Blackberry Mint Lemonade

Ugh. This is one of those posts that makes me ashamed of my photography. You've got to go see the original, there's a link below. It would be helpful if I owned a pitcher that wasn't opaque plastic!! I am officially on the hunt for a pretty glass pitcher. A picture of a glass all by itself is just NOT that awesome. Oh well. It's still yummy enough to share immediately, instead of waiting to buy a pitcher and make it again!!

Blackberry Mint Lemonade (inspired by Savory Sweet Life)
Printable Recipe

1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 6 lemons)
5 cups cold water
1 cup granulated sugar
18(ish) fresh mint leaves, rinsed and roughly chopped
2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries

Combine 1 cup of water with the sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and boil and stir for about 5 minutes, until all the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, add the mint leaves, and stir a few times. Let cool.

Place blackberries in a blender. Set a wire strainer over the top of the blender, and pour the cooled mint sugar syrup through the strainer. Pulse this berry mixture in your blender a few times on low speed, just to break the berries up a bit, not to smoothie them. :)

Pour the blackberry mixture in a large pitcher. Add the remaining 4 cups of water and the lemon juice. Taste it!! For us, it was perfect right here, but you can add a bit of sugar, or a bit more juice or water, to get it just right. Serve over ice cubes, garnish with mint (optional).

I must be honest, this is my new favorite lemonade. Seriously. I made it with out-of-season berries, and it was STILL awesome! I haven't tried it with frozen berries yet, but I can't wait to make it again during blackberry season! Mmm, sweet, warm, summery blackberries, perfectly balanced with tart lemonade. The mint is heavenly, a refreshing note that gets even better the colder the lemonade is!

The little blackberry bits may not be conducive to straws, but I think they're lovely. And so yummy to bite into a few! You can, of course, filter them out, if that idea isn't appealing. But you'll be missing out! Next time an occasion calls for lemonade, this is a must-try, I promise!

Shared at Tutorials, Tips, and Tidbits