Água de coco com hortelã — the coconut water of Ipanema
The clear water of a green coconut, fresh and slightly sweet, brightened with a squeeze of lime and a few mint leaves. The most thirst-quenching drink on Carioca beaches, served ice-cold.
The clear water of a green coconut, fresh and slightly sweet, brightened with a squeeze of lime and a few mint leaves. The most thirst-quenching drink on Carioca beaches, served ice-cold.
Ah, Ipanema… in the afternoon, when the sun beats down, nothing beats a nice fresh coconut. You crack it open with a sharp blow, slip in a straw, and drink that clear water with your feet in the sand. A little limão, a few hortelã leaves if you want to be fancy — and you just watch the sea. That's the quiet happiness of the Rio of my youth.
- •Green coconut — one per person (base drink)
- •Lime — a wedge (tangy freshness)
- •Mint (hortelã) — a few leaves (fragrance)
Água de coco com hortelã — the coconut water of Ipanema
The clear water of a green coconut, fresh and slightly sweet, brightened with a squeeze of lime and a few mint leaves. The most thirst-quenching drink on Carioca beaches, served ice-cold.
Why this dish? Astrud lived in Rio, in the Ipanema neighborhood immortalized by 'The Girl from Ipanema'. On that beach, fresh coconut water sipped through a straw is the most natural thing in the world — the drink of golden afternoons by the Atlantic.
Ah, Ipanema… in the afternoon, when the sun beats down, nothing beats a nice fresh coconut. You crack it open with a sharp blow, slip in a straw, and drink that clear water with your feet in the sand. A little limão, a few hortelã leaves if you want to be fancy — and you just watch the sea. That's the quiet happiness of the Rio of my youth.
Ingredients (period version)
- Green coconut — one per person (base drink)
- Lime — a wedge (tangy freshness)
- Mint (hortelã) — a few leaves (fragrance)
Ingredients
- Pure coconut water (ideally from green coconut, otherwise unsweetened bottled) — 750 ml (base drink)
- Lime — 1 (acidity)
- Fresh mint leaves — 8 (fragrance)
- Ice cubes — a handful (coolness)
Method
- If you have green coconuts, open them and collect the water; otherwise, use unsweetened pure coconut water well chilled.
- Gently crush the mint leaves between your fingers to release their fragrance.
- Mix the coconut water with the lime juice and mint.
- Serve very cold over ice cubes, with a straw.
How it was made : On Brazilian beaches, green coconut (coco verde) is sold split open on the spot, the water drunk directly through a straw — a popular custom well established in Rio by the 20th century. Mint and lime are more recent additions, a homemade refreshment twist.
The contemporary twist : Pour into a hollowed-out coconut shell and insert a bamboo straw with a thin lime slice on the rim.
Astrud Gilberto · Charactorium
