I have been making variations on this since the beginning of the summer and L. has quaffed every pitcher happily. My personal favorite is limeade with mint, but lemonade with lavender has been a strong contender, as has lemonade with lemon balm, and limeade with lemongrass. Get it started the night before you need it and you will basically just need to add water in the morning.
The unicorn portion of the drink comes from the addition of butterfly pea tea (easily purchased on amazon) to whatever variation of this seasonal beverage you choose to make. When brewed, though not particularly flavorful, the tea is a gorgeous, vibrant indigo (and the rehydrated flowers are quite tasty). As soon as citric acid is added it turns lilac. Originally I would just stir a couple of cups into my lemon/limeade and serve as is but, as the summer has progressed, I have started to make ice cubes from the tea and add them to the pitcher of lemon/limeade right before serving it. As the ice cubes melt, the color of the liquid changes and, as illustrated above, you get both indigo ice cubes and mauve liquid at once.
I have been cheating quite a lot this summer in the lemon/limeade department and, despite my aversion to high fructose corn syrup, have often mixed up the frozen juice variety of the beverage, and added herbs and fruit to it to personalize it. I think this is due to a certain nostalgia factor and not laziness. The recipe below though is for the proper, all natural, version of everyone's favorite summer drink.
2 cups of butterfly pea tea (brewed as per the instructions on the package, and allowed to steep until cool)
5-6 organic unwaxed lemons or 10-12 organic limes
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon or lime juice depending on what version you are planning on making
3/4 cups granulated sugar
1 cup boiling water
2 cups water (or soda water for a slightly bubbly version)
5 sprigs of lavender or 1 stem lemongrass (crushed with a rolling pin) or 1/2 bunch of the herb of your choice
The night before, brew the butterfly pea tea and pour it into an ice cube tray. Make sure that you add a couple of the rehydrated butterfly pea blossoms to each ice cube. Freeze until needed.
Slice your lemons or limes thinly, directly into the pitcher you will be using and add the sugar. Stir to combine. Leave overnight, loosely covered with a tea towel. The following morning, the sugar will have turned syrupy and the juice and oil will have imbued the sugar with beautiful citrus flavors.
At this point, add your lavender or herbs to the pitcher. Add the boiling water and stir constantly, until all of the sugar has melted.
Add the juice and the remaining water, stir to combine.
Taste and remove lavender or herbs (unless you would like a more pronounced floral/herbal flavor.) Chill until cold.
When ready to serve, remove most of the citrus slices with a set of tongs as they make pouring difficult. I leave a few slices in just to show that this is indeed a homemade treat, and add some fresh herbs or a couple of new sprigs of lavender from the garden if I am making lavender lemonade. Add the ice cubes, stir to start the citric acid purple transformation, and enjoy (before heading to the kitchen to immediately start making another pitcher.)
If this is too much trouble, you can also make a slightly simpler lemonade, here.
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