BHA & BHT Free Peppermint Cocoa Agua Fresca
Cool, minty, and deeply chocolatey, this drink lands somewhere between a refreshing agua fresca and a sippable dessert — and it's genuinely surprising how satisfying it is without any dairy or artificial anything. Many packaged chocolate drinks and cocoa mixes sneak in synthetic preservatives like BHA and BHT to extend shelf life, so making your own from scratch is the cleanest way to get that rich cocoa flavor without the guesswork. Here, unsweetened cocoa powder and maple syrup do all the heavy lifting, while fresh peppermint leaves steeped right in the warm base deliver a bright, herbal coolness that no extract can quite replicate. The technique is simple — whisk, steep, strain, chill — and the result is a pitcher drink that feels a little fancy but comes together with almost no effort. Served over ice with a sprig of fresh mint, it's the kind of thing you'll want to keep in the fridge all week.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
- 4 cups cold water, divided
- 8 tsp unsweetened cocoa powder
- 4 tbsp maple syrup
- ½ cup fresh peppermint leaves, loosely packed
- ⅛ tsp fine sea salt
For serving
- ice cubes, for serving
- 4 fresh peppermint sprigs, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine 1 cup of the cold water with the cocoa powder and maple syrup in a small saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until the cocoa is fully dissolved and the mixture is smooth and just beginning to steam, about 3–4 minutes — do not let it boil.
- 2
Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the peppermint leaves and fine sea salt, stir once to submerge the leaves, and let steep for 10 minutes.
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