Fresh Lemon Honey Tea

Why people make this tea

This is about as easy as food therapy gets. You scrub fresh lemons clean, slice them, pack them into a glass jar and cover with pure honey — by the next day it is ready to use. Bro Niu loves it because that one jar becomes the base for dozens of drinks: stir a spoonful into passionfruit, fresh lemongrass, kumquat, verbena, turmeric, green tea or black tea, and you have something both tasty and comforting. Give it a try when you have a quiet afternoon.

Who it suits / who should be cautious

• Anyone wanting a soothing, refreshing honey-lemon drink base to keep on hand
• Use a clean, dry utensil every time — no raw water — to keep it safe and shelf-stable

Why these ingredients (the food-therapy logic)

• Fresh lemon (xian ning meng): traditionally valued as a refreshing, brightening fruit that is gentle and pleasant in tea.
• Pure honey (feng mi): long associated with soothing the throat and is the preserving medium here; choose genuine, pure honey.

Ingredients (1 jar)

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Fresh lemons	a few	scrubbed with fine salt, dried, sliced
Pure honey	to cover	use genuine pure honey

Method

1. Scrub the lemon skins clean with a little fine salt, then wipe completely dry.
2. Slice the lemons and pack into a clean, dry glass jar.
3. Pour in pure honey to cover. Cover and leave overnight — it is ready the next day.
4. To serve, spoon out as a base and mix with passionfruit, fresh lemongrass, kumquat, verbena, turmeric, green tea or black tea.

Bro Niu’s tips

Use genuine pure honey for steeping. Every time you scoop some out, make sure the spoon and any container are clean and free of raw water, so it stays safe to eat. In Hong Kong’s warm, humid weather it keeps better in the fridge for about a week. The lemon juice tends to weep out so the honey settles to the bottom in two layers — just give it a stir before using.

Community questions answered (selected)

• Q (Mandy): Hi Bro Niu, does the lemon-in-honey need to go in the fridge? How long does it keep? Bro Niu: Hong Kong is warm and humid, so the fridge is better — about a week. The lemon water weeps out and the honey sinks, so it splits into two layers; stir before using.
• Q (May): The weather isn’t cold yet but the soles of my feet are already very cold; I’ve been soaking them before bed. Any food therapy to help? Bro Niu: You can simmer a soup with astragalus (bei qi) ~19 g, cinnamon twig (gui zhi) ~11 g, codonopsis (dang shen) ~11 g and 5 red dates with lean pork; take 2–3 doses.
• Q (anonymous): Bro Niu, if lymph nodes are inflamed, what can I cook to drink? Bro Niu: Inflamed lymph nodes are best seen by a doctor for anti-inflammatory treatment, which clears up quickly. Food therapy can only support: try self-heal spike (xia ku cao) ~19 g, a quarter monk fruit (luo han guo) and thunberg fritillary (zhe bei mu) ~15 g, simmered from 5 bowls of water down to 2; take 2–3 doses. Please also see a doctor.

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Published September 19, 2024 · Adapted and translated for Nourilo from a traditional home-kitchen recipe. Approx. 3 min read.