Kumquat Tea – Hot Citrus Tea
How to make a simple and delicious fruit infusion with kumquat
If life gives you kumquats, consider yourself lucky, because you can make delicious fruit tea out of them!
Hot kumquat tea smells incredibly good and has the most delightful citrus taste, without being too tart.
In addition, it’s very easy to make and probably healthy!
I love this tea because it provides the perfect balance between zing and relaxation and I can’t say why, but it has a smell that instantly puts me in a good mood.
So, keep reading to steep this kum-quantum leap of a tea and taste the magic for yourself.
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What are kumquats? And can you make tea with them?
In case you are new to kumquats, let me briefly explain what they are before we delve into the tea.
Kumquats is small citrus fruit that has a tangy-sweet taste.
They’re oval-shaped, like grapes, but they have orange-like skin (which looks so cute, like baby oranges!).
What’s interesting about kumquats is that, unlike most citrus fruits, you can eat them whole, including the skin.
The juice inside is sour, while the skin is sweeter.
You can even eat the seeds, but they’re bitter, so I prefer to remove them (the big ones; if they are small, I just eat them).
Kumquats can be eaten raw or used to make jams, marmalades, and other dishes, including tea.
A quick internet search reveals that hot kumquat tea is a traditional beverage in China, while iced kumquat tea is a popular drink in other Asian countries.
But I haven’t tried these (nor I could find much information on them), so for this recipe I just experimented.
How this recipe came to be
I’m quite new to kumquats, having bought them for the first time just a week ago from an organic supermarket.
Although they looked like something I would enjoy, I found that they had a distinctive bitterness that was almost tongue-numbing.
So, I began to wonder if I could steep them like yuzu-yu (a Japanese hot tea made from a citrus fruit) instead of eating them.
Through some experimentation, I have discovered that the recipe below yields the best results, and I’m excited to share all of my tips with you.
While there seems to be a traditional recipe for Chinese kumquat tea, I couldn’t find much information on it, so I don’t know if mine is similar or not.
However, I can confirm that my kumquat tea recipe is absolutely delicious, so I can’t wait for you to try it.
What I love about this recipe
Hot Kumquat Tea Recipe
Equipment
- Water cooker Optional – feel free to boil water with your preferred method
- Sharp knife To cut the kumquat fruit
Ingredients
- 3 Kumquats
- 1 Cup Fresh boiled water
Instructions
- Wash your kumquats throughout and dry them with a towel.Half them, and optionally take the bigger seeds out (I leave the tiny ones).Then slice the kumquat halves.
- Place the sliced kumquat in the mug you’ll be drinking from.Pour hot water and let it steep for at least 10 minutes. You’ll know the steeping time was enough when all the kumquat pieces sink at the bottom.Gently push them with the back of a spoon so they release their aroma and flavor.You don’t need to remove the kumquat before drinking.
Notes
- Remember to squash the kumquat during or after steeping so it fully develops its full potential.
However, there’s no need to smash them specially throughout: the inner flesh softens during steeping and it releases its aroma very easily. - Feel free to sweeten your kumquat tea if desired.
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You can also eat the remaining kumquat slices after steeping.
Just take into consideration that the outer skin (the part with orange color) has a bitter, even piquant flavor (that I personally don’t enjoy).
Nutrition
More recipes for drinks with citrus fruits:
- Kumquat Iced Tea – with green tea or black tea
- Honey Lemon Ginger Tea
- Sugar-free lemonade by the glass
Really interesting to know about this tea! A friend of mine had a small Kumquat tree in her garden and she used to give me these cute orange colored kumquat. They were always very sweet and delicious to eat them all. I didn’t know it can be used to make tea, thank you very much!