Calamansi Juice with Mint

If there is something cherished that I took with me to Italy, it's this wonderful plant.  Calamondin to most and calamansi to some.  In Asia, it is called calamansi, sometimes written as kalamansi too.   The juice of these small, round lemons is known to be replete with vitamin C.  For that, it is often recommended when you are down with a cold, cough or flu.  Coupled with honey makes it a vitamin-packed drink.   It is more intense than lemons and a bit more perfumed.  

As an afterthought before taking pictures, I grabbed some mint leaves from the nearby pot for an aesthetic composition, primarily to give color to the dull looking liquid.  But it actually gave a delicious minty hint when I tasted it after shooting the pictures.   It gave this drink a whole new character from how I knew it before.   I have always liked this refreshing drink but with mint, it becomes much more delectable.   My son, the Coca-Cola drinker, even admitted that it's better than Coke!  Now, I never dreamed of taking away the spotlight on this cola drink from the eyes of a kid.  My God, it's a miracle!  He had always been drinking calamansi juice but with this new blend, he cannot stop drinking it.  This renewed interest in this drink fulfills my role in giving him healthy food.  

I have four plants in all and I just emptied one with all its fruit.  The others are laden with tiny green pearls at the moment and I can't wait to harvest them.  They are mature when they become soft even if the skin is still green.  Since these plants are like dwarf trees, both my kids are the ones who harvest these little lemons.  Sometimes they rush to me, all flustered from running, seriously taking their harvesting jobs.  It's so cute to see them struggling to empty their small pockets with their little clumsy hands.    One by one , an odd mixture of things is extracted from their pockets.  Little stones, miniscule toys, calamansi, both mature & unripe (Sigh.), a piece of string or small beads.

Calamansi Juice with Mint

Ingredients:
1 liter of juice

• 750 ml. water
• 200 g. calamansi, also called calamondin, halved
• 5 tbsp. honey (or white sugar or both), depends really on how sweet you want it
• mint leaves
• ice

1. In a small bowl or cup, squeeze all the calamansi through a small strainer to separate the seeds from the juice.  Discard seeds.   Add 3 tablespoons honey and dillute with the juice.  It's better to mix less sweetener at the beginning then adjust it later according to your taste.  Mix until honey has become liquid. 
2. Mix the mixture with the water in a pitcher.  Add the remaining honey to adjust the taste.
3. Add mint leaves and ice.  

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