Beat the heat with Winter Melon Tea (冬瓜茶), a cold and refreshing drink perfect for hot days. You don’t use tea leaves here – just winter melon chunks, brown sugar, and water. It is sweet with a hint of caramel and a fruity taste similar to cucumber and watermelon. Learn the best way to make this energizing drink with my quick and easy recipe.
- What Is Winter Melon Tea?
- What You’ll Love About Winter Melon Tea
- What You Need to Know About Making Winter Melon Tea
- The Best Way To Store Winter Melon Tea
- Make Winter Melon Tea With These Items
- Winter Melon Tea Recipe – Easy and Simple
What Is Winter Melon Tea?
Winter Melon Tea (冬瓜茶) is a popular summer drink in East Asia that emerged during the Qing Dynasty in southern China. It is also known as melon punch, tra bi dao, and ash gourd juice, to name a few. You may think it contains tea leaves because of its name, but it actually doesn’t.
This Chinese tea uses only 3 main ingredients: winter melon (冬瓜), brown sugar, and water. Of course, let’s not forget the ice cubes to make it ice-cold to quench your thirst. The recipe is pretty basic since you only need to combine and heat together the winter melon chunks and brown sugar, giving you the winter melon syrup-like liquid.
Afterward, the syrup is mixed with water and ice cubes, and voila! You get a refreshing cold winter melon tea drink. Store it in a tall glass or glass jar to give that bubble tea shop vibe from the comfort of your home.
What You’ll Love About Winter Melon Tea
Apart from being incredibly flavorful and hydrating, you’ll love that it has several health benefits as well. Winter melon is a superfood rich in nutrients, loaded with fiber that aids digestion, promotes optimal bowel movements, and enhances gut health. It is high in Vitamin B2 (Riboflavin), a nutrient that helps boost vision, prevents eye diseases, and aids in chronic migraines.
Moreover, it contains antioxidants such as Vitamin C and high amounts of zinc, potassium, and iron. Vitamin C has been known to remove free radicals and toxins, as well as promote a healthy heart and boost immunity. Brown sugar, on the other hand, is a natural sweetener that helps boost energy and improve digestion.
For some people, it may also help relieve menstrual cramps and enhance skin health. However, it should be consumed in appropriate amounts that are considered safe and healthy. Too much sugar can lead to weight gain and diabetes.
What You Need to Know About Making Winter Melon Tea
To get the best-tasting winter melon tea, follow my tips and suggestions below. I have created a list of helpful reminders when choosing ingredients and substitutions – from learning how to pick a winter melon to the most suitable alternatives. Discover how each ingredient can be made better according to your liking.
How To Pick Winter Melon
Winter melon is also called ash gourd, tallow gourd, ash pumpkin, and white gourd. It has a green outer skin and white flesh. You may buy it as a whole fruit or in prepared slices.
When buying fresh winter melons, you should pick a mature one that looks ashy, has an hoarfrost appearance, and has a brownish stem. Make sure it is smooth and firm to hold without spots or cracks. Next, try carrying the fruit and check if it is heavy enough.
A heavy winter melon means it has more water and less flesh. On the other hand, if it is too light, it has less water and more flesh. Winter melons that are too light do not taste good in general.
If you are buying sliced winter melons, pick the ones with white flesh and yellowish seeds. A yellowish flesh means the winter melon is not fresh anymore and may not taste good.
Are There Brown Sugar Alternatives?
It’s the brown sugar that contributes to the drink’s rich sweetness and caramel taste. It also gives off the drink’s brown color. Basically, it is an essential ingredient to make the winter melon syrup, so it cannot be omitted from the recipe.
If you don’t have brown sugar, you can use other types of sugar, such as Chinese brown sugar blocks (冰片糖) or rock sugar (冰糖). Moreover, muscovado, jaggery, and Taiwanese brown sugar are great alternatives to brown sugar.
Cooking Tips When Making Winter Melon Tea
It is important to cut the winter melon into small pieces to bring out its juice and make it easier to squeeze. Winter melon chunks and brown sugar are mixed together and cooked on low fire to make the syrup. You don’t need to add water since the winter melon is full of water and will juice up after two hours of setting it aside.
When cooking on the pan, you should stir it continuously to avoid burning the sugar or fruit on the pan. Cook it on low fire so the liquid does not evaporate and dry up. You can use a cloth strainer or hemmed cheesecloth to squeeze out the juice from the winter melon. Press firmly and squeeze out as much liquid as you can.
After getting all the juice, you can keep this syrup in a separate airtight container or jar. You can make a different variation of this drink by adding milk and boba pearls, making it a winter melon milk tea.
The Best Way To Store Winter Melon Tea
The syrup should be stored in an airtight container. It is best to store it as a separate ingredient before adding water and ice to preserve the quality. You can keep it in the fridge for up to one week in a sealed container or glass jar.
Make Winter Melon Tea With These Items
The items you need are common kitchen equipment. Prepare a pot for heating and a bowl for mixing the ingredients. You will also need a cloth strainer or a hemmed cheesecloth to help squeeze out the juices from the winter melon and sugar.
The cloth strainer or filter is important to separate the flesh and bits of the winter melon and the sugar granules. You want to make sure you get only syrup or liquid, without solid parts of the fruit and sugar. Make your drink look lovely with a typical boba glass jar.
Kitchenware
- Cloth strainer for straining
- Pan or pot for heating
- Spatula for stirring
- Glass jar or container with a cover
- Knife for chopping
- Bowl for mixing
Ingredients
- 800g winter melon
- 220g brown sugar
- Water
- Ice cubes
Winter Melon Tea Recipe – Easy and Simple
After gathering the kitchenware and ingredients, you are now ready to make winter melon tea! The recipe is simple and easy to follow without needing culinary skills. You just need to make sure you follow the right measurements for the ingredients.
Chop the 800g winter melon into small chunks or cubes.
In a bowl, mix the winter melon chunks with 220g of brown sugar.
Stir well and set aside for 2 hours. After 2 hours, the bowl should be filled with winter melon juice.
Next, put the winter melon and brown sugar mixture into a pot or pan. Bring to a boil and heat in low fire for 1 hour while continuously stirring it.
Then, take your cloth strainer and place it on top of a bowl or container for the syrup.
Put the boiled winter melon and sugar into the cloth strainer. Strain and squeeze as much liquid as you can.
After getting all the liquid from the mixture, transfer the syrup into an airtight glass jar or container.
Put together your winter melon tea by adding 1 part winter melon syrup to 3 parts water (1:3) in a glass jar. Make it cooler by adding some ice cubes. Serve cold and enjoy!
Winter Melon Tea
Equipment
- Cloth strainer for straining
- Pan or pot for heating
- Spatula for stirring
- Glass jar or container with a cover
- Knife for chopping
- Bowl for mixing
Ingredients
- 800 g winter melon
- 220 g brown sugar
- Water
- Ice cubes
Instructions
- Chop the 800g winter melon into small chunks or cubes.
- In a bowl, mix the winter melon chunks with 220g of brown sugar.
- Stir well and set aside for 2 hours.
- After 2 hours, the bowl should be filled with winter melon juice.
- Next, put the winter melon and brown sugar mixture into a pot or pan.
- Bring to a boil and heat in low fire for 1 hour while continuously stirring it.
- Then, take your cloth strainer and place it on top of a bowl or container for the syrup.
- Put the boiled winter melon and sugar into the cloth strainer.
- Strain and squeeze as much liquid as you can.
- After getting all the liquid from the mixture, transfer the syrup into an airtight glass jar or container.
- Put together your winter melon tea by adding 1 part winter melon syrup to 3 parts water (1:3) in a glass jar.
- Make it cooler by adding some ice cubes.
- Serve cold and enjoy!
