The Best Homemade Lemonade Recipe

When living in Japan, I realized that Japanese sweets and drinks are not nearly as sweet as their Western counterparts. My Japanese wife makes this lemonade and it is definitely made for Japanese tastes. I believe this is the best homemade lemonade recipe, however, it is quite different in sweetness compared to Western recipes. It’s a very refreshing drink. Please try it! If it is not sweet enough, you can always add more sugar.

While you will add sugar in this recipe, it is much lower than other recipes found online. I read through some of the most popular homemade lemonade recipes written in English and they add 1 CUP of sugar for ~2-3 cups of water. That’s a lot of sugar. This recipe contains much less sugar and reminds more of a slightly sweetened tea as opposed to lemonade that I drank as a kid.

Tips for Making this Best Homemade Lemonade Recipe

• We made this recipe with both cold water and unsweetened carbonated (sparkling) water. Either work well and taste great.
• You can also add the lemon syrup to your favorite tea to include a slightly sweet, lemony flavor.
• In the winter you can add the syrup to hot water for a warm, comforting drink. In the summer you can add it to cold water or sparkling water for a cool, refreshing drink.
• Japanese sometimes add ginger and the lemon syrup into hot water for children who have colds. It’s easy to drink and warms you up.
• In Japan, we often add the lemons and sugar into water overnight. This method works as well, but takes 24 hours to make. The recipe presented in this article takes much less time to make.
• We have a mint plant at home and added a mint leaf on top of the lemonade. If you also have a mint plant, I recommend add a small amount to your drink. The mint makes the drink even more refreshing!