This grass jelly drink is perfect for hot summer days. With only 4 ingredients, this sweet, icy tea is easy to make and enjoyed by all!
The star of this drink recipe is grass jelly. The black, mildly bitter jelly is cut into thin strips and added into a light and sweet pandan-infused black tea drink. Topped with some ice cubes, this grass jelly drink is definitely perfect for a hot day!
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❤️Why you will love this recipe
- It is easy to make with only 4 easy ingredients.
- It takes less than 15 minutes to make the drink. It can also be prepared in advance and served completely chilled when needed.
- It has cooling properties which is beneficial for the body especially on hot days.
- It is a great variation to regular bubble teas.
❓What is grass jelly?
Grass jelly (also known as xian cao or suong sao or cincau) is a plant based jelly that is very popular in countries like China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia and others Southeast Asia countries.
It is a plant based herbal jelly that is made from the plant Chinese Mesona (Mesona Chinensis). It is dark brown or black in color and has a chewy texture, very similar to the texture of agar agar jelly.
Grass jelly is often sold in in jelly form in cans, tubes or even square containers. On its own, the grass jelly can be tasteless and sometimes has a mildly bitter taste. Unlike other jellies, grass jelly is typically not eaten on its own. It is often cut into cubes or strips and added to drinks and other sweet dessert soups with a combination of ingredients like red beans, taro balls, shaved ice, coconut milk and fresh fruit. Grass jelly dessert can be served hot or cold, and even at room temperature.
This jelly can be easily purchased from Asian shops or local markets. You can even make your own grass jelly with grass jelly powder, but I find it a lot more convenient to use ready made canned grass jelly.
📋Ingredients
- Water - this is to make the tea. Use drinking water or filtered water.
- Black tea (tea bag) - I prefer tea bags as they do not require to be strained after using. Loose tea leaves are fine too.
- Grass jelly - this can be purchased ready made from an Asian grocery store or Chinese market.
- Sugar - I used brown sugar, but white sugar will also work fine.
- Pandan leaves - these are optional but really make the difference to the drink. It give the grass jelly drink a wonderful aroma.
*Refer to the recipe card below for full list of ingredients and exact quantities. For best results, use a digital kitchen scale where applicable*
🧾Substitution and variations
- Tea bags can be substituted with loose tea leaves. Use 1 teaspoon of loose leaf tea for every tea bag.
- Black tea can be substituted with other types of tea like green tea, oolong tea, or Earl Grey. You can also substitute tea for soy milk. Soy milk is a another famous way for enjoying the grass jelly. The black jelly and white soy milk combination is sometimes referred to as 'Michael Jackson drink' after his famous Black and White song.
- White sugar can be replaced with brown sugar or cane sugar in the exact same quantity. You can also use simple syrup, or other flavored syrups like pandan syrup, palm sugar syrup, rose syrup and even Earl Grey syrup. Start with small quantities and test the tea before adding more syrup to suit your liking.
This recipe has not been tested with other substitutions or variations. If you do try, please let me know in the comments section below!
👩🏻🍳How to make
Making the pandan infused black tea
- Fill half of the water into a pot.
- Knot the pandan leaf and drop it into the pot.
- Turn on the heat and let the water boil with the pandan leaf. Put on the lid.
- As soon as the water boils, ,turn off the heat and add the tea bag.
- Let the tea bag sit in the hot water for 1 to 2 minutes. Letting the tea bag steep in the hot water for more than 2 minutes will give a much stronger tea taste. Since this is a light tea drink, suffice if the tea bag is removed after approximately 1 to 2 minutes.
- Discard the tea bag.
- Add sugar into the hot black tea and stir to dissolve.
- Discard the pandan leaf. Add the remaining water and place the pandan infused black tea into the refrigerator to chill.
Assembling the grass jelly drink
- Remove the grass jelly from its packet (or can).
- Slice it into thin strips.
- Add some grass jelly strips into a drinking glass.
- Add ice cubes (optional).
- Pour in the chilled black pandan infused tea.
- Serve.
🍽️Serving & storage
- You can make this tea in advance and keep it in the fridge for at least 2 days. Serve the drink cold.
💡Expert tips
- If you choose to cut the jelly into cubes instead of strips, make sure the grass jelly cubes are small enough to pass through straws. Also, the jelly tastes better when cut into small cubes or into strips to balance its rather bland taste with the sweet drink it is served with.
- It is recommended for the drink to be prepared slightly concentrated as it will dilute when served with ice cubes. Another option would be to make the tea in advance and keep it chilled. That way, you need not add too many ice cubes that might dilute it further.
💭FAQs
Grass jelly is a herb jelly and is often associated with good medical properties. It is a cooling drink and helps to regulate body heat, hence is often recommended on hot days.
The key ingredients in a grass jelly drink is grass jelly. It is often added to a base of sweetened drink like black tea, soybean milk or milk tea (like in this grass jelly milk tea recipe). Grass jelly is often cut into small cubes or into thin strips and added into these sweet drinks similar to boba pearls in a bubble tea drink.
Grass jelly is dark brown or black in color. It has a chewy consistency like konnyaku jelly or agar agar jelly.
In its original form, grass jelly is tasteless and sometimes have a slight hint of bitterness. Some are sold slightly sweetened but it will be very mildly sweet that it is almost tasteless. Always read the packaging of your grass jelly to find out.
Traditionally no, grass jelly is plant based and does not contain gelatin. However, you might want to check the packaging of your grass jelly to confirm that it does not gelatin.
Unlike other jellies, most people do not consume grass jelly on its own. The jelly is quite tasteless and you will not enjoy eating it plain.
It is best to cut the jelly into small cubes or thin strips and add it into cold drinks or milk. It gives the drinks a chewy effect in drinks, just like boba in bubble teas.
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📖Recipe
Grass Jelly Drink (Easy Homemade Grass Jelly Tea)
For best results, use the metrics measurements. US customary measurements have not been tested and are only meant for guide.
Ingredients
- 1 liter water
- 250 g grass jelly (sweetened)
- 45 g brown sugar
- 1 pandan leaf (knotted or cut into short strips)
- 1 bag black tea
Instructions
Making the black tea
- Measure half of the water (approximately) into a medium sized pot.
- Wash the pandan leave and knot it or cut it into short strips (about 2 to 3 cm length). Drop the leaf into the water pot.
- Turn on the heat and let the water boil with the pandan leaf. The fragrance from the pandan leaf will be infused into the water as it boils.
- Put on the lid. As soon as the water boils, ,turn the heat off. Add in the tea bag.
- Let the tea steep in the hot water for approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Letting the tea bag steep in the hot water for more than 2 minutes will give you a much stronger tea taste. Since this is meant to be a light tea drink, 1 to 2 minutes of steeping is sufficient. Discard the tea bag.
- Add sugar into the hot black tea and stir to dissolve.
- Remove the pandan leaf and discard it. If you knotted the leaf, use a pair of tongs to remove it. If you had cut the leaf into small strips, simply strain the tea to remove the leaves.
- Add the remaining water into the light black tea. Mix and place the drink in the refrigerator to chill before serving.
Assembling the grass jelly drink
- Remove the grass jelly from its packet (or can).
- Slice it into thin strips.
- Add some grass jelly strips into a drinking glass. Add ice cubes (optional) and pour in the chilled black pandan infused tea. Serve.
Notes
- Tea bags can be substituted with loose tea leaves. Use 1 teaspoon of loose leaf tea for every tea bag.
- Black tea can be substituted with other types of tea like green tea, oolong tea, or Earl Grey. You can also substitute tea for soy milk. Soy milk is a another famous way for enjoying the grass jelly. The black jelly and white soy milk combination is sometimes referred to as 'Michael Jackson drink' after his famous Black and White song.
- White sugar can be replaced with brown sugar or cane sugar in the exact same quantity. You can also use simple syrup, or other flavored syrups like pandan syrup, palm sugar syrup, rose syrup and even Earl Grey syrup. Start with small quantities and test the tea before adding more syrup to suit your liking.
- If you choose to cut the jelly into cubes instead of strips, make sure the grass jelly cubes are small enough to pass through straws. Also, the jelly tastes better when cut into small cubes or into strips to balance its rather bland taste with the sweet drink it is served with.
- It is recommended for the drink to be prepared slightly concentrated as it will dilute when served with ice cubes. Another option would be to make the tea in advance and keep it chilled. That way, you need not add too many ice cubes that might dilute it further.
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