Lemon black tea gets its character from India's tea gardens, where leaves are plucked during particular flush periods, then withered, rolled and oxidised until they darken from green to black. Pairing black tea with citrus goes back to colonial India, when Europeans developed a taste for tea cut with lemon, and the combination has stuck around since. What you get in the cup is a citrus top note that sits over a bold, earthy base — the lemon comes through as a bright, tangy opening, then settles into the tea's brisker, more oxidised depth. There's a touch of sweetness in the middle, notes of date and honey alongside the citrus, and a smooth, faintly lemony finish. Some drinkers add a spoon of honey or an extra slice of lemon to round it out further.
Hot, it drinks warming and a little uplifting; cold-brewed or iced, it turns brisk and refreshing, so it works either way depending on the weather or the moment. It carries caffeine at roughly 45 mg per 8-oz cup — on the stronger side for tea, which tracks with the oxidation the leaves go through, and enough to make it a reasonable substitute for a morning coffee if that's what you're after.
To brew it, use about a teaspoon of loose tea plus a few lemon pieces per cup. Bring water to a full boil, 100°C, pour it over the leaves in an infuser, and let it steep for three to five minutes — pull the infuser once it's done, since leaving it in past that point starts to draw out bitterness. Store the dry leaf in an airtight container somewhere cool and dark, away from direct light, and it'll hold its flavour a good deal longer than if left out on a counter.
