Lychee juice with nata de coco is a chilled drink of sweet lychee (litchi) juice mixed with chewy cubes of nata de coco, a gel of bacterial cellulose made by fermenting coconut water. The floral sweetness of lychee pairs with the neutral, springy bite of the cubes, so every sip gives you both flavor and texture. You make it in 10 minutes from 5 ingredients: lychees, cold water, sugar, nata de coco, and ice.
This guide gives you exact quantities in metric and US units, a 6-step method, and a ratio table for light, classic, and chunky drinks. It also covers 5 drink variations, from a sparkling cooler to lychee bubble tea, how long the drink keeps in the fridge, how cafés portion it, and which ready-to-drink versions you can buy.
What Do You Need To Make Lychee Juice With Nata De Coco?
You need 300 g (10.6 oz) of lychees, 200 ml (6.8 fl oz) of cold water, 20–30 g (1.5–2 tbsp) of sugar, 100 g (3.5 oz) of nata de coco, and ice to make 2 glasses of 250 ml (8.5 fl oz).
Ingredient
Metric
US
Note
Lychees, peeled and seeded (fresh or canned)
300 g
10.6 oz
About 25 fresh lychees or 1¼ cans of 565 g (20 oz), drained
Cold water
200 ml
6.8 fl oz
Use 150 ml (5 fl oz) for a stronger flavor
Sugar or simple syrup
20–30 g
1.5–2 tbsp
Skip it with canned lychees, which are packed in syrup
Nata de coco, drained
100 g
3.5 oz
Plain or lychee-flavored cubes
Lime juice (optional)
10 ml
2 tsp
Balances the sweetness
Ice
1 cup per glass
1 cup per glass
Add just before serving
Nata de coco is not the same ingredient as coconut jelly. Nata de coco gets its chew from cellulose fibers that form during fermentation, while coconut jelly is set with gelling agents such as agar, carrageenan, or konjac. Nata de coco holds its shape in cold juice for hours, so it suits drinks that you prepare ahead.
How Do You Make Lychee Juice With Nata De Coco?
To make lychee juice with nata de coco, blend lychees with cold water, strain the juice, sweeten it, add drained nata de coco, and chill it for 30 minutes. The full method takes 6 steps:
Prepare the lychees. Peel and seed fresh lychees, or drain canned lychees and keep 30 ml (2 tbsp) of the syrup. Set 2 lychees aside for garnish.
Blend. Blend the lychees with 200 ml (6.8 fl oz) of cold water for 30–45 seconds until smooth.
Strain. Pour the purée through a fine sieve and press it with a spoon. Straining removes the fiber and gives you a clear, light juice.
Sweeten. Stir in sugar or the reserved syrup, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the juice tastes right to you.
Add the nata de coco. Drain the cubes, rinse them in cold water, and stir them into the juice.
Chill and serve. Refrigerate the drink for 30 minutes. Pour it over ice, and top each glass with a lychee and a mint leaf.
Should You Use Fresh Or Canned Lychees?
Canned lychees give you a sweeter, faster drink all year, while fresh lychees give you a brighter floral aroma during the lychee season. Canned lychees are already peeled, seeded, and soaked in syrup, so you skip steps 1 and 4 almost entirely. Fresh lychees need 5–7 minutes of peeling for 300 g (10.6 oz), and they give a less sweet, more fragrant juice. Bottled lychee juice works as a shortcut: use 400 ml (13.5 fl oz) of juice in place of the lychees and water, and start from step 5.
How Should You Prepare Nata De Coco Before Adding It?
You drain and rinse nata de coco before adding it, and you do not cook it. Packaged nata de coco is ready to eat. It comes in a sugar syrup that adds sweetness and a slight tartness to your drink, so a quick rinse in cold water keeps the flavor of the juice clean. Choose cubes of 5–10 mm (0.2–0.4 in): small cubes pass through a standard straw, and larger cubes need a wide boba straw or a spoon.
5 mm (0.2 in) cubes fit a standard straw; 10 mm (0.4 in) cubes need a boba straw.
What Is The Best Ratio Of Lychee Juice To Nata De Coco?
The classic ratio for a 250 ml (8.5 fl oz) glass is 200 ml (6.8 fl oz) of lychee juice to 50 g (1.8 oz) of nata de coco, which is about 20% cubes by weight. Commercial lychee drinks with nata de coco from Nico use 15% nata de coco, so a lighter glass sits close to what you find in a bottle.
Style
Lychee juice
Nata de coco
Best for
Light (bottled style, 15%)
212 ml (7.2 fl oz)
38 g (1.3 oz)
Kids, standard straws
Classic (20%)
200 ml (6.8 fl oz)
50 g (1.8 oz)
Everyday drinks
Chunky (32%)
170 ml (5.7 fl oz)
80 g (2.8 oz)
Dessert drinks with a spoon
Nico Lychee 320ml
Cube size changes how the ratio feels. The same 50 g (1.8 oz) of 5 mm (0.2 in) cubes spreads through the whole glass, while 10 mm (0.4 in) cubes sink to the bottom and give you larger bites.
Which Lychee Nata De Coco Drinks Can You Make?
You can make 5 lychee nata de coco drinks from the same base: a lychee cooler, lychee coconut water, lychee bubble tea, lychee rose tea, and lychee matcha. Each recipe below makes 1 glass of 300–350 ml (10–12 fl oz).
Lychee Nata De Coco Cooler
A lychee nata de coco cooler adds sparkling water, lime, and mint to the base juice.
120 ml (4 fl oz) lychee juice
80 ml (2.7 fl oz) sparkling water
40 g (1.4 oz) nata de coco
10 ml (2 tsp) lime juice
4 mint leaves and ice
Muddle the mint with the lime juice in the glass. Add ice, nata de coco, and lychee juice, then top the glass with sparkling water.
Lychee Coconut Water With Nata De Coco
Lychee coconut water with nata de coco doubles the coconut flavor, because the cubes and the liquid both come from coconut.
120 ml (4 fl oz) lychee juice
100 ml (3.4 fl oz) coconut water
40 g (1.4 oz) nata de coco
3 lychees, halved, and ice
Stir the lychee juice and coconut water together, then pour them over ice, nata de coco, and the halved lychees.
Lychee Bubble Tea With Nata De Coco
Lychee bubble tea with nata de coco combines brewed tea, lychee, tapioca pearls, and nata de coco in one cup.
200 ml (6.8 fl oz) brewed green or black tea, cooled
60 ml (2 fl oz) lychee juice
40 g (1.4 oz) nata de coco
50 g (1.8 oz) cooked tapioca pearls
15 ml (1 tbsp) simple syrup
50 ml (1.7 fl oz) milk or oat milk (optional) and ice
Put the tapioca pearls and nata de coco in the cup. Shake the tea, lychee juice, syrup, and ice, then pour it over the toppings. Add milk for a creamy version and serve with a wide straw.
Lychee Rose Tea With Nata De Coco
Lychee rose tea with nata de coco adds a floral layer of rose syrup to black tea and lychee.
180 ml (6 fl oz) brewed black tea, cooled
60 ml (2 fl oz) lychee juice
15 ml (1 tbsp) rose syrup
40 g (1.4 oz) nata de coco
2 lychees and ice
Stir the rose syrup into the lychee juice. Layer ice, nata de coco, and lychees in the glass, then pour the lychee rose mix and the tea over them.
Lychee Matcha With Nata De Coco
Lychee matcha with nata de coco layers green matcha over pale lychee juice for a two-tone drink.
2 g (1 tsp) matcha powder
60 ml (2 fl oz) water at 70–80 °C (158–176 °F)
150 ml (5 fl oz) lychee juice
40 g (1.4 oz) nata de coco
50 ml (1.7 fl oz) coconut milk (optional) and ice
Whisk the matcha with the hot water until no lumps remain. Fill the glass with ice, nata de coco, and lychee juice, then pour the matcha slowly over the back of a spoon to form a green top layer.
How Long Does Lychee Juice With Nata De Coco Last?
Homemade lychee juice with nata de coco tastes best on the day you make it, so drink it within 24 hours and keep it in a covered container in the fridge at 4 °C (39 °F) or below. Fresh lychee juice changes first: it loses aroma and turns slightly brown as it oxidizes, while the nata de coco cubes stay firm. Store the juice and the cubes separately when you prepare a batch ahead, and combine them just before serving.
Discard the drink if it smells sour, fizzes without added soda, or shows a cloudy film on the surface.
How Do Cafés And Bubble Tea Shops Serve Lychee Nata De Coco?
Cafés and bubble tea shops serve lychee nata de coco as a topping of 60–75 g (2.1–2.6 oz) per 500 ml (16.9 fl oz) cup. A portion of 75 g (2.6 oz) matches the 15% share of nata de coco used in bottled lychee drinks. Shops keep the cubes in their packing syrup until service, drain each portion to order, and prepare lychee juice or lychee syrup in daily batches.
Pack format
Weight
Cups per pack
Best for
Nata de coco jar
3 kg (6.6 lb)
40–50
Small cafés
Nata de coco bag
10 kg (22 lb)
130–165
Busy bubble tea shops
Popping boba jar
3.2 kg (7.1 lb)
—
Shops that pair nata de coco with boba
Which Ready-To-Drink Lychee Nata De Coco Drinks Can You Buy?
You can buy lychee juice drink with nata de coco from Nico under 2 brands: Nico Nico and Zuni Zuni. Both drinks contain 15% nata de coco and not-from-concentrate (NFC) lychee juice, and each brand serves a different set of markets.
55% NFC juice + 15% nata de coco (490 ml and 500 ml)
490 ml (16.6 fl oz) can, 500 ml (16.9 fl oz) PET
USA, Mexico, Brazil, Arabic-speaking Middle East, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Korea
Importers, distributors, and retail chains can request samples and export terms from the product pages. For lychee with popping boba instead of nata de coco, Boba T lychee popping boba iced tea combines brewed black tea, 12% popping boba, and NFC lychee juice.
Can You Use Lychee And Nata De Coco In Desserts?
Yes, lychee and nata de coco work in desserts as well as drinks. Three simple desserts use the same pair:
Lychee pudding with nata de coco: Set lychee juice with agar, then fold in nata de coco before it firms.
Lychee fruit salad: Toss nata de coco with lychees, mango, and pineapple, and dress the salad with a spoon of lychee syrup.
Lychee popsicles: Freeze lychee juice with small pieces of lychee in molds.
Is Lychee Juice With Nata De Coco Vegan?
Yes, lychee juice with nata de coco is vegan when its sugar and toppings are free of animal ingredients. Nata de coco itself contains no animal ingredients. Bubble tea made with dairy milk and drinks sweetened with honey are not vegan.
When Is A Store-Bought Lychee Nata De Coco Drink Better Than Homemade?
A store-bought lychee nata de coco drink is better than homemade when you need shelf-stable stock, the same taste in every bottle, or volume for retail, travel, and events. Homemade lychee juice with nata de coco gives you fresher aroma, full control of sweetness, and the freedom to change the ratio for each glass. Make the drink at home for a single batch, and buy the bottled version when you need the same drink on a shelf, in a cooler, or across a whole store.
