Homemade honey pomelo tea
Shredded pomelo peel and flesh cooked with rock sugar into a marmalade, then stirred with honey — two spoonfuls in hot water make a fragrant sweet-sour cup.
- 1 hr 10 min
- Serves 4
- Simmer
- Medium
Why it suits you: Qi Stagnation brings low moods, frequent sighing and a tight chest. With shorter days and the bleak feel of late autumn, Frost's Descent can easily leave you feeling down. Fragrant pomelo moves qi and honey eases dryness — just the scent of a warm cup lifts the spirits.
Method
Prep 30 min · Cook 40 min- 1Scrub the pomelo skin with salt, then use a peeler to pare off only the thin yellow-green outer layer, leaving the white pith behind. Cut into fine strips.
- 2Rub the peel strips with a little salt, boil in water for 5 minutes and drain. Repeat once to remove the bitterness.
- 3Break the flesh into small pieces, discarding the seeds. Simmer with the peel, rock sugar and water over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring now and then, until thick and translucent.
- 4Cool until just warm (below about 60°C) before stirring in the honey. Spoon into sterilised jars and refrigerate. Stir 2 tbsp into a cup of warm water to serve.
Cautions
- Pomelo can interact with some blood pressure, cholesterol and blood-thinning medicines — check with your doctor if you take regular medication. It's high in sugar, so go easy if you have diabetes.
Chef's tips
- The less pith, the less bitter. Use a dry jar and spoon and it keeps for a month in the fridge.
The TCM view
Pomelo flesh is sweet, sour and cold, moving qi, resolving phlegm and aiding digestion. The peel is pungent, sweet, bitter and warm, loosening the chest, moving qi and calming coughs, and its fragrance soothes the liver. Honey is sweet and neutral, moistening and harmonising; rock sugar moistens the lungs. The warm peel balances the cold flesh, so it moves qi without depleting it.
