How to add lemon flavor to tea?

Question

I am trying to add lemon flavor to tea so that it has ginger and lemon flavor to a noticeable extent. If we boil tea water with ginger, the ginger flavor can be brought almost to the way it is okay.
But I am having trouble adding the lemon flavor to tea. If I use lemon juice just before drinking tea, it makes tea sour, which is not acceptable.
Another way I tried is that I used the lemon peel, a chunk of it, but the tea became bitter. Note that the tea already contains ginger and it has no sugar.
Is there any other way to add lemon flavor to tea without changing the flavor of this non-sweet, ginger tea?

user141592 · Accepted Answer

The white rind of the lemon is what causes the bitter flavour. To get simply the lemon flavour you just want the zest. Use a zester, microplane, or fine grater to scrape off only the yellow bit of the peel and nothing white and you'll get a lovely lemon flavour without the bitterness or sourness.

Correct answer by user141592 on May 6, 2021

csk · Answer

Four additional options:

Lemon oil - be sure to get one intended for cooking, not an essential oil
Lemon extract - made from alcohol, lemon zest, and sometimes lemon oil; you can buy this or make it at home
Dried lemon zest - available as a seasoning, check the spice section of your grocery store
Frozen lemon zest - you make this yourself, just zest a lemon, divide it out into single-use sized portions, wrap each portion tightly in plastic wrap and store it in an airtight container in the freezer

Using fresh lemon zest (as explained in Johanna's answer) will give the best results, but these are decent substitutes if you don't have fresh lemons on hand.

Willk · Answer

Lemon zest is one way to go for what you want.  You can shave just the outer yellow part off with a sharp knife, or a sharp carrot grater will work.
Something that might be even easier is to buy a bottle of lemon extract.  $3.89 at Target.  It has a longer shelf life than lemons and is not sour.  I have never bought lemon extract but I have some orange extract right now and I am pleased with it.  I wish I had bought it before the Cointreau which cost 10x as much and which cannot be tasted in the french toast.
There are 2 other things that can give you lemony flavor and both are available to use as tea which makes it easy..
Lemongrass - this stuff is lemony for lack of a better word- it is kind of its own thing.    Tea made from lemongrass is very popular.  You can buy dried lemongrass intended for making tea.  Or you can get fresh lemongrass in a grocery store that carries asian foods.
Lemon balm.  This is a plant in the mint family and it has a super lemony aroma and taste.  Overpoweringly so in my opinion.  Lemon balm is also used to make tea and you could also buy lemon balm tea and add some to your regular tea to lemonbalm it up.

How to add lemon flavor to tea?

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