Blackberry Mint Lemonade (inspired by Savory Sweet Life)
1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 6 lemons)
5 cups cold water
1 cup granulated sugar
18(ish) fresh mint leaves, rinsed and roughly chopped
2 cups fresh or frozen blackberries
Combine 1 cup of water with the sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, and boil and stir for about 5 minutes, until all the sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat, add the mint leaves, and stir a few times. Let cool.
Place blackberries in a blender. Set a wire strainer over the top of the blender, and pour the cooled mint sugar syrup through the strainer. Pulse this berry mixture in your blender a few times on low speed, just to break the berries up a bit, not to smoothie them. :)
Pour the blackberry mixture in a large pitcher. Add the remaining 4 cups of water and the lemon juice. Taste it!! For us, it was perfect right here, but you can add a bit of sugar, or a bit more juice or water, to get it just right. Serve over ice cubes, garnish with mint (optional).