FEIJOA-LEAF SODA

SERVES 4 / PREPARATION 5 MINUTES PLUS COOLING TIME

Feijoa trees, like citrus, secretly hold the flavour of their fruit all year round. Their leaves, when crushed, are home to the most zesty feijoa scent, like the essence of feijoa skin.

200g sugar

1 teaspoon citric acid

30 feijoa leaves

soda water, to serve

Dissolve the sugar and citric acid in 320ml hot water and allow to cool. Place in a blender with the feijoa leaves and blend for a few minutes, really giving it some time to extract the essence out of those tough leaves. Pour through a fine cloth or strainer.

To serve, pour over ice and mix with soda water. I went for about 1 part syrup to 2 parts soda water, but you can adjust this ratio depending on how intense you like it.