Subtle flavour without sweetness
These aren’t sweet waters, so they’ll be disappointed if that’s what you’re expecting. This is water with subtle flavours infused into it. Water with a little something extra. A touch of flavour–not an explosion of flavour–with little or no sweetness. You’ve probably had pitchers of ice water with lemon served at restaurants. This is the same idea, but with more variety. Many spas serve fancy waters like these, and it turns out that they couldn’t be simpler to make. And, they are oh-so-refreshing.
Supplies Needed:
- Fruit — whatever kind you like (except no bananas); make sure it’s good and ripe for maximum sweetness and flavour. You can use all kinds of citrus and berries.pineapple and watermelon to work well for flavouring water. If you don’t want to buy whole ones, many grocery stores sell small containers of pre-cut fruit.
- Herbs — these are optional, but many herbs are a surprising complement to fruit flavours; almost any herb will work depending on your personal preference
- Jars or pitchers — You can use 2-quart mason jars primarily, but any 2-quart pitcher will do.
- Fruit infusion pitcher–one of these–it’s another option if you think you’ll be making infused waters regularly; a very easy, tidy way to strain fruit from water.
- Fruit infusion water bottle–this a portable, on-the-go option.M
- Muddler or wooden spoon for mashing fruit and herbs
- water — use filtered water, but regular tap water is fine if yours tastes good to you
Fresh vs. frozen fruit: When in season, you should prefer to use fresh fruit. However, when the fruit is out of season, the fresh version can be tart or flavourless. Because fruit that is to be frozen is picked at the peak of ripeness, it is often the better option for the best flavour, sweetness, and nutrients. This is especially to be the case with berries and peaches.

All Citrus Flavored Water: (adds refreshing tartness to water) — slice 1 orange, 1 lime, 1 lemon into rounds, then cut the rounds in half. Add to jar, press and twist with a muddler or the handle of a wooden spoon. Press enough to release some of the juices, but don’t pulverize the fruit into pieces. Fill the jar with ice. Pour in water to the top. Stir it with the handle of a wooden spoon or a chopstick. Put a lid on it, put it in the fridge, and chill.
You can drink it right away, but the flavour intensifies if it’s made an hour or two ahead. It’s even better the next day. 24 hours later straight from the fridge. The ice at the top serves as a sieve so that you can pour the flavoured water without getting fruit bits in your glass.

Raspberry Lime Flavored Water: (beautiful colour and mildly tart) — Quarter 2 limes; with your hands, squeeze the juice into the jar, then throw in the squeezed lime quarters. Add raspberries. Press and twist with a muddler to release some of the juices (don’t pulverize the fruit). Fill the jar with ice, then add water to the top. Stir, cover, and refrigerate.

Pineapple Mint Flavored Water: (a hint of minty sweetness). Add a sprig of mint to the jar–you can throw in the whole sprig; or, remove the leaves from the sprig, if you prefer to have the mint swimming around and distributing in the jar. Muddle the mint–the goal is to bruise the leaves and release their flavour–don’t pulverize them into bits. Add pineapple pieces, press and twist with the muddler to release juices. Add ice to the top and then water. Stir, cover, and refrigerate.

Blackberry Sage Flavored Water: (subtle, refreshing flavour). Add sage leaves to jar and bruise with a muddler. Add blackberries; press and twist with muddler to release their juices. Fill the jar with ice cubes, add water to the top, stir, cover and refrigerate.

Watermelon Rosemary Flavored Water: (lovely flavour combo). Add a sprig of rosemary to the jar and muddle gently (rosemary releases a strong flavour without much muddling). Add watermelon cubes; twist and press gently to release juices. Fill the jar with ice cubes, add water to the top, stir, cover and refrigerate.

Here’s the whole gang:It’s hard to pick a favourite because they all have a different, distinctive flavour. All citrus and raspberry lime are both quite tart (and refreshing!), the watermelon rosemary and pineapple mint are the sweetest, and the blackberry sage has the mildest flavour (that may be because out-of-season blackberries weren’t very flavorful). Enjoy all of these varieties;. You can get creative and use this same simple method for combining all kinds of fruits and herbs.
How long will they keep?: Put a lid on them, put them in the fridge, and they will keep for up to 3 days. It only takes a few minutes to make several varieties to keep on hand. No more boring water for you!
