Earl Grey Calamansi Iced Tea is a type of cold drink prepared with Earl Gray Tea, simple sugar syrup and calamansi, served with lots of ice.
It is calamansi season again here in New Zealand and I got given a good amount of it several weeks ago, while I use them a lot on dips and dishes the best way to use it is either a lemonade style drink or even better an iced tea.
So, what is calamansi?
If lemon is American, calamansi is Filipino. Calamansi also called Calamondin is a type of citrus hybrid from mandarin orange and the kumquat, this fruit is predominantly cultivated in the Philippines, native in Philippines and locations surrounding it like China, Taiwan and Borneo. In the Philippines it is available all year round and is usually consumed in an unripened green state, in New Zealand there is a season for it and usually it is summer, they also easily ripen here that is why its colour is in tangerine orange as opposed to the usual green.
It is an important part of the Philippine cuisine, like I said earlier this is used in a variety of condiments, beverages, dishes, marinade and even beauty care. But yes, today let’s stick with the drink first, so were making an Iced Tea made with Earl Grey.
Cook your simple syrup by combining water and sugar together in a sauce pan over a stove top over medium heat. Bring to a boil then simmer until the sugar has completely dissolved. Remove from heat then set it aside to cool down
In a separate saucepan bring water to a boil then turn it off. Add the tea bags then let it steep for an hour.
Remove the teabags, add the calamansi juice then mix well.
Prepare a pitcher, fill it with ice then pour the tea concentrate. Add simple syrup according to your taste, dilute drink with water as necessary.
This sounds extremely refreshing. Have never made iced tea with Earl Grey and have certainly never see calamasi fruit. Since it is citrus season, I’ll have to keep my eye ope for it.
This sounds extremely refreshing. Have never made iced tea with Earl Grey and have certainly never see calamasi fruit. Since it is citrus season, I’ll have to keep my eye ope for it.