My take on limonada: Mediterranean-style mint lemonade as they make it in Egypt. Intense with flavor, extra frothy, and extremely refreshing! There is a tiny trick involved that makes all the difference...
There is an ahwa on every street corner in Egypt. If you're not familiar, ahwas are small coffeehouses. We're talking hole-in-the-wall type establishments, open to the streets and filled with tiny round tables and chairs. The air is usually filled with smoke from the hookas (water pipes).
They say, if you want to see and hear Egypt, all you need to do is hang out at an ahwa. There are many sounds going on--sounds of busy streets; sounds of men talking politics and young men competing in tournaments of board games; and sounds of ahwa waiters shouting drink orders.
On the menu are the usual drinks: Turkish coffee; black tea; and limonada (lemonade). My favorite is mint lemonade, which is more commonly served in the summer.
The trick to a frothy mint lemonade
Today's lemonade recipe is my take on the Mediterranean-style mint lemonade as served in Egypt's ahwas. It's similar to classic strawberry lemonade, but it's more dense, frothy, and comes with an extra refreshing punch from fresh mint.
The trick to this thicker, frothy mint lemonade is in blending the majority of the lemons or limes with the skin on. This adds intensity to the flavor and the texture of the lemonade.
This Mediterranean-style mint lemonade is absolutely my favorite drink, particularly on hot summer days! For a more grown-up beverage, you can add a splash of vodka (or try out my Aperol spritz recipe, ouzo drink with lemon, or this refreshing limoncello).
Here is the step-by-step for this mint lemonade recipe
(Scroll down for the print-friendly version)
Important note: if your blender is weaker, you will want to cut the lemons into smaller pieces, and also finely chop the mint leaves before blending.
Add all the crushed ice, water, 2 cut lemons, juice of 1 lemon, fresh mint, and sugar to the pitcher of a high-quality blender.
Cover and push blend or liquefy (high-speed function), until you achieve the desired drink consistency. Taste and add more sugar or mint leaves, if you like. Blend again.
Pour the lemonade into a serving pitcher through a mesh strainer. Add fresh mint leaves to the pitcher. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.
If you like, strain the lemonade again as you pour into serving glasses. Enjoy cold!
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Other Mediterranean recipes with mint:
Watermelon Salad with Mint and Feta
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Mediterranean-Style Mint Lemonade (Limonana)
- Total Time: 10 minutes
- Yield: 4-6 1x
Description
Mint lemonade, prepared Egyptian-style! Intense with flavor, frothy, and extremely refreshing! You'll love this limonana, but there is a small trick that makes all the difference.
Ingredients
- 2 cups crushed ice
- 4 cups water
- 2 large lemons (or limes), washed, cut into small pieces, and seeds removed
- Juice of 1 large lemon
- 1 bunch fresh mint leaves, stems removed (about 25-40 mint leaves), more for later
- ½ to ¾ cup sugar, more or less to your liking (you can use cane sugar or part honey, if you like)
Instructions
- Add all the ingredients to the pitcher of a high-quality blender. Cover and push blend or liquefy (high-speed function), until you achieve the desired drink consistency.
- Taste and add more sugar or mint leaves, if you like. Blend again.
- Pour the lemonade into a serving pitcher through a mesh strainer. Add fresh mint leaves to the pitcher. Cover and refrigerate until you are ready to serve.
- If you like, strain the lemonade again as you pour into serving glasses. Enjoy cold!
Notes
If your blender is weaker, you will want to cut the lemons into smaller pieces, and also finely chop the mint before blending.
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Category: Drinks
- Cuisine: Mediterranean
Thank you for sharing. I loved this recipe. Just made it and it will definitely be added to my recipes list. 😉
Hope you enjoy it, Raquel!
I lived in Egypt for four years. This is my favorite drink in all the world. I learned how to make it when I lived there and my friend from Jordan taught me to add just a splash of milk.
Oh, yum! Thanks for that tip, Sheri!
Best lemonade ever! This was delicious and so easy to make!
Thanks, Susan!!
Do we take the zest of the lime too, to blend?
Hello! No, I don't use the zest here. Hope you enjoy!!
Okay so basically I made this. And it tasted really well the first half. The second half even though I made them altogether, turned a little bitter. How do I remove the bitterness. Ive added enough lemon juice, sugar, ice cubes and water but the bitterness is still there. Please help. Thank you.
This is a tough one. I'm not sure why the second half may have tasted bitter when the first half was not. I'm sorry I'm not much help here.
For me I made this and it turned out great the key is to only use some of the lemon skin and not all or it will turn bitter, for example if I use 2 lemons or 6 small limes I’d only use half or less of the lemon skins to keep it from going bitter, you can always taste to add more but remember once you add to much it’s hard to get the bitter taste out, hope this helped!
Thanks for sharing, Lina!
If at all possible, I think using Meyer lemons and key limes is best because the skins are thinner.
Just like it is in Egypt!! So refreshing.
Thank you, Rosie!
this recipe tastes even better with a bit of black salt !!
Awesome! Thanks for sharing
Do you put the peel in the blender?
You can put some to create a more lemony flavor and more froth. It's a personal preference.
But if the drink sits it gets very very bitter and practically undrinkable because of the white of the skin.
But excellent if you drink immediately.
Best lemonade i have ever had. This was amazing & so simple to make. Thank you for sharing this.
Aww so glad to hear it!
Great receipie. You have told the reader the trick for the froth or maybe I missed it.
I have been searching for a recipe like this since I got back from Alexandria. I made it today and it really reminded us of Egypt. Thank you for sharing!
Nazia, so glad you found this recipe! It's one of my favorite drinks...and indeed takes one back to Egypt!
This was really good! My whole family loved it
Wonderful, Amina! Glad to hear it.
I just came back from Egypt and had this drink at a restaurant in Alexandria overlooking the Mediterranean Sea. Thank you so much for the recipe.
Ah how I miss Alexandria! Thanks so much for sharing, Gayle!
Just came back from Egypt and had this lemonade at a restaurant in Alexandria. Loved it! Have a lot of mint so tried your recipe today. Delicious! Thanks for sharing it!
Awesome, Kristine! I miss Egypt so much!!! Thanks for stopping in.
My mouth is watering just reading this and looking at the pics. Now that that the weather is getting hotter, this sounds like perfect comfort drink after a long day.
Thank you, Amelia! It really is a great summer drink. Enjoy!
I like the looks of this. I love lemonade and have lots of mint, so I will try it, but I would rather sweeten it with something other that white sugar. Have you tried other sweeteners and what do you recommend?
Hi Ann... Are you thinking of using like a Splenda or something of that sort? Or to simply replace the sugar with a natural raw sugar? I can't say I have experience with either in this particular recipe. I have recently tried XLear, and it tasted pretty good to me; but I can't say that I tried it in this lemonade though. I would love to hear, if you try something different.
Great photos! ?
Thank you!!! I have a brilliant photographer friend who showed me a couple tricks 😉