Hemp Lemonade with Watermelon and CBD: Summer Drink
Lemonade with watermelon, hemp oil, and CBD oil. A recipe in 10 minutes, a way to combine oil with a watery base, and what studies say about fat.
Watermelon in lemonade does three things at once: it colors, sweetens without adding sugar, and brings in lycopene. A teaspoon of hemp oil adds omega acids, and at the same time, fat, without which lycopene is poorly absorbed. CBD oil drops are the third element that turns an ordinary drink into something to sip in the evening, rather than on the go. The entire recipe takes ten minutes and requires nothing but a blender and a strainer. Below you will find proportions for two large glasses, a way to combine oil with a watery base, and what studies say about the absorption of fatty components. I will also state directly what this text does not do: it does not provide a CBD dosage.
KEY INFORMATION
• Watermelon contains 4.53 mg of lycopene and 30 kcal per 100 g (USDA FoodData Central, record 167765).
• Hemp oil has over 80% polyunsaturated fatty acids, and the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio usually ranges from 2:1 to 3:1 (Callaway, Euphytica, 2004).
• Adding fat to a meal with lycopene increased its absorption 4.4 times in eleven healthy individuals (Unlu, Journal of Nutrition, 2005).
• EFSA adopted a temporary safe dose of CBD in 2026 of 0.0275 mg per kilogram of body weight per day, or about 2 mg for a person weighing 70 kg.
Why do watermelon and hemp oil go well together in a drink?
Because one works worse without the other. Watermelon is one of the strongest sources of lycopene in fruits: the USDA FoodData Central database reports 4.53 mg of lycopene, 30 kcal, and 8.1 mg of vitamin C per 100 g (record 167765). Lycopene is a lipophilic pigment, so it needs fat for absorption, and watermelon has 0.15 g per 100 g, which is practically zero.
The scale of this effect was measured by the team of Unlu (Journal of Nutrition, 2005) in two crossover studies with eleven healthy volunteers. Adding 150 g of avocado to tomato salsa increased the area under the curve of lycopene concentration in triglyceride-rich lipoprotein fractions 4.4 times within 9.5 hours after the meal, and beta-carotene 2.6 times. Both avocado flesh and avocado oil worked the same way, so a teaspoon of any oil serves the same role in the drink as a fatty fruit.
For the absorption of lycopene alone, any fat would suffice, but hemp oil adds something more. Callaway (Euphytica, 2004) states that hemp seed oil contains over 80% polyunsaturated fatty acids, and the omega-6 to omega-3 ratio usually ranges from 2:1 to 3:1. The author himself calls this ratio optimal for human health, but that is his formulation, not a recommendation from any institution: neither WHO nor EFSA indicates a single correct value for this ratio. There is also a purely culinary reason. The nutty, slightly grassy taste of hemp oil balances the sweetness of watermelon better than neutral canola oil.
What is known about CBD in a fatty drink?
Only that fat in a meal changes exposure to cannabinoids, and that we do not know what amount of CBD is safe for everyone. These two things are worth separating because they blend into one sentence about “better bioavailability” on the internet.
The first was measured by the team of Zgaira (American Journal of Translational Research, 2016). Oral administration of lipids together with cannabinoids increased systemic exposure to CBD threefold in rats, and to THC 2.5 times, compared to a fat-free preparation. The authors considered the affinity of cannabinoids to rat and human chylomicrons comparable, which they believe allows for similar expectations in humans. This is still an animal study and should be read as such.
The second is fresher. The panel of EFSA on nutrition and novel foods established a temporary safe dose of CBD in 2026: 0.0275 mg per kilogram of body weight per day, or about 2 mg per day for a person weighing 70 kg, with an uncertainty factor of 400. This value applies only to supplements with at least 98% purity of CBD, without nanoparticles. The panel also states that the safety of CBD cannot be established for individuals under 25 years of age, for pregnant and breastfeeding women, and for those taking medications.
Therefore, this recipe does not provide a number of drops or milligrams per glass. You measure the amount according to the description on your oil package, and if you take any medications, ask your doctor or pharmacist first.
We noticed in tests a purely practical thing: oil dripped onto finished lemonade remains on the surface as a visible oily layer, while the same oil whisked beforehand with lemon juice disperses throughout the drink. This is an observation from the kitchen, not a measurement, but the difference is visible to the naked eye.
What do you need for two glasses?
The list is short and fits entirely in a regular grocery store. Buy ripe watermelon, as its sweetness determines how much honey will need to be added. You can substitute lemons for limes if you prefer a sharper citrus aroma.
- 300 g of watermelon flesh, without skin and seeds
- juice from 2 lemons or 3 limes, about 80 ml
- 1 teaspoon of cold-pressed hemp oil
- 200 ml of cold mineral water, sparkling or still
- 1-2 teaspoons of honey or maple syrup, to taste
- a handful of fresh mint
- ice for the glasses
- CBD oil 5%, in the amount specified on the package by the manufacturer
- optionally a slice of ginger and a pinch of sea salt
Instead of oil, you can use 50 ml of hemp drink from seeds. The effect is different: the drink gives a creamy, milky consistency and a milder taste, while the oil leaves the lemonade clear and distinct. Add honey at the end and after tasting, as the sweetness of watermelon changes with the season and between fruits: with a ripe fruit from the height of summer, often half a teaspoon is enough for a jug, while with a pale one from the beginning of the season, two are needed. Chill the mineral water beforehand, as ice added to warm base will dilute the drink.
How to make hemp lemonade step by step?
The whole process takes ten minutes, half of which is spent blending and straining the watermelon. The order matters only in one place: you combine the oil with the lemon juice before it goes into the jug, and you add the CBD oil at the very end, directly to the glass.
- Cut 300 g of watermelon into pieces and blend for 30 seconds. Strain through a sieve over a jug. You can skip the sieve, then the drink will be thicker and retain more fiber.
- Squeeze the juice from two lemons. In a small glass, whisk a teaspoon of hemp oil with two tablespoons of this juice for half a minute until the liquid becomes cloudy.
- In the jug, combine watermelon juice, the rest of the lemon juice, the oil emulsion, mineral water, and honey. Stir with a long spoon or shake in a closed shaker for 10 seconds. Taste and adjust: more lemon for acidity, more honey for sweetness.
- Fill two large glasses with ice and pour in the lemonade. Add a few mint leaves and gently crush them with a teaspoon to release their aroma.
- Add CBD oil to each glass in the amount specified on the package and stir for a few seconds. Garnish with a wedge of watermelon and a slice of lemon and drink within fifteen minutes while the drink is cold.
How to modify this recipe for a different flavor?
The base of fruit and acid allows for many substitutions. Strawberries instead of watermelon, 150 g of fresh or frozen ones, give a more pronounced sweet-sour profile and a darker color; for this version, hemp drink works better than oil alone. If you want a mintier version, throw about fifteen mint leaves into the blender with the watermelon and strain everything together. Blended mint colors the drink greenish and releases aroma more strongly than leaves crushed in the glass, but it loses it after an hour in the fridge.
A recovery version after training in the heat is based on sparkling water, a pinch of sea salt, and a tablespoon of banana puree instead of part of the honey. Bubbles carry the mint aroma more strongly than still water, so use less mint then. If you prefer something thicker and more filling, instead of lemonade, make a green smoothie with hemp seeds, where fat and fiber come from the seeds themselves. Hemp oil also works in drinks without fruit, for example in cold brew with hemp oil, where its nutty note plays with the bitterness of coffee instead of sweetness.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does hemp oil mix with lemonade?
Not by itself. The oil is hydrophobic and when dripped into a finished drink, it collects on the surface. Whisking it beforehand with two tablespoons of lemon juice creates a cloudy, temporary emulsion that disperses throughout the lemonade and lasts for a few minutes. A vigorous shake in a shaker works similarly.
How much lycopene is in watermelon?
The USDA FoodData Central database reports 4.53 mg of lycopene per 100 g for raw watermelon (record 167765). This is more than in raw tomatoes, where the same database notes 2.57 mg per 100 g (record 170457). One hundred fifty grams of pulp per glass thus contains about 6.8 mg of this pigment.
Does fat in the drink change CBD absorption?
In rats, it clearly did. In the Zgaira (2016) study, oral administration of lipids together with cannabinoids increased systemic exposure to CBD threefold compared to a fat-free preparation. The authors considered the affinity of cannabinoids to human chylomicrons comparable to that of rats, so a similar direction can be expected in humans, but this work does not present the study on humans.
How many calories are in a glass of this lemonade?
One hundred fifty grams of watermelon per glass is about 45 kcal, based on USDA values for raw pulp (30 kcal per 100 g, record 167765). A teaspoon of any oil adds about 40 kcal. The rest depends solely on how much honey or syrup you add.
Can you make CBD lemonade a day in advance?
The base can be made: watermelon juice with lemon juice will last a day in the fridge in a closed jar. Add the CBD oil only to the glass just before serving, and drink the beverage within an hour or two. The oil diluted in a watery mixture loses freshness faster than in a tightly closed bottle.
Is this drink for everyone?
No. The EFSA panel stated in 2026 that the safety of CBD cannot be established for individuals under 25 years of age, for pregnant and breastfeeding women, and for those taking medications. If you belong to any of these groups, make this lemonade without CBD oil, and consult your doctor about adding it.
Oils with different concentrations of CBD can be found in our oils category. We do not have cold-pressed hemp oil or hemp seeds for sale.
This article is for informational and educational purposes and does not replace consultation with a doctor. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, taking medications, or have chronic conditions, consult the use of supplements or herbs with a specialist.
Author: Michał Waluk · Published: 2026-06-08 · Updated: 2026-08-16
