Colombian Blackberry Limonada de Mora with Farmers-Market Berries and Mint

Rinse the blackberries and pick out any stems or soft ones. Peak-season berries need no sweetening beyond what the recipe calls for, so taste one first and adjust later.

Serves 4

Ingredients

• 3 cups fresh blackberries
• 1/2 cup fresh lime juice, from about 5 limes
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar, or to taste
• 4 cups cold water
• 12 fresh mint leaves, plus sprigs for garnish
• Pinch of fine sea salt
• 3 cups ice cubes, plus crushed ice for serving
• 4 whole blackberries and 4 lime wheels, for garnish

Instructions

1. Rinse the blackberries and pick out any stems or soft ones. Peak-season berries need no sweetening beyond what the recipe calls for, so taste one first and adjust later.
2. Combine the blackberries with 2 cups of the cold water and the sugar in a blender, and blend on high 45 seconds until completely liquefied.
3. Pour the puree through a fine-mesh sieve set over a pitcher, pressing hard with the back of a ladle to extract everything. Discard the seeds.
4. Stir in the remaining 2 cups of cold water, the lime juice and the pinch of salt. The salt sharpens the fruit rather than making it taste salty.
5. Taste and adjust — add sugar a tablespoon at a time if your berries were tart, or more lime if the drink tastes flat.
6. Clap the mint leaves between your hands to release their oils and drop them into the pitcher. Chill at least 30 minutes.
7. Just before serving, remove the mint leaves and pour half the limonada back into the blender with 3 cups of ice cubes.
8. Blend 20 seconds on high until frothy and slushy, then combine with the reserved liquid in the pitcher for a drink that is chilled through with a light foam on top.
9. Pour over crushed ice in tall glasses and garnish each with a whole blackberry, a lime wheel and a sprig of mint.
10. Limonada de mora is sold from carts and corner juice stands across Colombia, where mora de Castilla — an Andean blackberry with a tartness closer to a raspberry — grows on hillsides year-round. The blender-and-ice step is what separates it from ordinary lemonade, producing the characteristic frothy cap that Colombians expect. Any good August blackberry from a farmers market makes a faithful version, and the drink is at its best made and drunk within the hour.

Nutrition (estimated, per serving)

• Calories: 135 kcal
• Protein: 2g
• Fat: 1g
• Carbohydrates: 33g
• Fiber: 6g
• Sugar: 26g
• Sodium: 40mg