Lychee Martini Recipe (with Lychee Tapioca Pearls)

I’ve long enjoyed a lychee martini when available but it wasn’t until I started traveling to China that I attached a sentiment to it. Every China trip I would fly in and fly out of Hong Kong and stay at the W Hotel, which has an excellent lychee martini in their WOOBar. So now when I have a good lychee martini it reminds me of travel, adventure, and the journey ahead. Since I haven’t been to China in a while I decided to come up with the closest lychee martini recipe I could find…and this one’s a winner. It’s so good, if I were in a bar I would order a second round!

Jump to my Lychee Martini Recipe

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Lychee, Tapioca Pearls, Lemon, St Germain

What is Lychee?

Lychee is a tropical fruit from the soapberry tree and it’s native to China. That’s probably why lychee martinis aren’t that common and you find them at a lot of upscale Asian restaurants. The taste is unique and I’ve heard it explained before as a cross between a floral and a melon flavor.

Fresh Lychee or Canned Lychee?

In the U.S., you can sometimes find fresh lychee in the produce aisle, but if you can’t, they are readily available canned (if not in your store you can order canned online). Generally canned is in syrup, but I have seen them before with no sugar added (although I haven’t tried these).

Lychee is kind of acorn or strawberry shaped and a little smaller than a golf ball. If you use fresh lychee you’ll need to pop off the stem, peel the fruit, and pull out the seed. The flavor isn’t as sweet as canned since canned is stored in syrup.

I prefer to use canned lychee in martinis. Way less work and I like the extra sweetness it gives the drink. Plus you can keep it in your cupboard and have lychee martinis whenever you feel like it. And you will feel like it, trust me!

What are Tapioca Pearls?

A few years ago Boba (or Bubble) tea became very popular in the U.S. and part of it was for the chewy tapioca balls in the bottom of the drink. Originating from Asia, tapioca pearls are translucent chewy spheres made from tapioca and take on whatever flavor they are flavored with. Since lychee is Asian and tapioca balls are Asian and I wanted a little extra lychee flavor in the drink I thought, why not?

These are the lychee tapioca pearls I use. They are easy to make but I must stress that you need to follow the directions and put them in an ice bath to cool them off and prevent overcooking. Also, I only put about 5 or 6 in each martini so only make as many as you think you’ll need.

Enjoy!

Pouring St Germain for Lychee Martini Recipe

Recommended Tools to Make Lychee Martini

Jigger | You’ll need to measure your liquids for the martini. Of course, you can use a measuring cup but I find it easier to use my dual-sided jigger, which is a staple of every proper at-home bar.
Cocktail Shaker | The Cobbler shaker is the easiest shaker to use in my opinion since it has a built-in strainer and lid. All-in-one.
Coupe Glasses | The perfect glass for a champagne cocktail or a martini is a coupe. Trust me, I used to be a drinkware buyer.