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+ servings
2 glasses of milk tea with jelly boba.
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4.75 from 4 votes

How to Make Lychee Jelly for Bubble Tea

Learn how to make lychee jelly for bubble tea with this easy homemade recipe. It's easy and makes great boba option for fruit and milk teas.
Prep Time30 minutes
Cook Time10 minutes
Jelly chilling time1 hour
Total Time1 hour 40 minutes
Course: Drinks
Cuisine: Asian
Servings: 4 glasses
Calories: 397.3kcal
Author: Priya Maha

Ingredients

Milk Tea

  • 600 ml water
  • 500 ml whole milk
  • 3 black tea bags
  • 4 tablespoon white sugar

Lychee Jelly

  • 5 g konnyaku jelly powder
  • 200 ml lychee syrup (from the lychee can)
  • 200 ml water
  • 75 g white sugar
  • 10 lychees (canned)

Instructions

Making the lychee jelly for boba

  • Mix jelly powder with the sugar. Stir well and set aside.
  • Add the lychees into the food processor.
  • Add water and lychee syrup from the can.
  • Blend until the lychees are smooth. Transfer the lychee juice into a medium sized saucepan.
  • Add the sugar and jelly powder mix into the lychee juice. Stir to disperse the mix into the liquid. Turn on the heat and let the solution cook over medium heat until the sugar and jelly powder is all dissolved. Keep stirring to avoid the jelly powder from clumping at the bottom of the pan.
  • Let the jelly cook until it reaches a rolling boil point. Turn off the heat.
  • Pour the cooked jelly solution into a shallow 9 inches square tin or tray. Let the jelly cool slightly before placing it in the fridge to set completely (for at least one to two hours).

Making the milk tea

  • Pour water into a small saucepan.
  • Turn on the heat to medium and let the water come to a boil. Turn off the heat and add the black tea bags.
  • Cover and let the tea steep in the hot water for 3 minutes.
  • Remove the lid, and remove the tea bags. Squeeze the tea from the tea bags with a back of a spoon and discard the bags.
  • Measure milk into a mixing glass. Add the tea to the milk.
  • Add sugar to the milk tea. Stir to dissolve.

Cutting the jelly boba

  • Once the jelly boba is set (it should be firm when you press it with your finger), you can cut it to make the boba.
  • Loosen the sides of the jelly with a palette knife. Place a large plate on the tray and turn it over.
  • If it does not drop out onto the plate, lift the tray and cut the jelly into half, in the tin. And then place the plate on top and turn it over. If it still does not fall out onto the plate, lift the tin slightly and try to push the sides of the jelly away from the tin. Do it gently to avoid breaking the jelly. The air pocket created between the jelly and the tin should help release the jelly from the tray.
  • Place the jelly onto a cutting board. Cut it into strips, making sure the width of the strips can pass through your bubble tea straws. At the same time, try not to cut the jelly cubes too small as you want them to be noticeable in your bubble tea.
  • Next, cut the strips into small cubes, again, making sure the width is consistent.
  • Transfer the cubed jelly boba into a bowl. Chill in the fridge until ready to assemble the tea.

Assembling the lychee boba tea (Lychee bubble tea)

  • Add the lychee jelly boba into drinking glass.
  • Top with the prepared milk tea. Add ice cubes if desired and serve.

Notes

  • Mixing the jelly powder and sugar before adding to the liquid will help avoid the jelly powder from clumping.
  • When cooking the jelly, it is very important to make sure the jelly powder is completely dissolved or else the jelly will not set properly. One way to ensure this is to cook the jelly to a rolling boil point over medium heat.
  • Jelly sets quicker in lower temperatures, hence if you want to set the lychee jelly quickly, refrigerating it will help.
  • When cutting the jelly, make sure the cubes are small enough to pass through a bubble tea straw. For that purpose and for easy cutting of the jelly, the jelly is best poured into a shallow tray or tin. I used a 9 inches square cake tin to pour my jelly. That way, the jelly was thin enough that I need not slice it into half horizontally before cutting it into cubes.
 

Variation

  • Konnyaku jelly powder can be substituted with agar agar powder. Use exact same quantity as the konnyaku jelly powder.
  • Tea bags can be replaced with loose tea. Use 1 teaspoon of loose tea for each tea bag.
  • White sugar for making the milk tea can be replaced with brown sugar.
  • Whole milk can be substituted with low fat milk or plant based milks like almond milk or oat milk. You can also use non dairy creamer to make your tea. Alternatively, you can also milk made with milk powder.
 

Nutrition

Calories: 397.3kcal | Carbohydrates: 87g | Protein: 4.5g | Fat: 4.3g | Saturated Fat: 2.4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.9g | Cholesterol: 15.5mg | Sodium: 79.1mg | Potassium: 269.7mg | Fiber: 0.4g | Sugar: 72.2g | Vitamin A: 208.8IU | Vitamin C: 17.9mg | Calcium: 178mg | Iron: 0.4mg