Minty Longan Green Tea Slushie

One of my most favourite fruits in the world is Longan. It’s part of the soapberry family, along with the Lychee and Rambutan. Soapberries get their name from many varieties of such fruits having soap-like qualities and have been traditionally used for cleaning, washing and personal hygeine. Although I wouldn’t recommend trying to bathe yourself in longans, as it would leave you rather sticky!

For the longest time, I always thought that Longans and Malaysia’s ‘Mata Kucing’ (Cat’s Eye) fruit were one and the same. To my surprise, they aren’t! They’re just very closely related. This article explains in detail. Since both fruits are so similar, feel free to use either fruit.

I love longans so much that I can eat a kilo in one sitting. I personally wouldn’t recommend it, but if you fall into the longan wormhole, I wouldn’t be so hard on myself! Their musky, well-rounded sweetness is addictive, and holds a chockful of Vitamin C, iron and potassium, and of course a burst of natural energy. My classmates from kungfu school said it reminded them of a cross between grapes and melons at first taste.

To open and de-seed, make a straight incision into the skin with a knife, peel off the skin, then make another incision deep into the flesh until you hit the seed, then peel the flesh off the seed.

Alternatively, you can use canned longans. But of course, nothing beats fresh!

The combination of mint and green tea adds antioxidants and anti-inflammatory benefits to this exquisitely refreshing beverage for a hot day.

The ice cube tray is what makes this drink into a slushie. I would advise for you to prep the green tea and ice cubes overnight, or at least in the morning to be blender-ready by late afternoon or evening on the same day. The recipe below doesn’t include the freezing and refrigeration time. To make this recipe slightly easier, or if you have sensitive teeth, you are more than welcome to just leave all the green tea in the fridge before blending and enjoy this drink cool instead of icy.

If you’re making the slushie version, make sure to serve immediately!

 

If your longans are sweet enough, it’s most likely that you won’t even need to use any sweetener. But feel free to have agave nectar on hand should you wish to add more sweetness.

 

If you’ve been participating in Veganuary, this is the perfect drink to give yourself a toast to for a great month of wellness! And if you haven’t been participating, go ahead and make yourself a glass anyway. Because any day is worth celebrating, and don’t mind my modesty… this drink is pretty freaking bomb.