Honey Citron Tea from Scratch

4.79 from 19 votes

Korean Honey Citron Tea is an herbal drink made with yuzu or yuja fruit.

Prep Time7

Total Time7

Course: Drinks

Cuisine: Korean

Servings: servings

Author: Jee Choe

Clean and slice citron fruit. Discard the seeds.
Since we're using the entire fruit including the peel, make sure it's thoroughly cleaned. I like to clean it by spraying it with vinegar then scrubbing it clean under running water. Cut citron in half, then in thin slices.
Mix all ingredients in a bowl.
In a bowl, mix together the sliced yuzu, sugar, and honey until well combined. The honey and sugar will break down the yuzu peel, making it soft.
Stir 1 tablespoon of citron tea in a cup of hot water.
Citron fruit peel can be eaten.

This citrus fruit is not easy to find and when you do, it's pretty pricey. I paid $5.50 for EACH at a Japanese market. Try looking for them in Korean supermarkets too.
The citron tea will last about a month in the refrigerator in an airtight container.
You can make the citron tea by using all sugar or all honey but making it with all honey completely masks the yuzu flavor.
Use brown sugar instead of white if that's what you have but it'll change the color of the tea.
To make iced honey citron tea, make a syrup by diluting 2 tablespoons of sweetened citron in 2 tablespoons of hot water. Add cold water and pour into a cup with ice. It's a great hot weather drink.
Giant glass jars of this herbal tea is sold in Asian markets and even Costco if you don't want to make it from scratch.
The biggest difference between homemade and store-bought is the cost. A store-bought jar costs about $8 and can make about 35 servings. My version costs about $12 and can make a whopping 6 servings. Ha. You won't save money by making it but you'll know every ingredient that goes into the homemade version.