Hand-crushed lemon tea takes off in Hong Kong – we do taste test to find the best version

Lemon tea is a long-standing part of Hong Kong’s culture, and a trendy new drink – hand-crushed lemon tea – has taken over the city

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Riva Hiranand

Published: 12:45pm, 10 Jun 2024Updated: 7:52am, 11 Jun 2024

Like many of us who grew up in Hong Kong, lemon tea has held an enduring appeal for me throughout my life.

As a child, I would save up to buy Hi-C lemon tea from the vending machine, freeze boxes of them on hot days to enjoy as an icy treat, and stock my locker with them in high school when a vicious campaign replaced boxed drinks with healthier alternatives.

This obsession came back to bite me during the summer holidays, when my doctor discovered the cause of my constant stomach and kidney pains was allegedly down to ingesting too much lemon tea, and ordered me to stop drinking it.

Although I am much more conscious of my lemon tea consumption these days, it is still my favourite Hong Kong-style drink. It evokes nostalgia, especially now that I live abroad.

Lam Heung Ling’s Causeway Bay store. The tea here is closest to the Hong Kong style of lemon tea. Photo: Riva Hiranand

From the traditional iced lemon tea you find in a cha chaan teng and the iconic mustard yellow VLT Tetra Paks to the classic 1980s Hi-C advertisements telling a story of puppy love, lemon tea is a long-standing part of the city’s culture.

And since mid-2023, there has been a new kid on the block: hand-crushed lemon tea. With the trend originating from mainland China, the influx of brands such as Linlee – which has more than 1,500 stores on the mainland, and a prime location on Lyndhurst Terrace in Central – and which have grown rapidly in popularity.