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Lemon tea and the lemon soft drinks

Lemon tea and the lemon soft drinks

凍檸茶 · 檸七 · 檸賓
Brewed and pouredDrinksBreakfastLunchAfternoon teaDinnerHot or coldWeeknightKids like itEasyhands-on 10 min · start to finish 20 min

“Get the tea smooth and it is a real café.”

Ingredientsserves 1

雜貨舖Ceylon black tea· for the tea concentrate, about six glasses; coarse and medium Ceylon leaf, or the milk-tea blend30 g
街市Lemon· per glass, in five or six thin rounds; a whole, juicy, unblemished fruit½
雜貨舖Sugar· or 2–3 tbsp of 1:1 sugar syrup, to taste2 tbsp

Equipment

  • A long spoon, for pressing the lemon

Method

  1. The drinks bar keeps a jug of tea concentrate and a tub of sliced lemon; a glass is built in twenty seconds and the pressing is the customer's job. The concentrate: 30 g of black tea in 800 ml of boiling water, steeped eight minutes and strained; cooled, refrigerated, and used within two days.
  2. Slice the lemon thin, five or six rounds a glass, and put them in the bottom of the glass with the sugar or syrup.
  3. Press two or three times with the long spoon, enough to release juice and oil and no more; stabbing it hard draws the bitterness out of the pith and turns the whole glass astringent.
  4. Fill with ice, pour in about 80 ml of concentrate, top with water or more tea, and stir once.
  5. Hot lemon tea: 80 ml of concentrate topped with 120 ml of hot water in a mug, no ice, lemon pressed the same way.
  6. 檸七: four pressed lemon slices, ice, a can of 7-Up; for 鹹檸七 mash a salted lemon into the glass first. 檸賓: four lemon slices, two or three tablespoons of Ribena concentrate, ice, then water or soda water. 檸蜜: lemon slices, honey, hot water.
  7. The quick home version: two or three tea bags steeped strong with the sugar in half a cup of boiling water is the concentrate; press the lemon in the glass with a spoon, add ice, pour.

Take care

  • No allergens in the tea itself; Ribena contains blackcurrant and sugar. 檸七 and 檸賓 are sugary soft drinks. Keep the tea concentrate refrigerated and use it within two days. Black tea contains caffeine.

The story

Iced lemon tea is the Hong Kong summer in a glass, and the long spoon that comes with it, for pressing the lemon, is a small ritual every child learns. 檸七 and 檸賓 are the children's versions, a can of 7-Up or a splash of Ribena with the same lemon, and 鹹檸七, with a salted lemon mashed in, is the glass Hong Kong people order when they are tired. 明報's tasters judged the city's lemon teas on colour, tea aroma, lemon aroma and the sweet aftertaste, which tells you how seriously it is taken.

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Lo Fo Tong is cultural food-heritage reference, not medical advice. If you are pregnant, unwell or on medication, talk to your doctor or registered practitioner before changing what is in the pot.