Artificial Food Coloring Free Sparkling Mint-Lime Soda with Sea Salt
This sparkling drink is the kind of thing that makes you wonder why you ever reached for a bottle of neon-colored soda in the first place. Every sip delivers bright citrus, cool mint, and a subtle savory edge from the sea salt — a combination that feels fancy but comes together with nothing more than a small saucepan and a strainer. The mint syrup is made by steeping fresh leaves in warm honey water, which pulls out a clean, herbal sweetness that no artificial flavoring could replicate. Because everything here is built from scratch — fresh lime, fresh lemon, honey, plain sparkling water — there's zero guesswork about what's actually in your glass. Store-bought sodas and flavored sparkling waters are notorious for sneaking in dyes and synthetic additives, so making your own is genuinely the easiest way to sidestep all of that. The pinch of sea salt is a small move that makes a big difference, rounding out the tartness and giving the drink a slightly sophisticated finish. Serve it over ice with a mint sprig and a lime wedge and it looks every bit as good as it tastes.
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Learn more →Ingredients
2 servings
For the mint syrup
- ¼ cup fresh mint leaves, loosely packed, plus extra sprigs for serving
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup water
For the drink
- 3 tbsp fresh lime juice (from about 2 limes)
- 2 tbsp fresh lemon juice (from about 1 lemon)
- ¼ tsp fine sea salt
- 2 cups plain sparkling water, chilled
- 1 cup ice cubes
For serving
- 2 fresh mint sprigs (optional)
- 2 lime wedges (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the honey and water in a small saucepan over medium heat, stirring until the honey fully dissolves, about 2 minutes. Remove from heat, add the 1/4 cup mint leaves, and stir to submerge them.
- 2
Let the mint steep in the warm syrup for 10 minutes, then pour through a fine-mesh strainer into a small bowl or jar, pressing the leaves gently to extract their flavor. Discard the spent mint. Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature.
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