Lychee boba is one of the tastiest drinks we can think of, especially on long, hot summer days. The sweet fruitiness is almost as good as the condensation on the outside of the cup - the ultimate refreshment!
In this article, we’re going to answer any and all questions that you might have about lychee bubble tea. We cover everything from what it actually is at the most basic level, to what are the best ways to make it yourself.
We’ve been making and drinking bubble tea for years now, and the wonderful lychee boba taste is one of our favourites. It’s sweet, refreshing, and delicious! Read on to take a little bit of our knowledge with you. We’re sure everyone will learn something!
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What is it?
Lychee boba tea is a specific type of milk tea, which is a tea-based drink from Taiwan. Generally, the drink is made from some cool black tea, as well as a little smooth, cool milk, and, finally, some sweet fruity flavour to tie the whole thing together. Among these wonderful ingredients, you can find some delightful boba pearls. The addition of these pearls brings a wonderful texture to the drink.
What does it taste like?
Lychee boba is possibly the best of all milk teas available. The tea gives the drink a pleasantly deep and bitter base. Meanwhile, the milk smooths that out, bringing creaminess to the table, to boot. The pearls don’t add a lot of flavour typically, but they do add a lovely texture.
The lychee is often added as syrup or infused into the rest of the drink, and it rounds out each sip with a bright, sweet note that makes it wonderfully addictive.
Lychee tastes quite similar to rambutan as the plants themselves are quite similar. To pick which fruit you prefer, take a look at our rambutan vs lychee article.
Calories
The numbers on this front are a little spotty, but the rough number of calories in a serving of lychee boba is approximately two hundred. This changes depending on any additives in the drink, as well as the rough size of the portion that you’re having.
Ingredients
The ingredients in this fruity bubble tea can vary quite a lot, though if you’re using a lychee bubble tea kit, things will be simpler for you. Let’s go through a few ingredients, and talk about them.
Lychee
- Fresh: Lychee is a sweet, delicate fruit that imparts a wonderfully summery flavour to bubble tea. Using it fresh is a great way to know precisely what’s in your food.
- Powder: The powder is processed from the fresh fruit. It is typically used to ensure that the tea sold in a store is the same every time. This is worth using if you’d like predictably tasty tea.
- Syrup: The fruit syrup is typically a solution of sugar and water that has been infused with fresh lychee to create a flavoured syrup. This has the advantage of predictability (like the powder), though it can’t be stored for as long as the powder can.
Tapioca Pearls
Tapioca pearls are made from tapioca flour and water. They’re shaped into a sphere and then boiled until soft and slightly chewy. Moreover, they can be coloured and flavoured, though that’s up to you. Lots of options will likely be available during the shopping process. Choosing your favourite will make the best lychee boba for you!
Milk
You can feel free to use whichever type of milk you prefer, whether dairy or plant-based. With that said, though, using half-and-half is a great way to make the drink more indulgent - it’s so creamy!
Sugar
Brown sugar syrup is usually used for lychee boba, though you can use brown or white sugar. We’re going to use white granulated sugar here as it’s a little more accessible, and it keeps the flavours pleasantly simple.
Lychee bubble tea kit
A good bubble tea kit will include the relevant kind of flavoured syrup. They should come along with the tea, tapioca pearls, and sweetener needed to make the recipe. We’ve found plenty of options for good kits online over the years, so we’d recommend doing some shopping around to find the perfect option for you.
Using Fresh Fruit
Using fresh fruit has both benefits and drawbacks.
On the positive side of things, it can be wonderful for enhancing your drink with the true flavour of the fruit - sweetness, sourness, and freshness will all come through in the infusing process, leading to a wonderful lychee boba.
The problem with using fresh fruit is that the infusing process can be a pain: it takes a lot of time compared to the final drinking of the beverage. This is especially the case if you’re using fruit with small seeds, such as fresh strawberries, making a strawberry boba.
Using Milk Tea Powder
Milk tea powder can be a wonderful thing: simply add the powder to a shaker and shake it to get yourself on the way to an amazing flavour! However, the drawback is that the chemicals used to replicate flavours are often artificial rather than authentically sourced from the drink. This isn’t great, as it’s introducing a new level of additives into your diet.
Using milk tea powder, you would typically add a prescribed number of scoops of powder to your shaking vessel, along with some water. After sealing, you would shake the vessel quite aggressively and then pour it into a glass, along with some tapioca pearls, if you’d like.
The main benefit of making lychee boba or any milk tea this way is the speed - it’s really quick and easy!
Using Syrup
Syrup can be a great way to preserve fruit flavours. Making a simple syrup in your home and infusing it with a fruit or herb is really easy and cheap, meaning that you can be confident of the content of the syrup. This will work well for lychee boba or any other boba drink.
Sourcing the syrup can be tricky if you don’t want to make it yourself, but it’s definitely worth it. It’s tremendously versatile and easy to use on other things, for example, ice cream-based desserts.
Lychee Popping Boba
Lychee popping boba are exquisite - both fun and delicious! Making them yourself is surprisingly simple, and we’d recommend giving them a go if you’re into boba making. Here is our wonderful recipe to make your own popping boba.
Lychee Jelly
Lychee jelly is a wonderful option for boba making. It can be stored for several days without spoiling, and it doesn’t need to be cooked. The preparation method is the same as our coffee jelly recipe.
Lychee Boba Recipe | Fruity Bubble Tea
Ingredients
- Black or green tea leaves green tea is recommended
- ¼ cup creamer almond or soy milk works well
- handful lychee
- ¼ cup boba pearls
- ½ cup lychee juice
- 1-2 tablespoon sugar syrup
- Ice
Instructions
- First of all, bring two pots of water to a boil - one for your tea and one for your pearls. Add the tea to one pot and the boba to another, and allow for them both to cook. The tea will brew in four to seven minutes, while the boba pearls will take ten to fifteen minutes to cook.
- Peel and remove the ‘meat’ from the lychee, taking care to destone each of the fruits. Add them to a blender, along with a handful of ice. Pulse the mixture until a thin paste is formed. It will be ready when it’s more liquid than solid and runs off a spoon easily.
- Either make or prepare your sugar syrup, adding it to a mixing bowl. Add the cooked and cooled pearls to the sugar syrup, and mix well, ensuring that all the pearls as well coated in the syrup.
- Now, assemble your lychee boba tea! Add the boba pearls to your cup, and follow those with the creamer of your choice. Next, add the blended fruit and, finally, add ¾ cup of freshly brewed tea. Either stir or shake your mixture, and your lychee boba is served!
Notes
Nutrition
Calories have been calculated using an online calculator. Nutritional information offered on Honest Food Talks is for general information purposes and are only rough estimations.
Now that you’re filled in on all the facts about lychee bubble tea check out our Instagram @honestfoodtalks today to see what else we’re sharing!
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