Lychee Tea - Easy, Fragrant and Absolutely Refreshing

This iced lychee tea makes an absolutely refreshing drink on a hot day. With only 4 ingredients, this sweet fruit flavored black tea is easy to make and enjoyed by all!

This is an easy fruit tea recipe. It starts with a base of black tea that is infused with lychee fruit syrup and real lychee fruits. Served chilled, this black lychee tea makes an excellent thirst quencher!

What is Lychee

Lychees are tropical fruits found mostly in China and the South East Asian 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 lychee flesh.

The lychee fruit flesh is white in color with a long brown seed on the inside. Both the skin and the seeds are inedible and should be discarded.

Lychees are loved by many for their sweet floral 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 fresh lychees. 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 made using canned lychees.

How to Make Ice Lychee Tea

Ingredients

For the black tea:

• Black tea (in tea bags)
• Water
• Lychees (canned)

For the lychee syrup:

• Lychees (canned)
• Syrup (from the can)
• Water

Making the lychee syrup for the tea

1. Drain the lychee fruits from the syrup. 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 the syrup 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.

Making the tea

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 minutes.
4. Remove the tea bags. Squeeze them to get as much tea out of them as possible. Add the remaining water and mix.

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.

Notes

Can you adjust the amount of tea used in the recipe?

• Yes, you can. If you like your tea stronger, increase the amount of tea leaves used. Do take note that too much tea will overpower the lychee taste in this lychee black tea.
• Similarly, if you prefer lighter tea, you can reduce the tea leaves used.

Can you reduce the amount of syrup used in the recipe?

• The syrup functions as a sweetener for the tea. It also imparts the lychee flavor to the tea.
• You can definitely reduce the amount of syrup used in making the tea if you prefer less sweeter tea, but that would mean the lychee flavor will also be slightly reduced.

How long will the lychee iced tea last?

• The tea is best consumed within the same day it is made. If not serving immediately, keep it chilled in the refrigerator.
• 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.

Can the lychee black tea be consumed hot?

• This recipe is meant to make iced tea and the drink is best consumed chilled.
• However, if you are not a fan of iced drinks, you can make this tea hot too. When making the tea, boil all the water instead of only half of it.

Can you make this lychee iced tea with other types of tea?

• Yes, you certainly can. Use your preferred tea and simply substitute it for the black tea. See how I used green tea to make lychee green tea here.

Like this lychee tea recipe? Here are my other posts you might want to check out:

• Grass Jelly Drink - Easy Homemade Recipe
• Lychee Syrup - Easy Homemade Recipe from Scratch
• Butterfly Pea Latte - Easy Blue Pea Flower Tea Latte
• Grass Jelly Milk Tea
• Lemongrass Pandan Tea
• Blueberry Lemonade - Pretty in Pink
• Pandan Milk - Flavorful and Easy

Recipe (Printable)

Here is the full printable version of my easy black lychee tea recipe:

Enjoy!