Honey Free Peppermint Cocoa Lemonade

Total time40 min

Prep time10 min

Cook time10 min

5.0

(12)

This drink sounds like it shouldn't work — chocolate, peppermint, and lemon in the same glass — but somehow it absolutely does. The homemade peppermint cocoa syrup is the secret weapon here, built from maple syrup and unsweetened cocoa powder so there's no honey or any other bee-derived sweetener anywhere in the recipe. Maple syrup brings a deep, round sweetness that actually plays beautifully against the bright acidity of fresh lemon juice. The sparkling water keeps everything light and effervescent, and the instruction to leave the drink "lightly streaked" means every sip hits a little differently — now chocolatey, now citrusy, now cool with peppermint. It's the kind of thing you'd order at a trendy café and then immediately try to reverse-engineer at home. Garnished with a mint sprig and a lemon slice, it also looks genuinely stunning in a tall glass, which makes it perfect for entertaining or just treating yourself on a warm afternoon.

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Ingredients

4 servings

For the peppermint cocoa syrup

½ cup water
½ cup maple syrup
2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
¼ tsp peppermint extract
1 pinch fine salt

For the lemonade

½ cup fresh lemon juice (from about 4 lemons)
3 cups sparkling water, chilled
2 cups ice

For serving

4 fresh mint sprigs (optional)
4 lemon slices (optional)

Instructions

1
Combine the water, maple syrup, and cocoa powder in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk constantly until the cocoa is fully dissolved and the mixture comes to a gentle simmer, about 3–4 minutes.
2
Remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the peppermint extract and salt. Pour the syrup through a fine-mesh strainer into a heatproof container to remove any undissolved cocoa solids.

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