My childhood home has a Meyer lemon tree growing in the backyard. It’s over 40 years old, and yet my dad is able to harvest hundreds of lemons from it every year — and share them with me. We love it!
I lived a privileged life as a child in as much as I had this wealth of lemons twice a year. We weren’t rich. Ours was quite the modest neighborhood. But thanks to a backyard garden, we ate like kings. And fresh lemonade was a regular feature on our table.
I never had a grocery store lemon until I went to college. And I was stunned. Meyer lemons are a totally different and beautiful experience when it comes to citrus.
The Meyer Lemon
The Meyer lemon is a cross between a lemon and a mandarin orange. Frank Meyer, an USDA employee, collected a sample of the tree when he was traveling in China in the early 20th century. For most of that century it was relegated to backyard gardens, particularly California gardens like ours, because its thin skin wasn’t sturdy enough for mass distribution.
In the late 1990s chef Alice Waters and home manager extraordinaire Martha Stewart helped the Meyer Lemon come into its own. And it continues to grow in popularity.
Meyer Lemon Herbal Tea by Stash
Recently Stash Tea sent me a sample of their latest flavor — Meyer Lemon. Herbal tea takes me back to the year I lived in France and my friend Sarah and I explored all flavors of tisane. We would have loved this one, crafted from a blend of rosehips, lemongrass, orange peel, hibiscus, Meyer lemon oil, and safflower.
Currently, Stash is running a recipe contest, featuring this newest flavor of herbal tea. There are several different categories to enter. And the prizes include a Kitchenaid Mixer, a dutch oven from Le Creuset, a Breville blender, a Takeya tea maker, and of course, cases of Meyer Lemon Herbal Tea.
I got creative with this tea and decided to use it in baking. I already had a bag of Mix and Match Muffins in the freezer. So, I substituted tea for the liquid. The result was a batch of lemony sweet muffins that my family devoured in a flash.
Meyer Lemon Tea Muffins
Ingredients
- 2 lemon herbal tea bags
- 1 cup hot water
- 1/2 cup plain yogurt
- 1/2 cup neutral oil
- 2 egg
- 1 batch Mix and Match Muffin Mix
- 1 lemon, zested
- 2 tbsp demerara sugar
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 375°. Line a 12-cup muffin cups with muffin papers. Brew the tea and allow it to cool.
- In a large mixing bowl combine the tea, yogurt, oil, and eggs. Whisk until well blended.
- Add the muffin mix and lemon zest.
- Fold just until combined.
- Divide the batter among the muffin cups. It's okay if the cups overflow. Sprinkle generously with demerara sugar.
- Bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until a tester comes out clean.
- Cool the baked muffins on a wire rack.
Marci
I dont have lemon tea readily available- what could I use instead? Lemon juice?
Jessica Fisher
I would substitute whatever kind of tea you have and a little lemon zest.
Robin
I serve tea at night when I am relaxing after the kids are in bed. I also serve tea at the first signs of a cold.
stacy
I serve it hot or cold…depending on the season.
gingeroo616 at aol dot com
oursafehaven
@searching4
Sara
I drink hot tea when I need that little extra measure of comfort 🙂
ikkinlala
I’m not sure whether Canadians may enter, but just in case: I serve hot tea whenever I feel like it, but usually in the morning and evening. I’ll make a pot of it if somebody else is around, but often I’ll make it just for myself in a big mug. I like iced tea for hot summer days, too.
cindy kilpatrick
we drink a lot of tea, and have a pot of mint~chamomile on the counter at almost any given moment. as we head into summer, we’ll have a pitcher of it in the fridge as well.
Heidi
A cup of hot tea has been my afternoon pick-me-up for a long time. Recently my husband gave up his morning sup of coffee and has replaced it with hot tea…I’m sure he would love to have a new flavor option!
Heidi
@Heidi, *cup 🙂
Karen Greenberg
My family loves tea! We constantly have a jug in the refrigerator for drinking during the day, and I drink tea at night when it’s time to settle in for the evening. Whenever we have company we offer tea as one of the drinks they can have.
Joy R.
We love tea in my home. We drink it cold and hot. With summer coming up, we’re looking forward to some tea popsicles.