This Easy Fruit Milk Tea Recipe demonstrates how to make iced milk tea with any fruit and tea of your choosing. The milk teas in the images are a kiwi apple jasmine green tea, strawberry cherry rooibos and mango peach oolong. These customizable teas are also topped with a honey ginger lemon cream for even more indulgence!
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I developed this "dessert" recipe for Undeniably Dairy on Instagram to showcase an easy way to get more milk in your diet! I have such an appreciation for tea culture, and I am so grateful that boba shops have made their way to the U.S. from countries in Asia. I am more of a tea drinker versus coffee because I can't have too much caffeine (hello, anxiety.) I let myself have a little oolong when I was recipe testing, but for the most part I stick to decaf green tea or rooibos.
The fruit syrup recipe is adapted from My Vegan Minimalist. I added a pinch of salt to balance the flavor profile, and a range to the sugar amount, because I found the teas not sweet enough for my liking. You can also adjust the sweetness of the cream topping, and/or top the cream with more honey.
If you're more of a soda person, try out my apple dirty soda recipe, which uses just cream, rather than milk. That's a recipe that uses up a lot of apples, so save it for when you have a surplus. If you want to use up a variety of other fruits, try my sugar cookie fruit pizza, which makes great use of any fruits as decoration.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- The sweetness level and flavor is completely customizable. You can use any tea, fruit, sweetener and mix ins. The milk teas in the images are a kiwi apple jasmine green tea, strawberry cherry rooibos and mango peach oolong.
- You can prep this easy recipe ahead of time! The fruit syrups and tea can be made ahead of time and stored until ready to assemble.
- These fruity iced teas are ultra refreshing for summertime (but you can also serve them hot!)
Ingredients
- Fruit is cooked down to flavor the milk tea. I used two fruits for each variety I made, but you can use as many or as little fruits as you like. I did kiwi apple, strawberry cherry and peach mango. I also added fresh pieces of fruit to my drinks for aesthetics and texture.
- Granulated sugar sweetens the fruit syrup and honey sweetens the cream top.
- Cold whole milk is added to the tea and fruit syrup to make the drink creamy.
- Heavy cream is whipped to top the drink, but it is entirely optional.
- Ginger and lemon flavor the cream top. I used freshly-grated ginger, but you can swap for granulated ginger, if desired.
- A touch of kosher salt, not pictured, balances the overall flavor profile.
- Tea is the base of the drink. Use any tea you'd like. I used decaf green jasmine tea for the kiwi apple, oolong for the peach mango and rooibos for the strawberry cherry.
See recipe card below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
Substitutions and variations
Here's how to customize this easy fruit milk tea recipe to your liking:
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- Another sweetener — swap the granulated sugar in the fruit syrup for simple syrup, maple syrup, agave, stevia, muscovado sugar, honey or sweetened condensed milk. The honey in the cream top can also be swapped.
- Boba tea — in lieu of, or in addition to, the fruit syrup, add cooked boba pearls to make boba milk tea. I like these pre-cooked boba chewy tapioca pearls, because they're ready in 3 minutes. You can add boba to any type of tea, but strong black tea, made from either black tea bags or black tea leaves, is traditional for a classic black milk tea.
- Tea bags — I used loose leaf tea, but you can use tea bags instead. One tea bag is equivalent to about 2 grams or 2 teaspoons of loose leaf tea.
- Another milk — I used whole milk, but you can swap for almost any type of milk, including almond milk, coconut milk, oat milk or soy milk.
- Tea — Use any cooled strong brewed tea you like. I used oolong tea, jasmine green tea and rooibos. Assam tea, earl grey, English breakfast, orange pekoe or an herbal tea would also be great. Just be sure to brew it strong for maximum flavor, especially herbal teas because they can be weaker in flavor.
- Tea milk — In lieu of combining equal parts tea and milk, you can use milk as the liquid to brew the tea. If you overheat the milk, you risk curdling it, so I recommend heating just until simmering. Add the tea, cover and set in the refrigerator overnight for a gentler steep.
- Fruit combo ideas — I did strawberry cherry, kiwi apple and mango peach. Other great combos: melon apple, pineapple mango, strawberry orange, blackberry blueberry, pomegranate raspberry.
This recipe has not been tested with any substitutions or variations. If you try any, please let me know how it turned out by commenting below!
How to make This Easy Fruit Milk Tea Recipe
Step 1: In a medium sauce pot, combine the diced fruit with the granulated sugar, water and pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer for 8-10 minutes. Stir occasionally, mashing the fruit a bit to bring out more flavor.
Step 2: Pour into a bowl through a mesh strainer. Let the fruit syrup cool to at least room temperature before using. Store any unused fruit syrup in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Step 3: Bring the water to a rolling boil. Add the water to a tea pot with the tea in the strainer, or just add the tea to the boiling water in the pot. Let steep for 5 minutes, or according to the tea packaging instructions. Strain out the tea leaves and let the tea cool completely in the refrigerator before using.
Step 4: Either use a cup and a milk frother, beaters or whisk by hand. Add the lemon juice, honey, ginger. Stir to loosen the honey so it incorporates easier. Add a bit of the cream if necessary. Add the remaining cream and whip until very soft peaks.
Step 5: Add plenty of ice cubes to a tall glass. Add ¼ cup of fruit syrup, ½ cup of tea, ½ cup milk to the cup.
Step 6: Top with the whipped cream and enjoy!
Top tips
- Make sure all of the components are chilled, or at least room temperature, before assembling so you don't melt the ice too quickly and water it down!
- For a more intense fruit flavor, you can cook the strained syrup down even further to concentrate the flavor.
- Add a pinch of citric acid to the fruit syrup to intensify the flavor.
More recipes you'll love
Lastly, if you make this Easy Fruit Milk Tea Recipe be sure to leave a comment or give it a rating. I love to see when people make my recipes, so please tag me @youthsweets on Instagram if you post!
📖 Recipe
Fruity Milk Teas
Equipment
Ingredients
Fruit syrup
- 400 g fruit diced (about 4 cups, 32 oz)
- 2-4 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 175 g water (¾ cup)
- Pinch kosher salt
Tea
- 32 oz water (4 cups)
- 16-20 grams loose tea leaves or 4 tea bags
Lemon ginger honey cream
- 2 teaspoon lemon juice freshly-squeezed
- ¼ teaspoon ginger freshly-grated
- 2 teaspoon honey
- ½ cup heavy whipping cream
Other
- 32 oz milk (4 cups)
- Ice
- Diced fruit
Instructions
Do ahead
- The fruit syrup and tea can be made a few days ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator until ready to assemble.
Cook the fruit
- In a medium sauce pot, combine the diced fruit with the granulated sugar, water and pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat to simmer for 8-10 minutes. Stir occasionally, mashing the fruit a bit to bring out more flavor.
- Pour into a bowl through a mesh strainer. Let the fruit syrup cool to at least room temperature before using. Store any unused fruit syrup in the refrigerator for 3-4 days.
Brew the tea
- Bring the water to a rolling boil. Add the water to a tea pot with the tea in the strainer, or just add the tea to the boiling water in the pot. Let steep for 5 minutes, or according to the tea packaging instructions.
- Strain out the tea leaves and let the tea cool completely in the refrigerator before using.
Whip the cream
- Either use a cup and a milk frother, beaters or whisk by hand. Add the lemon juice, honey and ginger. Stir to loosen the honey so it incorporates easier. Add a bit of the cream, if necessary.
- Add the remaining cream and whip until very soft peaks.
Assemble
- Add plenty of ice to a tall glass. Add ¼ cup of fruit syrup, ½ cup of tea, ½ cup milk to the cup. Top with the whipped cream and enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Originally published 5/28/2026.
