A cold glass of lychee iced tea is just what you need on a hot summer day! This fruity drink combines black tea and lychee puree for a refreshing, lightly sweet drink with floral notes. The perfect tropical twist to classic iced tea!
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Lychee is a tropical fruit from Southeast Asia that has a natural sweetness and fragrant taste. I enjoyed it so much when I first tried it that I couldn't help but add it to my favorite drinks.
Aside from this iced lychee tea, the lychee flavor just goes so well with lemonade and martinis. It’s a great way to make your everyday drinks feel a little more special.
📖Why My Recipe Works
- Lightly Sweet- Add simple syrup to turn it into a sweet tea.
- Smooth Drink- I strained the pulp to smooth out the texture and reduce any chalkiness.
🧾Ingredient Notes
- Black Tea Bags- Black tea is best if you want a bold tea flavor. For more floral flavors, try oolong tea or Jasmine green tea.
- Lychee- Fresh lychee is hard to find where I live, and I like using canned lychee because it already has syrup, so there's no need to add more sweeteners (at least for my taste).
- Garnish with fresh lemon slices and mint leaves for a fresh touch.
- Sweet Tea- For a sweeter version, add honey or simple syrup.
⏲️How to Make Lychee Tea
- Add the tea bags to hot water and let it steep. Don't oversteep to prevent having a bitter flavor – remove the tea bags after 10 minutes. Let it cool before mixing it with the lychees.
- Make lychee puree by blending the lychees until smooth. Use a fine mesh strainer to remove the pulp, but you can leave some pulp if you prefer.
- Combine the tea base, lychee mixture, and water in a pitcher. Since lychee is naturally sweet, taste before adding extra sweeteners. Allow the tea to chill for at least one hour.
Once chilled, pour the fruit tea into a glass with ice cubes, garnish with lemon slices, mint leaves, and more lychees, and enjoy!
👩🏻🍳 Flavor Twist
Skip the syrup and add mango nectar for the ultimate tropical drink. You can also experiment with different versions – try adding peach puree, muddled strawberries or raspberries, or a squeeze of fresh lemon juice. You can also turn it into a cocktail by adding a shot of vodka or gin!
More Summer Drinks
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📖 Recipe Card
Lychee Iced Tea
Ingredients
- 10 Black tea bags
- 8 cups Filtered water, divided
- 20 ounce can of lychees in syrup
- Lemon slices, mint for garnish
Instructions
- Bring 5 cups of water to a boil. Remove from heat and add tea bags. Steep 10 minutes. Discard tea bags.10 Black tea bags, 8 cups Filtered water, divided
- Puree the lychees and the syrup. Strain to remove the pulp.20 ounce can of lychees in syrup
- Pour the tea into a pitcher. Add the lychee syrup, stirring until totally incorporated. Add the remaining 3 cups of water.20 ounce can of lychees in syrup
- Chill for a minimum of one hour. Serve with lemon slices and mint leaves.Lemon slices, mint
Notes
- The tea will keep in the refrigerator for 3-4 days, be sure to cover the pitcher.
Equipment
- Fine mesh strainer
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