This is a summer bubble tea with three textures: chewy tapioca pearls, soft cubes of pistachio jelly, and sweet whole lychees, all in jasmine tea perfumed with rose.
Many shop-bought jellies use gelatin, but agar, made from seaweed, sets just as well and stays firm at room temperature. Here it sets a quick homemade pistachio milk into pale green cubes.
Boba shops often use dairy creamers, so homemade is the easy way to be sure your bubble tea is vegan.
The original Princess Tofu blog published a lychee rose boba with pistachio jelly recipe back in 2014, and food sites still link to it. This is our own fully vegan version, written from scratch.
Ingredient notes and swaps
- Tea: jasmine green tea is classic; oolong or white tea also work.
- Fresh lychees: peel and stone about 12, and make a quick syrup with sugar and water.
- Pistachio milk: shop-bought pistachio or almond milk works for the jelly.
Tips for success
- Don't refrigerate cooked pearls; they harden. Cook them within an hour of serving.
- Agar must boil for a full 2 minutes to set properly.
Variations
- Milk tea: add a splash of oat milk for a creamy version.
- Mango: swap lychees for mango and leave out the rose.
- No pearls: serve with just the jelly cubes for an easier drink.
What to serve it with
- On a hot afternoon with something salty, like gyoza.
Lychee Rose Boba with Pistachio Jelly
Ingredients
Pistachio jelly
- 50 g (⅓ cup) shelled unsalted pistachios
- 250 ml (1 cup) water
- 1 tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp agar powder
Tea and pearls
- 2 jasmine or green tea bags
- 300 ml (1¼ cups) hot water (80°C)
- 60 g quick-cook tapioca pearls
- 2 tbsp brown sugar
Lychee rose
- 1 can (about 565 g) lychees in syrup
- ½ tsp rosewater
- Ice
Method
- For the jelly, blend the pistachios with the water for 1 minute, then strain through a fine sieve or nut-milk bag.
- Pour the pistachio milk into a small pan with the sugar and agar. Bring to a boil, stirring, and simmer for 2 minutes.
- Pour into a small container and chill for 30 minutes until set. Cut into cubes.
- Brew the tea bags in the hot water for 3 minutes, remove them and cool the tea.
- Cook the tapioca pearls following the pack instructions. Drain and stir them into the brown sugar while warm.
- Drain the lychees, keeping the syrup. Blend 6 lychees with 100 ml (scant ½ cup) syrup and the rosewater.
- Divide the pearls, jelly cubes and remaining lychees between two glasses, add ice, and pour over the lychee rose and the tea. Stir and drink with wide straws.
Pearls: cooked tapioca pearls harden in the fridge, so cook them close to serving.
Sweetness: canned lychee syrup is sweet. Taste before adding more sugar.