Caffeine Free Garden Lemon Ginger Cooler
This bright, garden-fresh drink is everything you want on a warm day — zingy lemon, cooling cucumber, fragrant mint, and a gentle kick of ginger that lingers in the best possible way. The sweetness comes from a quick maple syrup and ginger simple syrup that you steep right on the stovetop, so every sip has real depth rather than the flat sweetness of a store-bought mix. Muddling the cucumber and mint together in the pitcher is a small step that makes a big difference, coaxing out their natural oils and turning the whole drink a gorgeous pale green. Fresh lemon juice keeps things lively and tart, and the finish of chilled sparkling water gives it that satisfying fizz without any energy boosters or hidden stimulants to worry about. It's naturally free of coffee, tea, and anything else that might keep you up at night, making it a genuinely relaxing option any time of day. Serve it over a big pile of ice with a lemon slice and a sprig of mint tucked in the glass, and it looks as good as it tastes.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
For the ginger simple syrup
- ½ cup water
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
For the cooler
- ¾ cup fresh lemon juice (from about 4–5 lemons)
- ½ medium english cucumber, thinly sliced
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, lightly packed
- 2 cups cold water
- 2 cups sparkling water, chilled
For serving
- 2 cups ice cubes
- 4 lemon slices (optional)
- 4 fresh mint sprigs (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the 1/2 cup water, maple syrup, and sliced ginger in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the maple syrup dissolves. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook for 3 minutes, until the syrup is fragrant and the ginger has softened slightly.
- 2
Remove the saucepan from the heat and let the ginger syrup steep for 15 minutes, until the ginger flavor is pronounced. Strain through a fine-mesh strainer into a small bowl or measuring cup, pressing the ginger slices to extract as much liquid as possible; discard the solids.
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