Sparkling Lavender Mint Lemonade

A Summery Science Experiment

I’ve been in love with lavender lemonade, ever since a friend of mine introduced me to the sweet, herbal drink when I first moved to Chicago after college.  There was a lunch spot near our office that served the delectable drink and I ended up craving it often! Jump ahead several years later, and I’ve perfected my dream glass of sparkling lavender lemonade, adding in a bit of honey, a hint of mint, and a tad bit of sparkling water to really up the ante. I’m in love with this drink, and plan on whipping up batches of this all summer long.

Not only is this lemonade a great summer refreshment, it’s a bit of a science experiment too!   Butterfly pea tea has an incredibly mild flavor, so it doesn’t impact the taste of this sipper too much, but when the blue tea hits the acid from the lemon juice a chemical reaction occurs resulting in the perfect lavender shade to match the herbal flavor!  If you’ve not tried this for yourself, it’s a great kitchen experiment to conduct on your own or with your family.  I guarantee you’ll have a bit of fun.  I’ve bought my butterfly pea tea from Amazon.

Tips for Making a Delicious Sparkling Lavender Mint Lemonade

If you plan on making this lavender mint lemonade, here are a few tips to ensure you’re successful!

• Only use culinary grade lavender leaves when making the simple syrup.  It will be stated on the packaging if it is.  I’ve used this package from Amazon and am really happy with the quality and freshness!
• Squeezing your own lemons is hard work, but worth the effort.  The pre-squeezed fresh lemon juice from the store can be incredibly tart, and potentially overpowering!
• If you don’t want to commit to the butterfly pea tea, you can always add a couple drops of purple food coloring to your lemonade to give it the beautiful violet hue!
• Make a double batch of the butterfly pea tea and freeze the second half into ice cubes.  That way, the next time you’re craving a sparkling lavender mint lemonade, you’ll have one step of the process complete!

The Recipe Details

Preparing this recipe will take a bit of pre-planning, but once it’s pulled together you’ll have more than enough to share with your friends or family! To start, first brew a batch of butterfly pea tea according to the package directions.  Set it aside to cool to room, or refrigerator, temperature.

Meanwhile, make the lavender and mint sweetener.  In a saucepan, you’ll add water and sugar and place it over medium high heat.  Use a silicone spatula to stir the mixture until the sugar is completely dissolved.  This should only take two to three minutes. Remove the pan from the heat and add in a tablespoon of honey.  Stir the honey in until it also dissolves and then place the fresh mint leaves and dried lavender leaves into the sweetener.  Let it steep at room temperature for about an hour and a half.

While your tea and sweetener and steeping and cooling, you can begin squeezing lemons, until you get around 2 cups of fresh lemon juice.  Once all of your ingredients are prepared, you can begin assembling (which means you’re nearly at the drinking stage)! Pour the lemon juice, water, and sweetener into a large pitcher or mason jar and stir to combine.  At this point, you’ve made a basic lemonade – the next few steps make it extra special!

In a glass, add crushed ice and fill the glass about half way with lemonade.  Top with sparkling or soda water another quarter of the way up the glass. Fill the rest of the glass with the butterfly pea tea, letting the colors mix naturally.  Garnish, serve, and enjoy your glasses of sparkling lavender mint lemonade!

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Sparkling Lavender Mint Lemonade

Author: Laura Wilkins Cooking Method: Simmered Cuisine: American Courses: Drinks

Difficulty: Intermediate Prep Time 10 mins Cook Time 20 mins Rest Time 30 mins Total Time 1 hr

Servings: 8

Best Season: Summer

Dietary:

D Dairy Free G Gluten Free N Nut Free V Vegetarian

Description

A refreshing herbal take on the summer-time classic. This sparkling lavender mint lemonade is sure to be a new family favorite!

Ingredients

Scale

1/2x 1x 2x 3x

• 1 satchel butterfly pea tea
• 5 cup water, divided
• ¹⁄₂ cup cane sugar
• 1 tbsp honey
• 2 tsp food grade dried lavender leaves
• 2 sprigs fresh mint
• 2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 10 lemons)
• 1 cup sparkling (soda) water
• Lemon slices for serving (optional)

Instructions

Prepare the Butterfly Pea Tea

1. Steep one satchel of butterfly pea tea according to package directions. Set aside to cool completely.

Make Lavender Mint Sweetener

1. Combine 2 cups of water and ½ cup sugar and place in a saucepan. Set over medium high heat and bring to a light boil.  Stir constantly until the sugar has completely dissolved, about 2 minutes.

2. Take the pan off the heat and stir in 1 tablespoon of honey.  Add 2 teaspoons of lavender leaves and 2 sprigs of fresh mint and let steep for 1-1½ hours.

3. After steeping, pour the simple syrup through a sieve, discarding the lavender and mint leaves. Set aside the liquid.

Make Lavender Mint Lemonade

1. While the lavender mint simple syrup is steeping, begin squeezing lemons until you have 2 cups of freshly squeezed juice.

2. Add the fresh lemon juice with the remaining 4 cups of water and the strained lavender mint sweetener to a pitcher or large mason jar. Stir to combine and set aside.

3. In a glass, add crushed ice and fill the glass halfway with the lemonade mixture made in step 6. Fill the glass another quarter of the way with sparkling water.

4. Fill the remainder of the glass with the cooled butterfly pea tea, letting the color mix naturally.  Garnish with a lemon slice and mint leaves.  Serve and enjoy!