Low Iodine Peppermint Cocoa Lemonade

Total time40 min

Prep time10 min

Cook time10 min

5.0

(12)

This drink sounds like it shouldn't work — chocolate, mint, and lemon in the same glass — but somehow it absolutely does. The homemade peppermint cocoa syrup is the secret, built from maple syrup, unsweetened cocoa powder, and a touch of peppermint extract, then strained smooth and chilled before it ever meets the lemonade. Fresh lemon juice and sparkling water keep things bright and fizzy, cutting right through the richness of the cocoa for a balance that feels genuinely refreshing. Managing iodine intake often means scrutinizing packaged drinks and flavored syrups for hidden additives, so making your own syrup from scratch here is a real advantage — every ingredient is straightforward and easy to verify. The gentle stir at the end is intentional; leaving the drink lightly streaked means you get little pockets of chocolatey depth alongside the citrus sparkle in every sip. Serve it over plenty of ice with a mint sprig and lemon slice and it looks as impressive as anything you'd order at a café.

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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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