Cha Time! Three Tasty Teas for the Winter
As the weather grows colder, the desire to bundle up in warm covers with a cup of tea in hand also gets bigger. This month, The Kraze unveils a taste of Korea’s rich and diverse tea culture by presenting three types of tea with easy-to-follow recipes.
Korean Citron Tea (유자차, or Yuja Cha)
Tasty and especially popular in the winter, citron tea is an herbal tea known to be one of the most accessible types of traditional Korean drinks. It is simple to make and has many health benefits, which can be especially helpful as the winter draws nearer and brings along various colds and flus with it. Rich in vitamin C, citron tea has been ingrained in traditional Korean culture since the Goryeo Period. Its main ingredient, yuja, originates from China and is a citrus fruit similar to the citron. Yuja marmalade, or yuja cheong (유자청), is used in order to make the tea.
What You’ll Need
For the yuja marmalade:
● 5 yuja fruits, scrubbed clean
● 1/4 cup of water
● 3/4 cup of honey
What To Do
Slice the yuja fruits into thin quarters, leaving the peel but removing the seeds.
Make syrup from the honey and hot water.
Mix the syrup with the yuja slices in order to obtain a marmalade texture.
Store the marmalade in a container at room temperature for a day before storing it in the fridge for further use.
To make tea, mix one spoonful of yuja marmalade with one cup of water.
Recipe inspired by Naomi Imatome-Yun from The Spruce.
Korean Jujube Tea (대추차, or Daechu Cha)
Arguably the most popular herbal tea of Korea, jujube tea, is made, like its name suggests, jujubes, also known as Korean dates, or Chinese dates (called 대추, or daechu, in Korean). Jujubes are found in many Korean dishes, but it is also commonly used to make tea, due to its many medicinal attributes. It will charm many with its sweet taste and comforting aroma.
What You’ll Need
● 30 jujube dates, dried and pitted
● 1 or 2-inch piece of ginger, sliced
● 2-4 cinnamon sticks
What To Do
Bring a large pot of water to a boil with all the ingredients inside. The ginger and cinnamon are optional depending on personal taste.
After a while, lower the heat and let it simmer with the pot covered for 1-4 hours. The longer it simmers, the darker and richer the tea will be.
Serve warm or cold; keep in the fridge for conservation.
Recipe inspired by Masha Davydova from Golubka Kitchen.
Korean Ginger Tea (생강차, or Saenggang Cha)
Ginger tea isn’t exactly typically Korean—many other places in Asia, such as China or Indonesia as well as some parts of the Middle East have long adopted ginger tea in their traditional beverages. However, the fact remains that ginger tea (생강차, or saenggang cha in Korean) counts among the widely enjoyed teas in Korea. Even though it is now available in a powder mix form, traditional ginger tea is not only easy to make, but also has many natural medicinal attributes that the artificial product might fail to reproduce.
What You’ll Need
● 1 cup of puréed or sliced ginger
● 1 cup (or less) of honey
What To Do
Mix the ginger and honey thoroughly. This will become the main ingredient of the tea, which can be stored in the fridge in a glass jar for further use.
To make tea, mix between 2 to 3 spoonfuls of the ginger and honey mix into boiling water. Only serve the tea and not the ginger slices.
Recipe inspired by Maangchi from Maangchi.com.