How can you make lemon tea?

Apr 21, 2017

In this post, the C&M team breaks down how to make your very own, fresh lemon tea (whether you want it warm or iced):

The best way to make lemon tea is to take some high quality loose leaf black tea (oolong tea and white tea can also work well) and brew as per the instructions provided. Now lemon tea can refer to:

Tea with lemon added as a “condiment”: Lemon juice is most often added to an Earl Grey tea and can be added to black teas, oolong teas and white teas.
Lemon tea that is “iced”: In this case the tea is brewed after which slices of lemon are added to the jug of brewed tea. This jug is then placed inside the refrigerator for 2–3 hours for optimal cooling.

I would do the following to make some great lemon tea (for upto 4 people):

Take ~12g of high-quality loose leaf black tea
Brew in a large teapot (using a strainer) for 2 and a half minutes (150 seconds)
Remove the leaves/strainer from the teapot
Pour the “brew” of tea into a jug with slices of lemon (3 slices, or half a lemon should do)
Let it sit there for 15 minutes (for warm lemon tea) and remove the lemon slices
Put the jug into the refrigerator for 2–3 hours (with 1/4 of the lemon this time) for “lemon iced tea”

Note: You could add small quantities of sugar, some natural honey, or hints of rose water to this for added sweetness as the lemon tea will be on the sour side.