LAB NOTES: Agua Fresca First Take

Hello All, Wayne AKA the Mad Food Scientist here.
This time around, I am exploring agua fresca, a refreshing drink I’d never heard of before a week or so ago. A coworker gave me her family’s recipe for Watermelon Chia agua fresca.The idea intrigued me, but I wasn’t feeling watermelon this week. So, I went to YouTube and watched a fair few video on how to make different versions of agua fresca. It started out that I was going to make Strawberry chia seed agua fresca, but after watching videos from the Views On The Road YouTube channel about cucumber agua fresca and strawberry agua fresca, I decided to make cucumber, strawberry, chia seed agua fresca. Then when I went to my local grocery store they had mangos on sale for a very nice price.
As you can see from the above, recipes tend to evolve when I get ahold of them…
I kitbashed this recipe together.

LAB NOTES: Mango, cucumber, strawberry, chia seed agua fresca 30 July, 2023
INGREDIENTS: 
1 kg Strawberries
3 English Cucumbers
4 Mangos
2 tsp Kosher salt ( Divided )
5.5 Litres chilled water
6 TBSP Chia seeds
6 TBSP Rich Simple Syrup
4 Limes 

Method: 
Put 1.5 litres of water in a big bowl, dissolve 1 tsp of kosher salt into the water. Put the strawberries in the bowl. Allow to soak for at least fifteen minutes.
Drain and rinse after the fifteen minutes are up.
Take two large cups and add 226g of water to each. To each put in 3 TBSP of chia seeds. Stir and set aside for later. 
Prep the fruit.
Tip and tail the cucumbers.
Peel and cut 1 and a half cucumbers into chunks place in a large bowl.
Repeat with the remainder of the cucumber.
Hull the soaked, drained and rinsed strawberries, cut into quarters. Put half the strawberries into each of the bowls with the cucumber chunks.
Cut up and peel the mangos, two mangos per bowl of strawberries and cucumber chunks.

Empty one of the bowls of fruit into the blender jar, add 1/2 tsp of kosher salt. Pour in about .5 to .75 litres of chilled water.
Blend three to five minutes until the fruit is smooth>
Pour into a large bowl with extra room. Juice two limes into the bowl, add one of the cups of water and chia seeds into the bowl. 
Add another litre of chilled water.
Whisk, then taste. At this point you can add sweetener.
I chose to add three TBSP’s of rich simple syrup. 
This gives just a hint of sweetness, but not too much. It is very refreshing.
Pour the 2 litres of agua fresca into a bottle.
Repeat the process with the remaining fruit, lime juice, rich simple syrup, water, chia and water mixture. Taste test and then bottle.

FINAL THOUGHTS: 
Some of the agua fresca videos on YouTube strained the blended fruit/water mix. I chose not to do so. If you wish to do so, go right ahead.
I will be making more agua fresca in the future, perhaps, not this exact mix of ingredients.
This drink is so very refreshing. It is great by itself, but mixing in between 1/3t ro 1/2 a glass of soda water kicks it up to another level.
I’m going to give you advice that counters what your parent’s may have taught you.
Please, PLAY with your food!!!!