthfeel and honesty — and who are willing to explore, taste and adjust along the way until it truly feels right.

Whether a drink calls for fermentation, another method, or a combination of techniques, we always begin with the same question: what does this drink do to you — and does it feel right?

Those who wish to think along are welcome at our table.

Where taste becomes conversation...