Dice fresh watermelon into 4-cup portions—I use a chef's knife to cut roughly 1-inch chunks. Removing seeds saves time later since the blender struggles with them.

Combine watermelon, water, and sugar in your blender on high for 90 seconds. The mixture should turn uniformly pink with no visible fruit chunks remaining.

Strain the puree through fine mesh into a medium saucepan, pressing gently with a rubber spatula to extract maximum juice. This removes any remaining seeds and fibrous bits that interrupt the popsicle experience.

Whisk agar-agar powder directly into the cold puree before heating—this prevents lumping. I learned the hard way that adding it to hot liquid creates grainy texture throughout.

Heat the mixture over medium-low for exactly 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Watch for tiny bubbles appearing around the edges—don't let it boil hard or you'll burn the delicate watermelon flavor.

Remove from heat and stir in honey, lemon juice, lime zest, sea salt, mint leaves, lime juice, and coconut milk. The residual heat releases mint oils, deepening the herbaceous notes that make these special.

Pour the mixture through a fine mesh strainer into a measuring cup, pressing mint leaves gently to extract flavor. Let the liquid cool to room temperature for 15 minutes before pouring into popsicle molds.

Insert wooden sticks when the mixture is just beginning to set—usually 45 minutes into freezing. This prevents sticks from floating or tipping during the full 6-8 hour freeze cycle.