Ingredients:
- 1 cup (240 ml) water
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar
- 1 cup packed fresh basil leaves (about one small bunch), lightly packed

Steps:
1. Rinse basil leaves and pat dry to remove excess water. Remove any bruised or brown leaves.
2. In a small saucepan, combine the water and sugar. Heat over medium, stirring until the sugar is fully dissolved and the mixture just comes to a simmer. Do not boil vigorously.
3. Remove the saucepan from heat. Add the basil leaves to the hot syrup and press them gently with a spoon to submerge and release oils.
4. Let the basil steep in the syrup for 20–45 minutes, tasting after 20 minutes for desired intensity. Steeping longer yields a stronger, greener flavor; very long steeps (over 1 hour) can become vegetal/bitter for some palates.
5. Once the flavor is to your liking, strain the syrup through a fine-mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a clean container to remove solids. Press gently to extract liquid, then discard solids.
6. Let syrup cool to room temperature, transfer to a sterilized bottle or jar, and refrigerate.

Optional variations/tips:
- For a brighter, less ‘green’ flavor, briefly blanch basil in boiling water for 5–10 seconds, shock in ice water, drain, then add to the hot syrup to steep.
- For a darker, more concentrated syrup, use a 2:1 sugar-to-water ratio (2 cups sugar to 1 cup water) and follow the same infusion steps.
- Freeze portions in an ice cube tray for longer-term storage and easy dosing.