I always like to plant a little mint in my garden because it’s easy to grow (gives me confidence with some of the trickier plants), smells great and is perfect for making mojitos. Mojitos are one of my favorite summertime drinks. They’re easy to make with just a few ingredients that can be put together by hand, and the combination of fresh mint and fresh lime juice is incredibly refreshing.

Mojitos are start by muddling - or mashing - mint leaves and sugar at the bottom of a cocktail glass to release their natural oils. Fresh lime juice and rum are added to the mixture, then the cocktail is topped off with club soda. Like other cocktails, it’s fun to dress up the classic every once in a while with a little twist. In this case, I put a raspberry twist on my mojito. I added fresh raspberries to the sugar and mint leaves at the bottom of the glass and muddled them all together before adding the liquids. This added a little extra sweet fruitiness (and a lot of color), without losing any of the refreshing elements of the classic.

Sometimes, I will use a bigger glass and increase the amount of club soda in the drink so that I have something I can sip for a long time on a hot afternoon (usually a better option than having multiple drinks!). If you want to make a nonalcoholic version of this drink, I would recommend using either lime-flavored sparkling water or a soda like sprite in place of the club soda. The lime sparkling water would be my first choice, since it’s not too sweet. Either option will add some extra flavor to the drink that you lose when you omit the rum.

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An Orange Julius is a frothy cold orange juice drink that tastes kind of like a creamsicle, except much lighter and much better. The company that makes them - also named Orange Julius - has been making these drinks since 1926. I remember getting so excited when I was a little kid and saw an Orange Julius stand. Absolutely nothing was more refreshing on a hot day. These days, O.J. is owned by Dairy Queen and, for whatever reason, there really aren’t any in my area anymore. So when I want one, I make up a batch at home using fresh orange juice.

The first time I made an Orange Julius at home was four years ago, almost to the day. At the time, I used a recipe from a Top Secret Recipes book, but I ended up tweaking it just a bit over time to get the exact consistency I want. The changes are very minor because the recipe is very simple: orange juice, water, sugar, egg white, vanilla and ice. Fresh orange juice is the key to getting the best flavor possible, so use it if you can. The egg is the key to the drink’s consistency. I still use a whole egg white in mine, but any pasturised egg white product will give you the frothiness that makes the drink unique.

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Drinking chocolate is a variation on hot chocolate that is usually richer, and less sweet than hot cocoa. The main ingredient, aside from milk, is chocolate, rather than cocoa powder or sugar. It’s a great cold weather treat because it’s basically a liquid dessert, a hot liquid dessert that warms you up with every sip!

I use a combination of dark chocolate and milk chocolate to get a good balance of intense chocolatiness and sweetness. I find that using only dark chocolate can make the drink too bitter and require the addition of a lot of extra sugar. Milk chocolate might be too sweet on its own, but it adds some sweetness and some additional creaminess to the drink. I do add some sugar to my drinking chocolate, as well as some cocoa powder. The finished drink is very creamy and chocolaty, but it’s not so rich that you can’t drink a whole mug full of it. A bit of whipped cream on top is a nice finishing touch.

You can make a single serving in a mug as long as you stir well to mix in all the chocolate, but it’s a bit easier to make this drink in a small saucepan - especially since you can double the quantities to serve some friends or family. As with most chocolate-centric treats, use good quality chocolate because you can really taste it.

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Limeade isn’t nearly as common as lemonade, but everyone I know that is a fan of the lemon juice drink is at least as appreciative of limeade, if not moreso. The drinks are virtually the same - lemon/lime juice, sugar, water and ice - but limeade is a bit brighter and tangier than lemonade. It often tastes less sweet than lemonade, even with the same amount of sugar put in as a sweetener. For me, this makes it even more refreshing. It is perfect for cutting through rich or spicy foods.

Just as with lemonade, limeade is best when you start out with fresh limes.  Real lime juice gives the drink a fresher flavor than prebottled does.  If you’re going to try prebottled lime juice, you may as well just start out with a whole bottle of limeade and save some time (Simply Limeade is one of my favorites, if you are looking for a good bottled brand). Once you have your juice, you only need to stir in some sugar and dilute the mixture with water before chilling and drinking. I usually make a simply sugar syrup for lemonade, and I do pretty much the same thing for limeade, heating some of the water used just enough to dissolve all the granulated sugar. Sugar should be adjusted to taste, of course.

Limeade is great on its own, but can also be a good mixer for margaritas and other cocktails. It’s summery, but there is no reason that limeade can’t be enjoyed all year round as long as you can find juicy limes to start with.

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This is a quick-fix coffee drink for any chocolate lover and, in my humble opinion, a bit better than your average mocha. The drink has a rich sounding name - Chocolate Truffle Coffee - but is anything but complex. All it involves is melting some chocolate truffles into hot coffee. Truffles have such a strong chocolate flavor that they are a great way to add some sweetness and a burst of chocolate to a drink without any fuss.

The most basic chocolate truffles are made with chocolate and butter or cream. Slightly more interesting truffles have other ingredients to them to spice things up a bit. Common add-ins are liquors, fruit essences and vanilla. I tend to read the labels pretty closely when I’m buying truffles because they are simple and should have a short ingredient list - and chocolate should be the first thing on that list.  Try to choose truffles that are top-notch (they’re better for eating and will go better in your drink) and don’t be afraid to experiment with different flavors. The truffles I used for this cup were dark chocolate with a vanilla bean cream center. Yum! (more…)

In Berkeley, this drink is know as a Mocha Bianca, and I’m willing to bet it’s one of the more popular coffee drinks enjoyed on and around the UC Berkeley campus. Outside of Berkeley, coffee chains and independent coffee shops alike tend to call this drink a White Chocolate Mocha. No matter what you call it, it’s a tasty and simple drink to make. A White Chocolate Mocha Bianca (hybridizing the two names) is a classic mocha - a combination of coffee and chocolate - that uses white chocolate in place of cocoa powder, chocolate, chocolate syrup or some variant thereof.

This drink can be made as a latte, using espresso, or as a simple coffee drink using regular, brewed coffee. The white chocolate comes through a little bit bolder in the latte version of the drink, while the coffee flavor comes through more clearly in the coffee version. The method is the same for both options: melt white chocolate into milk, whisk until smooth and frothy, add coffee/espresso and serve. The great thing about this drink is that white chocolate is sweet on its own, so there is no need to add additional sugar, and its creaminess enhances the flavor of the milk.

I used low fat milk and Guittard white chocolate for this. Nonfat and whole milk will both work well. Nondairy milks like soy, almond and almond will work, too. Try to use the best quality white chocolate (with cocoa butter, as opposed to some kind of vegetable oil) you can get to get the best results. The measurements for coffee and espresso that I’ve given are approximate. Make the drink as strong, or as mild, as you like.
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