Iced mint green tea sweetened with lychee and strawberries, a perfect beverage for a warm summer day.
Have you ever had lychee before? It’s a sweet Asian fruit with a tough reddish brown outer skin and a big black seed in the middle. No? You should really try it.
I’ve been craving it. Unfortunately, lychee is a summer fruit so it’s too early to be in season right now. At least, where I live. I haven’t even seen them at the supermarket, and if they are sold right now, it’s probably very expensive because it’s not in season. Therefore, I had to resort to the next best thing, canned lychee. Once, fresh lychees are in season, I plan to revisit this recipe and adjust it. =)
Easy to follow with only a few simple steps, my recipe will allow you to enjoy your summery beverage ready in no time. This iced green tea will have the exotic flavor of lychee, the refreshing taste of mint, and the familiar sweetness of strawberries. Since you are making this drink at home, you can customize it to your taste, unlike the fruit flavored teas that you find at Asian milk tea shops.
Speaking of those Asian milk tea shops, I have a confession. I’m a milk tea addict. I love the taste of honey milk black tea with tapioca pearls. But I’m trying to get myself off it. The good news is that many of those Asian milk tea shops now allow you to customize the level of sweetness, which is a lot better than before, right? And half of those shops use real brewed tea, while the other half uses powder mixes. So if you want to try certain milk tea shops, make sure to look at reviews to see what people say.
Anyway, in a small pot, boil about two cups of water and add in two bags of green tea. This part, you can adjust to the amount of tea you want. Remember, about one cup of water per tea bag per person. So you can increase the amount according to the number of people you’re serving.
Remove the pot from heat. Add in mint leaves. Allow the tea bags and mint leaves to steep for a few minutes. The longer you leave in the water, the stronger the taste. Once the mint green tea has reached your liking, remove the mint and tea bags and allow the tea to sit for a few more minutes to cool. This is how I make my homemade mint green tea. If that’s what you want, you can stop right there and enjoy your hot mint green tea. I added a few lychees to see if it would enhance the lychee flavor, not really. So don’t do it.
But if you want to continue for a more exotic iced tea… =)
Open the can of lychee. Measure about ½ – 1 cup of the lychee syrup and pour it into the mint green tea. Stir to evenly mix the flavors. I added about a cup of the lychee syrup, but you should add it to your taste. If you prefer your drink less sweet, add less of the lychee syrup. If you like your tea sweeter, add more of the syrup. The lychee syrup is pretty much the same as simple syrup except that it tastes like lychee. You won’t use all the syrup or the lychee. That means you can use it for a different recipe or you can eat as is.
Divide the lychee mint green tea into 2-3 glasses. Add in 3-4 lychees per glass.
Add in chopped strawberries.
Add in a few mint leaves for garnish and a more refreshing taste.
For decoration, slice a strawberry in half, leaving the top intact. That photo did not come out well. Unfortunately, it was the only one I took. But you get the picture =) Place the sliced strawberry over the rim of the glass.
Add a few ice cubes or chill the tea in the refrigerator for at least a half hour.
Serve the beverage cold and enjoy!
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I love lychees and mint tea.We get a lot during summer. But in Europe you don’t find it easily atleast now.I can imagine what a lovely summer drink it must be topped with strawberries 🙂
Lychee is definitely a summer fruit. It’s not in season in the United States yet either. But once I had the idea in my head, I had to give it a try so I resorted to using the canned ones. lol. If you get the chance to try the recipe, I hope you’ll like it =)
YUM! 🙂 Lychee, mint and strawberries are three of my favorite summer flavors 🙂
Thanks, Sophie! I hope you’ll like the recipe=)
I love Lychees although until a minute ago I didn’t know that was what they are actually called! Although I get them here in the Chinese supermarket and they have brown skin not red. Either way they are delicious!
Is it a smooth brown skin? If it is, then it might be longan and not lychee. Lychee has a rougher skin. But I love longan more because it’s sweeter. =)
It is smooth brown skin! They are delicious.
The smooth brown skin one is longan. You can look into lychee or rambutan too. They’re very similar. =)
Our fresh Lychee season in Brisbane was very short this summer. And I’m not really a fan of the canned fruit.. too sugary. But I’m printing out your recipe ready for next Christmas
I hope you’ll like it when you do get a chance to try it. I had to make do with the canned ones since the fresh lychees aren’t in season yet. lol. I couldn’t wait to attempt to make the drink once I had the idea
Ooo living in singapore I have access to lychee! And it’s basically summer all the time. I’m gonna try this.
You’re so lucky! I hope you’ll like the recipe =)
I love milk tea too, usually I get the lychee jelly instead of tapioca balls though. Your pictures make me want to go out and get some iced tea now!
I love lychee jelly too. =) Actually, I love anything related to milk tea. It’s addictive. lol
I really enjoy fruit and herb tea. This sounds wonderful! I have to admit I have not had Asian milk tea but think I will have to try it.
Asian milk tea is the trend in the San Francisco Bay Area. While I was studying dental hygiene, my group of friends and I would always go after class if we were stressed out, if were celebrating, if we were studying. Which is so bad since it’s sugary and worse when you’re doing dental hygiene. lol
I’ll have to try it when I get the chance. 🙂
This looks really tasty.
Thank you! I hope you’ll like it if you give it a try =)
yum that sounds amazing!!
Thank you!
omg..I love lychee 🙂
I hope you’ll like this drink then =)
This looks so good. I love your blog! I can’t wait to try this and other recipes xx
Thank you!