Cozy Arnold Palmer

If you can’t quite choose between a sweet tea and a lemonade, an Arnold Palmer is for you. This fun summertime drink is usually served over ice and is a great beverage accompaniment to your bbq menu.

But we’re mid-way through autumn, and the weather is only about to get colder. Along with low temperatures, viruses abound. Everytime I hear a cough in our house, Honeysuckle Tea (金银花茶) with honey and Pear Soup (冰糖雪梨) become part of our regular diet, much to my kids’ chagrin.

But that’s what we do when we’re already sick. After all, prevention is still best. I’ve created this to replace my “afternoon tea”, to add the health benefits of honey and calamansi (also known as calamondin). Calamansi is a citrus fruit from the Philippines. They taste like a cross between a mandarin and a lime and are popularly used in both savory and sweet local dishes.

Photo courtesy of: By Obsidian Soul – Own work, CC0,

If you ever visit a Filipino supermarket, like Seafood City, calamansi juice can be found in both can and syrup form. However, these conveniences come at a price; the amount of sugar added is atrocious, overpowering the benefits of the juice. I found my 100% calamansi juice in the frozen aisle in little packets- not necessarily the most earth friendly choice… So I bought a tree. My relatives in California have had pretty good success growing them. I also have a friend who attests she can grow lemons indoors, so here’s my best attempt at being green.

My version of the Arnold Palmer only has four ingredients: water, calamansi, black tea and honey. So you can still get your afternoon caffeine fix on top of all the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants from these simple ingredients.

Cozy Arnold Palmers