Yuja-cha is concentrated Korean tea made from the yuja fruit. It’s bright, sweet, tangy, and has a strong and unique citron flavor and aroma. If you have eaten kumquats the rinds of yuja have a similar taste and numbing bitterness.

Fresh yuja-cha is a traditional Korean tea made with yuja (also known as yuzu in Japanese), a hybrid citrus that’s a cross between a mandarin and ichang papeda, a hardy lemon-scented fruit. But finding it here in the states is almost impossible unless you’re smuggling it in – the prized China-native is illegal to import into the country,

There isn’t much juice in the fruit – and the small amount that’s there is overwhelmingly sour. But its lumpy rind is full of aromatic oils and carries a distinct floral, sweet-yet-tart flavor that creates the distinctive taste found in yuja-cha.

Fortunately, we have a great substitute in Florida, the Meyer lemon, whose rind is much smoother and thinner and contains much more juice has that floral tart flavor similar to the Citron. To help achieve a similar texture of concentrate I will juice some of the lemons to use in another recipe.

The traditional marmalade like concentrate is one that you can drink the tea and eat everything in the cup except the seeds. Rinds, pulp, segments are broken down. Like yuja the Meyer lemon rind once cooked is edible. In fact, it’s very pleasant taste.

If you’re interested in this concentrate and don’t have access to citrus this is a great product for a pinch hit. And while it isn’t going to be better than making it yourself, since we can’t easily get yuju here this will allow you the opportunity to taste this fruit.

Ingredients

• Equal parts sliced Meyer lemon and sugar.

Directions

1. Slice the Meyer lemon thinly. Remove as many seeds as you can find. Add to a bowl.
   
2. Add sugar. Mix.
   

Serve:

1. Add a couple tablespoons of yuja-cha in a cup or glass. Stir with boiling hot water. Serve right away, with a small spoon. You can drink the tea and eat the rinds and pulp with the spoon.
2. It will keep in the fridge for a couple months.

This time of year, cold weather provides an excellent excuse to cozy in and give your body something hot, soothing, and healthy: a well-loved tea. Here are some other ways to use this concentrate:

Citrus Season: During citrus season in Florida, we tend to be overloaded with citrus so this is an easy way to use it up. Makes for a great mason jar gift for the holiday season.

Iced Tea: A tea concentrate lends itself to a quick glass of iced tea. Simply shake the concentrate with a small amount of water to blend it, pour over ice, and add extra filtered water. That’s it!

Instant Latte: add hot milk to your tea concentrate for an instant latte.

Butter Tea: Much like the bulletproof coffee made with Kerrygold butter, you can blend your concentrate with butter and hot water for instant. Mmmm Yummy!

Make it healthier: The healing properties of herbs, roots, seeds, and barks can be harnessed in a concentrate — which provides emotional comfort and balance as well as physical benefits. I like to add ginger to a batch for cold season. Cinnamon, vanilla, turmeric, cardamom, and a host of spices and herbs can be added to your concentrate for an extra dose of healthy goodness.

Cocktails and Mocktails: Alcoholic drinks or non-alcoholic mocktails are also an amazing life saver for anyone who is put in charge of making drinks when friends come over. My family loves gin basil smashes. Having this concentrate lets me make these much faster than juicing a lemon for everyone who wants a drink.

• When ready to serve hot tea, fill a mug 1/3 of the way with tea concentrate and add boiling water until full.
• For a tea latte, use warmed raw milk or coconut milk instead of water.
• For iced tea, fill a 16-ounce glass with ice cubes and add 3/4 cup tea concentrate. Then add filtered water to the top, or use milk for an iced tea latte.
• for cocktails and mocktails, put concentrate, herbs or spices, juice, water, or alcohol in a shaker and shake away until blended. Serve up or over ice.