A cold lemon tea is one of the drinks I always get when I go to a Hong Kong-style cafe. Along with Chinese almond milk, it's one of my favorite drinks to get. The recipe is super easy to make and tastes exactly like the ones at the cafe. I love to make this in the summer. All you need is black tea, sugar, and lemon.

tall glass of lemon tea with lemon slices and ice cubes.

I'm so happy to finally be sharing my Hong Kong lemon tea recipe! I've been holding off on posting it because I wanted to go to a Hong Kong-style cafe one more time before I shared it (just to make sure my memory of it was still the same). Well, last week, after helping my wife's grandma move, we went to a cafe, and I was able to order again. I can definitely say I was not adding enough sugar, but otherwise, my recipe tastes exactly the same, and I will never be ordering it again.

What type of tea to use?

My personal favorite is Lipton Yellow Label black tea. I heard a long time ago that that's what Hong Kong cafes used, so I've been using it ever since. In reality, you could probably use any type of black tea you want. The important thing is to add enough sugar, lol.

Dissolving sugar in hot tea

Many recipes will have you create a simple syrup separately but you can actually just dissolve the sugar while the tea is brewing. The only downside is that you can't control the sugar level between drinks, but I don't think Hong Kong-style cafes even allow that. The sugar level is always the same in each drink and it's pretty sweet.

Hong Kong-style Lemon Tea

Don't waste anymore money at a Hong Kong-style cafe. You can make this for way cheaper at home.

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Prep Time 5

Cook Time 10

Total Time 15

Course Drinks

Cuisine Cantonese

Servings 6 people

Ingredients

10 cups cold water
1 ½ cups sugar
14 black tea bags (or ½ cup of leaves)
3 large lemons (sliced into thin rounds)

Instructions

In a medium pot, add 6 cups of the cold water and the sugar. Bring to a boil, then remove from the heat.
Add the tea bags and steep for 10 minutes undisturbed.
Remove the tea bags (do not squeeze them, or else the drink will be cloudy) and add the remaining 4 cups of cold water.
To make a tea, add 4-5 lemon slices to a large cup. Add ice and fill with the sweetened tea. Serve with a straw, and make sure you poke the lemon to release the flavor. Enjoy!

Notes

P.S I know the sugar amount sounds crazy but if we are replicating the Hong Kong cafe then you should add the full 1 ½ cups otherwise it will not be sweet enough.

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