Lemon Tea: Nutrition, disadvantages, Eastern and Western Culture

Hong Kong restaurant lemon tea

Lemon tea is a well-known restaurant drink in Hong Kong. It is also sold in packaged form (Ready to drink). It is a cultural symbol of Hong Kong and represents the unique food culture and lifestyle of Hong Kong people. It can be found in almost every Hong Kong-style cafe (tea restaurant / cha chaan teng), restaurant, and street stall. Hong Kong lemon tea is usually a mixture of black tea (Chinese: red tea), freshly sliced ​​lemons and sugar . The restaurant's hot lemon tea and iced lemon tea (frozen lemon tea) are both popular. Especially in the summer, it is one of the most popular beverage choices to cool down and quench your thirst.

Recipe: How to make restaurant-quality lemon tea?

Lemon tea made in Hong Kong generally uses black tea.

First, you should make a pot of black tea. The ratio of black tea to water is about 5 black tea bags ( such as Lipton Yellow Label black tea bags) and 1 liter of hot water. Wait 1 to 2 hours for the tea leaves in the tea bag to fully infuse and diffuse into the hot water to create a concentrated tea. This pot of black tea can be used to make hot lemon tea and iced lemon tea.

Make hot lemon tea

To make hot lemon tea, fill the cup 80% full with tea and add 2 to 3 lemon slices . There will be a container of white sugar and a teaspoon next to the tea. Depending on the sweetness the drinker wants, 1 teaspoon of white sugar is usually added to the tea . Some people don't like sweetness and don't add sugar. The drinker pokes the lemon slice with a teaspoon and squeezes out the lemon juice. Those who don't like it too sour can press it gently . Then stir in a liquid mixture of lemon juice, tea and sugar with a teaspoon and serve.

Make frozen lemon tea

When making frozen lemon tea , fill the glass to 80% height with ice cubes, then pour the tea (the same tea used to make hot lemon tea) into the glass, fill the glass to 80% height, then add ice and tea Top with 3 to 4 lemon slices, a straw and a long metal teaspoon inserted into the glass. There will be a small cup of syrup next to the tea. It depends on the sweetness the drinker wants. Usually a layer of syrup 0.5 cm high is spread on the tea. Some people don't like sweetness and don't add syrup (called "sweetening"). Then poke the lemon slices with a long teaspoon and squeeze out the lemon juice. Those who don't like it too sour can press it gently. Stir to combine the liquid mixture consisting of ice, lemon juice, tea and syrup, and it is ready to drink.

Since lemon slices contain lemon peel, poking the lemon hard and frequently can cause astringency, which, coupled with the natural taste of tea, gives people an extra shiver when drinking. Some people like this taste sensation. For people who don’t like strong astringency, adding sugar can balance the astringency.

packaged lemon tea

Lemon tea in cans, plastic bottles, and small cartons is also very popular in Hong Kong, and you can easily buy it in supermarkets, convenience stores, and vending machines. The drink was a liquid mixture and tasted different from the one in the restaurant. Different brands offer a variety of different flavors to choose from.

Depending on the brand, series and flavor, the ingredients may contain water, sugar, black tea, lemon juice, flavorings, acidity regulators (E330, E331, E332), vitamin C, antioxidants (E304) , tea extract, etc.

Vita - Lemon Tea

Vita Lemon Tea in cartons is definitely the classic Hong Kong-style packaged lemon tea , and it also offers canned and plastic bottle options. The brand's lemon tea range is available in a variety of flavours, with the original being undoubtedly the most popular. Flavors include:

• Vita lemon tea (original flavor) [1]
• Vita Ceylon Lemon Tea
• Vita Lime Lemon Tea
• Vita low sugar lemon tea
• Vita honey lemon tea
• Vita SUPERICY lemon tea
• Vita Fresh Lemon Tea [2]
• Vita Vita Gor Yin Hai Icy Lemon Tea [3]

Nestlé - Nestea Lemon Tea

Originally derived from its classic canned Nestlé Lemon Tea (so popular that it has its own abbreviated nickname: Què níng / Nest Lem), it later also provided boxed and plastic bottled versions, as well as brand-specific creations, which are very popular in summer. The flavored version - Nestlé Nestea Ice Rush Lemon Tea (so popular that it has its own abbreviation: Bīng jí / ice extreme), it is lemon tea with "Ice Rush" formula and can provide multiple cooling feeling[4].

Yeung Gwong - Lemon Tea

Yeung Gwong Lemon Tea in a carton is a classic local drink and brand in Hong Kong in the 1980s . At the time, the brand was often printed on vending machines and featured advertisements for famous artists. The Chinese meaning of the brand is "sunlight", and the brand's classic slogan is "everywhere has Yeung Gwong" (Chinese means "everywhere has sunlight"). It is still on the market. It also has another flavor option - Yeung Gwong Ceylon Lemon Tea, and Yeung Gwong Ceylon Lemon Tea Less Sweet (low sugar) [5].

other brands

For decades now , packaged lemon tea has remained one of the most popular packaged drinks in Hong Kong, so other brands and versions have continued to appear , including:

• Crystal Spring- Lemon Tea Drink
• Fuze tea - lemon tea
• Craftea - Lemon Tea Beverage
• KIRIN - Gogo-No-Kocha Lemon Tea
• Lotte Korea - Ceylon Lemon Tea
• Royal Tea Garden - Lemon Tea
• Royal Tea Garden - Juicy Lemon Tea Drink
• Nayuki - Duck Shixiang Lemon Tea Drink (Low Sugar)
• yao xiao cha - cold pressed NFC lemon juice (lemon tea drink)
• YDG - Wahman cafe Lemon Tea
• Hung Fook Tong - Lemon Tea

Unpackaged lemon tea products

There are also many lemon tea related products, including:

• Starbucks (Starbucks) - Iced Strawberry Green Tea Lemonade
• Läkerol - Sugar Free Pastilles - Lemon Tea
• Kasugai - Lipton Tea Candy
• Suntory Horoyoi Iced Lemon Tea Beer
• Vita- Lemon Honey Chrysanthemum Tea
• Taiwan's City Cafe - Lemon Shy Jih Chuen Tea / Black Tea
• Lemon Verbena Tea
• chajiuxingqiu – Bitter Melon Lemon Tea  (Jo's Cha)
• KIRIN Afternoon Black Tea - Lemon Tea Cheese Souffle Cake

Lemon Tea Nutrition Facts and Calories

Restaurant Lemon Tea Nutrition Facts and Calories

A few slices of lemon contain very little sugar, so the sugar and calories depend mainly on the added sugar or syrup in lemon tea.

WHO recommends that adults and children limit daily sugar intake to less than 10% of total energy intake, which is roughly equivalent to 12 teaspoons (50 grams) for adults.

If the restaurant kitchen has added the syrup for you, your cup of iced lemon tea may have anywhere from 20 to 25 grams of sugar, which may already account for half of your maximum daily intake . You can ask the waiter to tell the kitchen to adjust it to "less sweet" (meaning less sugar) or even no sugar (less sweetness). If the syrup is separate from the iced lemon tea, you can add a little syrup first, then poke the lemon and stir it to test the taste. If it is good enough, add as little syrup as possible. Without the addition of syrup, the sugar is almost zero. In terms of calories, a regular iced lemon tea may have around 120 to 140 calories per cup. Asking "less sweet" when ordering a drink can reduce sugar and calories by half to 2/3. 

The same as iced lemon tea, hot lemon tea depends on the amount of sugar added. Usually hot lemon tea in Hong Kong restaurants only has tea and lemon. The sugar is separated. There are two types of sugar available: individually sugar packets or white sugar in metal containers. Customers can adjust the sugar to be added according to their own preferences.

Packaged Lemon Tea Nutrition Facts and Calories

Nutritional and caloric comparison of several popular packaged lemon teas on the market.

Below comparison are all per 100ml (data may vary in different countries):

Nutritional information	Vita lemon tea (original flavor)	Vita low sugar lemon tea	Nestlé lemon tea	Nestlé Ice Rush Lemon Tea	Yeung Gwong Lemon Tea [5]
Calories (kcal)	55	20	35	36	36
Protein (grams)	0	0	0	0	0
Total fat (grams)	0	0	0	0	0
Saturated fat (grams)	0	0	0	0	0
Trans fat (grams)	0	0	0	0	0
Carbohydrates (grams)	13.60	5.00	8.68	8.70	8.50
Sugar (grams)	13.60	5.00	8.60	8.60	8.50
Sodium (mg)	10.00	20.00	9.20	9.21	6.00

 

Lemon tea culture in Western society

In Western society, lemon tea may not have as deep-rooted cultural significance as it does in Hong Kong or elsewhere in Asia. In Western culture, adding a slice of lemon can offset the taste of very strong or sweet tea. It balances the natural sweetness of the strong tea, and the lemon can be replaced with other flavorings like mint. Hot drinks are more common than cold drinks. Lemon tea is used as a refreshing drink, such as in the morning, to start your day feeling refreshed.

Unlike Western culture where it is served as a tea snack or consumed separately from a meal, in Hong Kong , iced lemon tea can be accompanied by a meal (eating and drinking at the same time , like a cola and a burger), especially in a Hong Kong-style cafe (a kind of popular restaurant that provides quick but proper meals) , and there is no special drinking time, it can be breakfast, lunch, dinner, midnight snack, mainly because Hong Kong has a busy culture and people are often active from morning to midnight. However, hot lemon tea is usually drunk after a meal to "reduce the feeling of fullness after a meal."

Packaged lemon and tea beverage products

Unlike the classic everyday drink in Hong Kong or Asian culture, which requires specialized cooking methods (boil black tea and add lemon and sugar separately). In the West, there are many tea bags on the market that already contain lemon elements, such as Twinings Tea Bags Lemon & Ginger Pack, Twinings Green Tea & Lemon Tea Bags Pack and Twinings Lemon Twist Tea Bags Pack) etc.

As Asian stores are common in Western countries, most popular lemon tea products are of course sold in Asian stores, as well as in local Western supermarkets such as Woolworth and Coles in Australia, Walmart and Costco in the United States, and Tesco and Sainsbury's in the United Kingdom . The following Hong Kong-style packaged lemon tea products are even sold on all continents around the world , including:

• Lipton Iced Tea Lemon

• Vita Lemon Tea

health benefits

In Western culture, lemon tea is also recognized for its potential health benefits. Lemons are rich in vitamin C and antioxidants, which can strengthen the immune system and promote overall health.

Additionally, some people add honey to lemon tea, which is believed to have a soothing effect, especially for sore throats or coughs.

Lemon tea can provide a variety of benefits, including:

regulate high blood sugar

Both lemon juice and peel have potential benefits for people who are at risk for or diagnosed with diabetes. Lemon peel can reduce high blood sugar levels, while the citric acid in lemon juice can help prevent complications associated with type 2 diabetes [6].

anti-oxidation

Ascorbic acid, also known as vitamin C, strengthens the immune system, reduces the risk of infection, and prevents oxidative stress and inflammation [7]. The flavonoids in lemons can also fight free radicals [8] and reduce the risk of disease. Both help strengthen the immune system.

antibacterial activity

Research shows that drinking lemon tea may have better antibacterial activity against certain bacteria [9] .

Disadvantages of lemon tea

While lemon tea has certain health benefits and great taste, it also has some drawbacks, including:

hurt your teeth

Regular consumption of lemon tea can cause enamel erosion, leading to pain and sensitivity to temperature changes [10].

heartburn

Drinking too much lemon tea can increase the acidity of the stomach and intestines, causing acid reflux, resulting in a burning sensation in the chest and potential vomiting [11].

osteoporosis

Lemon tea may remove calcium through the urine, leading to osteoporosis later [12].

absorb aluminum

Adding lemon to tea can cause the body to absorb aluminum, which can be toxic and lead to various health problems such as encephalopathy, osteomalacia, bone disease, muscle weakness, increased risk of infection, heart disease, anemia, and even sudden death [13].

Does lemon tea contain caffeine?

Chinese black tea often contains caffeine because it is made from the actual Camellia sinensis plant. Black tea contains caffeine, which means Hong Kong-style lemon tea also contains caffeine .

Summarize

Lemon tea is a cultural drink in Hong Kong and popular all over the world. Compared with the West, the usage and form of lemon tea are quite different. It is recommended to avoid drinking large amounts of packaged lemon tea due to its high sugar content and food additives, as well as avoid adding too much sugar to lemon tea served in restaurants or at home. Although lemon tea has certain health benefits, it also has some disadvantages.

 

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