Lychee Milk Tea Recipe: Easy Boba Tea at Home

Lychee milk tea is one of the most requested drinks at boba shops — and one of the easiest to make at home. The combination of sweet, floral lychee with creamy milk and a fragrant tea base (usually jasmine green tea) is refreshing and distinctive in a way that most fruit teas aren’t.

This recipe works with fresh lychee, canned lychee syrup, or lychee extract, so you can make it any time of year. Add tapioca pearls, lychee jelly, or popping boba to turn it into a full boba tea experience.

What Is Lychee Milk Tea?

Lychee milk tea is a chilled drink made from:

• A tea base (jasmine green tea is traditional; black tea or oolong also work)
• Lychee flavor — from fresh lychee, canned lychee syrup, or lychee syrup
• Milk or creamer
• Optional: tapioca boba pearls, lychee jelly, or popping boba
• Served over ice

The flavor profile is sweet, floral, and lightly tropical. Fresh lychee has a delicate grape-meets-rose quality that pairs beautifully with jasmine tea’s floral notes. It’s a natural fit — the two flavors reinforce each other.

Lychee Milk Tea vs Lychee Green Tea

Lychee green tea (no milk) is a lighter, cleaner drink — just brewed tea + lychee. Lychee milk tea adds cream for richness. If you’re new to the flavor, start with the milk version; it’s more forgiving and the creaminess rounds out the floral sweetness.

Ingredients

Serves: 1 large (16 oz) drink
Time: 15 minutes (plus boba cooking time if adding)

For the tea base:

• 1 tbsp loose-leaf jasmine green tea (or 2 jasmine tea bags)
• 1 cup (240ml) hot water (175°F / 80°C — not boiling)
• Steep 3 minutes, then remove leaves/bags

For lychee flavor (choose one):

• Option A — Fresh lychee: 4–5 peeled, pitted lychees, mashed or blended to paste + 1 tbsp sugar
• Option B — Canned lychee: 3–4 canned lychees (drained) + 2–3 tbsp of the canning syrup
• Option C — Lychee syrup: 2–3 tbsp store-bought lychee syrup (Torani, Monin, or DaVinci)

Everything else:

• ¾ cup (180ml) chilled tea
• 3 tbsp lychee syrup or mashed lychee (from options above)
• 3–4 tbsp milk, half-and-half, or condensed milk
• Ice (about 1 cup)
• ½ cup cooked tapioca boba (optional — see boba recipe)

Lychee Simple Syrup (From Fresh or Canned Lychee)

If you’re starting from fresh or canned lychee, make a quick syrup for the smoothest result:

Ingredients:

• 5–6 fresh lychees (peeled, pitted) or 6 canned lychees
• ¼ cup (50g) sugar
• ¼ cup (60ml) water
• 2 tsp canning syrup (if using canned)

Instructions:

1. Combine everything in a small saucepan over medium heat.
2. Mash the lychees with a fork as they heat — they break down easily.
3. Stir until the sugar dissolves and the liquid just starts to simmer (about 3 minutes).
4. Remove from heat and strain through a fine mesh strainer, pressing to extract all juice.
5. Cool completely. Store in the fridge up to 1 week.

This makes about ½ cup of syrup — enough for 3–4 drinks.

How to Make Lychee Milk Tea

Step 1: Brew the tea
Brew jasmine green tea at 175°F (not boiling — boiling water makes green tea bitter). Steep 3 minutes exactly. Remove leaves/bags. Cool to room temperature or chill in the fridge.

Step 2: Prepare lychee
If using fresh lychee syrup (from above), it should be fully cooled. If using store-bought syrup, it’s ready to go. If using canned lychee, add 2–3 tbsp of the canning syrup + mash 2–3 lychee pieces to a rough paste.

Step 3: Mix the drink
In a tall glass or shaker, combine:

• ¾ cup chilled tea
• 2–3 tbsp lychee syrup (start with 2, taste and add more)
• 2–3 tbsp milk or half-and-half

Stir or shake until combined. Taste — adjust lychee level or sweetness.

Step 4: Assemble
Add ice to your serving glass. If you’ve made boba pearls, add them first. Pour the lychee milk tea over ice.

Step 5: Garnish
Drop 1–2 whole lychees (fresh or canned) into the glass as garnish. They look great and you can eat them at the end.

Which Tea Base to Use

Jasmine green tea is the classic choice because the floral notes in jasmine echo the floral sweetness of lychee. It’s a natural pairing that makes the drink taste layered and complex rather than one-dimensional.

Milk Options

For a traditional Taiwanese-style milk tea, use half-and-half or condensed milk + whole milk mixed. For a lighter version, use oat milk.

Toppings and Add-Ins

Tapioca boba pearls — The classic choice. Cook black sugar or regular tapioca pearls using the boba recipe guide. Add ¼–½ cup per drink. They have a chewy, starchy texture that contrasts the light tea.

Lychee jelly — Translucent cubes made from lychee juice and konjac. Softer than boba, lighter, and the most “lychee-forward” topping. Available in Asian grocery stores or online.

Popping boba (lychee flavor) — Juice-filled spheres that pop in your mouth. More playful than regular boba, great for kids. No cooking needed.

Basil seeds — Soak dry basil seeds in water for 10 minutes — they bloom into bubble-like seeds with a tapioca-like texture. Zero cooking, very low calorie, slightly crunchy.

Cold foam — Froth cold oat milk or heavy cream with an electric frother for 30 seconds. Pour over the top of your drink for a layered, café-style presentation. See how to make cold foam.

Lychee Milk Tea Variations

Lychee Rose Milk Tea
Add 1 tsp of rose simple syrup to the drink for a layered floral effect. Lychee + rose is one of the best boba flavor combinations. Optionally add dried rose petals on top.

Lychee Matcha Latte
Layer over matcha instead of tea. Mix 1 tsp matcha powder with 2 tbsp hot water to make a paste, cool, add milk and lychee syrup. The earthy matcha and sweet floral lychee is a surprising combination that works well.

Lychee Taro Milk Tea
Mix lychee syrup into taro milk tea for a purple-pink drink that tastes like tropical candy. Use the taro milk tea recipe as the base, add 1 tbsp lychee syrup, stir.

Lychee Mango Milk Tea
Combine lychee syrup and mango syrup (1 tbsp each) with black tea and milk. Tropical and vibrant — two fruity flavors that work together rather than competing.

Iced Lychee Green Tea (No Milk)
Skip the milk entirely. Just brewed jasmine green tea + lychee syrup + ice. Lighter, cleaner, and refreshing. Great for hot days when you want the flavor without creaminess. Add fresh lychees as garnish.

Lychee Brown Sugar Milk Tea
Replace plain syrup with brown sugar syrup. Make brown sugar syrup by simmering 1:1 brown sugar to water. The caramel notes from brown sugar add depth to the floral lychee. Drizzle the syrup down the sides of the glass for a visual effect.

Fresh vs. Canned vs. Syrup — Which Lychee to Use

For most people, canned lychee in syrup is the best starting point — it’s available year-round, the canning syrup doubles as sweetener, and the flavor is genuinely good. Fresh lychee in season is worth the extra work for the superior fragrance.

Make-Ahead Tips

Tea: Brew a full pot, cool, and refrigerate up to 3 days. Use cold tea straight from the fridge.

Lychee syrup: Make a big batch (use all the lychees from a can). It keeps 1 week in the fridge or 2 months frozen in ice cube trays.

Boba: Cook boba in advance and store in simple syrup in the fridge up to 48 hours. Beyond that, they get hard. Don’t freeze cooked boba.

Batch drinks: Mix tea + lychee syrup in a pitcher (no milk), refrigerate up to 2 days. Add milk and ice per glass when serving.

Frequently Asked Questions