Lychee jelly takes about 20 minutes: simmer lychee juice with agar powder and sugar, set it in a shallow tray for 30 minutes, and cut it into cubes. It is vegan, needs no fridge to set, and keeps for three days.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Amount | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Lychee juice or syrup from tinned lychees | 400ml | Tinned syrup is already sweet — cut the sugar |
| Water | 100ml | Softens an over-strong juice |
| Agar agar powder | 5g (about 1½ tsp) | Not agar flakes — see conversion below |
| Caster sugar | 30–50g | To taste |
| Tinned lychees, diced | 6–8 | Optional, for pieces through the jelly |
| Lemon juice | 1 tsp | Lifts the flavour |
Yield: about 400g, enough for 8 drinks. Prep 5 minutes, cook 5 minutes, set 30 minutes.
Method
- Whisk the agar powder into the cold juice and water. Adding agar to hot liquid makes lumps that never dissolve.
- Bring to a full rolling boil over a medium heat, stirring the whole time.
- Simmer for 2 minutes. Agar only activates at boiling point — this step is the difference between a clean set and a weeping jelly.
- Stir in the sugar and lemon juice until dissolved, then take it off the heat.
- Scatter the diced lychee into a shallow tray and pour the liquid over to a depth of 1–1.5cm.
- Leave at room temperature for 30 minutes. Agar sets at about 40°C, so it needs no fridge, and chilling it fast makes it brittle.
- Turn out and cut into 1cm cubes with an oiled knife.
Firmness guide
| Agar per 500ml liquid | Result | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 3g | Soft, spoonable | Dessert layers |
| 5g | Firm cubes that hold their edge | Bubble tea — the standard |
| 7g | Very firm, slightly rubbery | Jelly that has to travel |
Agar flakes are weaker than powder: use about 1 tbsp flakes per 1 tsp powder. Gelatine is not a substitute here — it melts in a room-temperature drink and is not vegetarian.
Using it in drinks
Lychee jelly suits light, cold drinks where the floral note comes through: jasmine green tea, lychee fruit tea, passionfruit, peach oolong, and yakult-style sodas. It pairs well with crystal boba or popping boba for contrasting textures, and less well with a heavy brown sugar milk tea, which buries it.
Storage
- Keep the cubes in their own syrup in a sealed pot in the fridge for up to 3 days.
- Do not freeze — agar jelly thaws watery and collapses.
- If it weeps liquid after a day, the agar was under-boiled. Drain and use it the same day.
Common mistakes
- Not boiling. The most common failure. A simmer is not enough for agar.
- Using pure lychee juice with no water. Very sweet juice gives a cloying jelly.
- Adding lemon juice before boiling. High acidity weakens agar's set — add it at the end.
- Pouring too deep. A thick slab gives chunks too big for a boba straw. Stay near 1cm.
People also ask
- How do you make popping boba at home?
- Blend sodium alginate into juice, drip it into a calcium bath, and lift the spheres out after 60 seconds. Read the full answer
- What do you need to make bubble tea at home?
- Strong tea, milk or fruit, brown sugar syrup, tapioca pearls and a wide straw — a kit covers the rest. Read the full answer
- What are the bubbles in bubble tea made of?
- Tapioca pearls: cassava starch, water and brown sugar. The name itself comes from the foam on a shaken tea. Read the full answer
- What is popping boba made of?
- Fruit juice sealed in a thin seaweed-derived alginate skin, set with calcium — no tapioca and no gelatin. Read the full answer
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