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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omg i’m loving your blog!!!!! xxx
Thank you so much! =)
wow..am going to try this out
I hope you’ll like the drink =) It’s perfect for the summer
Thank you, Andrea, for visiting my site! Love food, and love lychee. Really looking forward to lychee season this year, and will definitely try this recipe!
I am so looking forward to the lychee and longan season! I hope you’ll enjoy the recipe =)
Wow, thanks so much. Definitely going to try this out!!
I hope you’ll like it!
Oh boy, this looks amazing, exactly what I want right now! This would be great in a kombucha tea (are you familiar with that? I’ve only recently begun making it myself – so very nice.) I might have to go experiment – though we are heading into Winter here in Australia, so might need the canned variety also! x
I haven’t had kombucha tea before though I’ve heard of it. Is it a strong flavor? We just started spring and it feels like summer already.
Andrea, you have a wonderful blog! It is a very enjoyable experience to visit you on WordPress. I am having a problem answering comments and replies when they are sent. Do I have to visit another WordPress page to read and respond to them?
Thank you! I usually go to the comment box on the upper right, next to “New Post” and click on “View Archive.” Or I go to my dashboard and click on “comments” there. I hope that helps. If you have any other questions, let me know =)
Looks fabulous. I would like to try this when the weather warms up.
Thank you!
Hello Andrea, Looks like you have got an amazing drink ready for the summer time.
Here in my home place, it’s like living beside a furnace, temperature is around 38 Deg C and very high humidity.
I really wish I could order it sitting here 🙂 (at least I’ll ask my wife to give it a try )
If you end up trying the drink, I hope you’ll like it =)
We tried a slightly different variant and it was pretty cool 🙂
Thanks for sharing your idea.
You’re welcome =)
Yum, I’m definitely going to try this..
I hope you’ll like it =)
Love lychees – but it isn’t anything like summer here yet – more like hot chocolate weather!
We’re just starting into spring/summer weather. Lychees aren’t even in season yet, but the idea just popped into my head and I couldn’t resist. So I made the drink using the canned version. I’ll alter it when the fresh ones are available.The day I made the lychee mint green tea, it was freezing! lol
Hmmm – mint might go with hot chocolate. Summer will come one day, I guess.