Healthy honey lemon tea provides a quite excellent sweet and sour taste. This drink has been one of the best memories from my childhood.
After passing the Beginning of Autumn (立秋) in Chinese lunar calendar, we are enjoying a cool night. The weather changes a lot in one day and it becomes really dry. And unluckily, Elaine got a really bad cold last week, which further triggered my chronic pharyngitis. The cough was really hard to overcome. However the good news was that I got this honey lemon tea on hand, which can be a healthy home remedy. Though this tea can be served cold, drinking a cup of warm honey lemon tea in the morning can benefit our body greatly especially when fighting against with cough like me. So I feel it is necessary to bring this simple but healthy drink to your guys.
Back to the old days, we kept bees outside our house and use the lemon harvested in our filed to make this healthy tea. Our local lemon was much smaller than those bought from Wal-Mart market (import from the US) nowadays, and had a bitter taste. In Chinese cuisine, we do not use lemon juice to cooking frequently. Persevering the lemon slices in honey has been the most popular way to use those lemons. To me, this sweet and sour drink is the best and yummiest thing.Sometimes, I even paint some on steamed buns. My mom used to make a really large jar, persevering more than 5 pounds lemon one time. You can make a smaller batch using a 1 liter or 2 liter jar.
Honey Lemon Tea
Print Recipe
Ingredients
- 500 g honey or as needed
- 500 g lemon sliced
- salt for washing the lemon
- a large air-tight jar
Instructions
- Cook the jar in boiling water for several seconds and let it dry naturally.
- Wear your gloves and then wash the lemon with pinch of salt on surface;set aside to dry.
- Prepare a clean board and slice the lemons. Lay lemon slices in the bottle of the jar and pour enough honey to cover. Cover the jar and keep in fridge. Every two days, stir the lemon and honey from bottom to top with a clean scoop or chop sticker.
- Enjoy after one week but this can be kept for over a month as long as you are using a clean scoop every time.
- When serving, use warm water (around 60 degree C) to make a warm drink at first (1 tablespoon liquid+2 lemon slices and 1 cup warm water). And if you prefer a cold drink, add ice cubes. Using cold water directly is not recommended.
When serving, scoop on tablespoons of the honey and two or three slices of lemon. Pour around 1 cup warm water. My favorite serving method is with peppermint. For iced version, please make the hot tea firstly and then add ice cubes.
Besides, you can use this as a natural sweetness for red tea or black tea.
Susanne
Thank you so much for sharing this. I'll adopt it right away and start a batch as soon as possible to be prepared for the next cold.
By the way, do you know Moroccan preserved lemons? I think they would fit for Chinese food, too. Here's a fine description how to prepare them http://www.daringgourmet.com/2014/04/08/how-to-make-preserved-lemons-moroccan-middle-eastern-cooking/
Have a nice day.
Elaine
Hi Susanne,
Thanks for the information. This is quite interesting. Using salt is a smart way. We use salt to preserve vegetables, root food but never lemon. I will try this and see how it tastes. Thanks again.
Susanne
If you like it, I will be happy about having been able to give you something in return for your wonderful blog and all the effort you put in it.
The preserved lemons change flavour quite a bit into something very harmonic, warm and deep. Besides the moroccan stews, I have used them - chopped very finely - in soy based marinades and dip sauces, which worked out very well. Steamed fish and chicken also.
Elaine
Thanks Susanne. This is valuable information. Adding some lemon pieces in dip sauces can make meat even better. As a foodie, it is really happy to find new ways to cook.
Frances
Can't wait to try this! I usually make lemon honey tea by using slices of fresh lemon, but it seems like your method will allow for the infusion of the honey into the lemon and will be tastier. Thanks for sharing!
Elaine
Hi Frances,
Yes, this is a recipe passed by generations. The combined flavor of lemon and honey really wins.
Jeff
I love having this after exercise. My wife always makes this for me.
Elaine
Thanks for the feedback,Jeff. Glad you love it too.
RW
It talks about wearing your cloves but no instructions for cloves or amount. Please elaborate.
Elaine
Hi RW,
Since we need to clear the lemons with salt, so it would be better to wear gloves. That's a typo. I have updated the recipe.
Lynne
Can I blend the lemon flesh and then add the thinly sliced peel and then pour the honey over it
Elaine
I guess this. But the taste can be slightly different.
kanya
i dont know why when i tried making this , it tasted so bitter 🙁
Elaine
Pick the seeds of the lemon out. It is caused by the lemon.