How to Make Tangerine Basil Ade

What you need

• glass jar or mixing bowl
• citrus press or hand juicer
• knife and cutting board
• tall drinking glass

Method

1. Peel the tangerines. Slice a portion of them into rounds approximately 1 cm thick and transfer to a glass jar or bowl.

   These slices will become both part of the cheong and a garnish for the finished drink.

2. Halve the remaining tangerines and press each half firmly, twisting to extract the juice. Pour the fresh juice over the sliced tangerines.

3. Finely chop the fresh basil leaves and add them to the tangerine mixture.

   The creator notes basil is commonly paired with tomato but works beautifully with citrus.

   Expert tipUse the freshest basil available — frozen or cold-damaged basil turns dark and loses its bright green color.

4. Add sugar to the mixture, then squeeze in lemon juice or calamansi juice for tartness.

   Tangerines are naturally mild in acidity, so the added citrus juice is essential. Calamansi is recommended if available; lemon works well too.

5. Let the mixture rest, stirring occasionally, until the sugar fully dissolves into the tangerine juice and becomes a cohesive cheong (fruit preserve syrup).

6. Fill a tall glass with ice. Tuck a few tangerine slices from the cheong between the ice and the inside wall of the glass for a decorative effect.

7. Add a portion of finely chopped basil on top of the ice.

   Fresh, vibrant basil will appear bright green; wilted or frozen basil will look dark and limp.

8. Pour the tangerine cheong over the ice, then top with sparkling water to fill the glass. Serve immediately.

Why this works

Making a cheong first — combining sliced fruit, fresh juice, and sugar — draws out moisture through osmosis, concentrating the tangerine flavor and suspending the basil aroma in the syrup. Slicing the tangerines at 1 cm keeps enough flesh intact for texture and visual interest while maximising surface area for sugar extraction. Adding an acidic juice corrects the low natural tartness of tangerines, which on their own produce a syrup that reads as sweet rather than bright. Pouring over ice at the end preserves the carbonation of the sparkling water and keeps the layered appearance clean.

Where beginners go wrong

1. 1

   Basil turns black and limp in the drink

   Do not refrigerate basil in a very cold or near-freezing section of the fridge — it is highly sensitive to cold damage. Use the freshest basil possible and add it just before serving.

2. 2

   Drink tastes flat and too sweet

   Tangerines are low in natural acidity. Always include lemon juice or, preferably, calamansi juice to add the tartness that makes the cheong bright and balanced.

3. 3

   Sugar has not dissolved after a long wait

   Stir the mixture periodically to help the sugar contact the juice. The juice released by the fruit and the added citrus juice will eventually dissolve the sugar completely — patience is all that is needed.

4. 4

   Tangerine slices slip out of position along the glass wall

   Pack the ice snugly first, then slide the slices between the ice and the glass before adding more ice on top to hold them in place.

What you should taste

Bright and refreshing with sweet, mildly tart tangerine fruit, a clean effervescence from the sparkling water, and a subtle herbal lift from the basil. The lemon or calamansi sharpens the citrus and prevents the drink from tasting flat or overly sweet.

FAQ