One thing that is true about Taipei is that the summer is hot and humid! You can get great Bubble tea or Mango slushes all around the city to cool off. Recently, I went out to lunch and tried something new for me. It was a minty and refreshing lemonade and I decided that it would be something I could make at home pretty easily. There’s nothing like minty lemonade on a hot day! It is refreshing and customizable to your taste. I don’t like overly sweet lemonade so I used 1/2 cup of sugar. If you want it to be sweeter just add more sugar or add less for more tart flavor. You can also double the size of the recipe. It is an easy recipe and the mint gives the lemonade a nice kick of flavor. I used 5 lemons but you will probably need anywhere from 4-6 lemons to get 1 cup of lemon juice.
Refreshing Mint Lemonade
Delicious and refreshing mint lemonade that is perfect for a hot summer day!
- 1 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice ((Juice from 4-6 lemons))
- 1/2 cup granulated sugar
- 3/4 cups water
- 5 cups water and ice
- 35-40 mint leaves ((optional – extra leaves for garnish))
Add 1/2 cup of sugar along with 3/4 cups of water to a saucepan. (This is to make your simple syrup)
Heat the water and sugar on medium high heat while stirring just until the sugar is dissolved. Immediately remove from heat.
Juice lemons until you have 1 cup of lemon juice.
Be sure to remove seeds. I strained the pulp as well but you can leave the pulp in and just remove the seeds if you want.
Prepare the mint leaves. Wash and stack about 35 – 40 mint leaves.
I find it easiest to stack the leaves together at this point. Slightly roll them.
Slice through the mint leaves 3-4 times.
Add 5 cups cold water to the simple syrup. (I add a mixture of ice and water to equal 5 cups to the saucepan to cool down the simple syrup. Maybe 1-2 cups of ice)
Add the water/simple syrup mixture along with the lemon juice to a pitcher.
Add the chopped mint leaves to the pitcher.
Stir everything together and then refrigerate for 1 to 2 hours for the mint flavor to infuse into the lemonade.
Enjoy a nice refreshing summer treat! optional – Add 1 or 2 whole mint leaves on top for garnish.
This drink doesn’t last too long in my house. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!