Lychee Tea (Easy, Fragrant and Absolutely Refreshing)

❤️Why you will love this recipe

• This is an easy fruit tea recipe with a lovely natural lychee flavor.
• The drink is made with real lychee fruit and is filled with the rich fruit flavor of lychees.
• There are no artificial flavors in this black tea.
• With only 4 ingredients, this is a very quick drink to make.
• It makes perfect ice tea for hot summer days.

❓What is Lychee

• Lychee is a tropical fruit that grows mostly in China and the Southeast Asia region. They are about the size of strawberries and look quite similar, however, lychees have thin coarse skin that needs to be peeled off to get the sweet white flesh on the inside.
• The lychee fruit flesh is white in color with a long brown seed on the inside. Both the lychee peels and the seeds are inedible and should be discarded.
• Lychees are loved by many for their sweet floral notes in its taste and smell. The fruits are sweet and juicy with a slight hint of citrus taste. Although finding fresh lychee fruits may not be possible all year round, these fruits are widely sold canned in syrup. And although slightly sweeter than the fresh lychees, canned lychees can be enjoyed in the same way as the fresh fruit. They are also very often the preferred choice when making desserts due to its their consistency in taste.
• The lychee black tea recipe on this page is uses lychees in can.

For the black tea

• Black tea bags - these are easier to use and you need not strain the tea after the steeping process.
• Water - use filtered water.
• Lychees - canned lychees are preferred as their taste is more consistent and they are already peeled and stoned.

For the lychee syrup

• Lychees (canned) - canned lychees are preferred because you also need to use the syrup from the can to make the lychee syrup.
• Syrup (from the can) - infused with lychees and enhances the lychee flavor in the syrup.
• hite sugar - both coarse or granulated sugar will work for this recipe.

🧾Substitution and variations

• Black tea in tea bags can be substituted with loose leaf tea. Use 1 teaspoon of loose leaves for every tea bag.
• Black tea can be substituted with green tea or jasmine tea. Use exact same quantity.

Making the lychee syrup for the tea

1. Drain the lychee fruits and set the syrup aside. Add the lychee flesh into a food processor.
2. Measure the syrup into the food processor and blend the fruits until smooth.
3. Strain the lychee juice with a fine mesh sieve to remove all the fruit pulp. Discard the pulp after straining.
4. Pour the lychee juice into a pot and add in the sugar. Turn on the heat and cook it on medium low fire.
5. Continue to cook (stir occasionally) until the sugar is all dissolved.
6. Once the syrup comes to a boil, turn off the heat.

1. Pour half of the water into a small pot and bring it to a boil.
2. Turn off the heat and put in the tea bags.
3. Cover the pot and let the tea steep in the hot water for 3-4 minutes.
4. Remove the tea bags. Squeeze them to get as much tea out of them as possible. Add the remaining water and mix. Let the tea cool down.

Assembling the lychee black tea

1. Measure the lychee syrup into the tea. Stir to mix.
2. Prepare your drinking glass. Add about 4 to 5 lychees into each glass.
3. Top with ice cubes.
4. Pour in the lychee infused black tea. Serve.

🍽️Serving & storage

• If not serving immediately, keep it chilled in the refrigerator. Consume the tea within the same day you make it.
• In fact, making the tea slightly in advance and keeping it chilled in the fridge is a better way to serve this tea as you do not need to add too many ice cubes to it. Too many ice cubes in the drink can dilute the tea, making the tea taste bland.

💡Expert tips

• If you are using ice cubes for your drink, add them right before serving to prevent the tea from becoming too diluted.

💭FAQs