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A glass of Japanese yuzu tea in a glass cup.
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5 from 2 votes

Yuzu Tea (Korean Yuja Cha)

Yuzu Tea, or Korean Honey Citron tea/ Yuza Tea/ Korean Yuja Cha, is a delicious, refreshing citron tea with a unique flavor. As yuzu can be difficult to find (and expensive!), I've shown you how to make it with fresh yuzu fruit as well as from yuzu concentrate and citrus substitutes.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time5 minutes
"Dissolving" time1 day
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Asian, Japanese, korean
Calories: 140kcal
Author: Zen

Equipment

  • Sterilized glass jar
  • Knife and cutting board

Ingredients

For the Yuzu Tea

  • 1 Tablespoon Yuzu syrup Shop-bought or homemade. See below for what you need to make yuzu cheong at home.
  • 1 Cup Water

For homemade Yuzu Syrup

  • 1 Cup fresh yuzu
  • 1 Cup Honey Use a neutral honey if you prefer Korean style, rock sugar if you want Japanese yuzu tea, or regular sugar for a quicker syrup.

Instructions

To make the yuzu fruit syrup

  • Optional: like with my maesil, I like to soak the yuzu fruit in baking soda to remove pesticides. Rinse well after then dry carefully. Remove any brown pieces of skin.
  • Cut the fruit in half, then half again (i.e. you get 4 quarters.)
  • Julienne the peels, removing the seeds and the pith (the latter will make the tea too bitter.) Keep any juice that runs out.
  • Blend the pulp and the juice.In a sterilised glass jar, layer the peel followed by a layer of honey/ sugar- you will need equal amounts of the two- then another layer of yuzu etc till the jar is full.
    Note: Make sure the top layer is sugar/ honey so no fruit is exposed.
  • Leave out for 1 day: it can take longer if you make a big batch.
  • Stir every day with a sterilized dry spoon till dissolved- then store in the fridge.You can eat it immediately but the flavor won't have fully developed. I suggest waiting at least 10 days.
    Note: if using rock sugar, it will take about 2 weeks at room temeperature to "dissolve."

To make yuzu tea

  • Combine at least 1 Tablespoon of yuzu cheong (including the bits of fruit) with 1 Cup of water, sitrring well.

Notes

Storage: If you use a sterilized glass jar to store the syrup, it can last for 1-2 months in the fridge. Discard if there is mold or it smells weird.
Note: the nutritional information is an estimate automatically calculated using the WPRM recipe maker and I am not responsible for its accuracy.

Nutrition

Calories: 140kcal | Carbohydrates: 43g | Protein: 4g | Fat: 0.2g | Saturated Fat: 0.04g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 17mg | Potassium: 134mg | Fiber: 11g | Sugar: 17g | Vitamin A: 256IU | Vitamin C: 78mg | Calcium: 90mg | Iron: 1mg