Non-Alcoholic Sakura Lychee co*cktail Recipe | Veggiekins Blog (2024)

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This non-alcoholic Sakura Lychee co*cktail is a delicious, fruity, and floral sparkling drink made with seasonal Japanese sakura, lychee juice, and sparkling water. A crisp, refreshing mocktail that’s perfect for spring and summer!

What is Sakura?

Sakura is a flower with a short and much-anticipated season in the springtime in Japan. The beautiful pink flower is edible and used in many traditional Japanese desserts.

Often, the flowers and the leaves are salt-pickled to preserve them for the rest of the year. I was lucky to stumble across some fresh cherry blossom branches at the farmer’s market in LA, and I also wanted to make good use of some preserved blossoms I had saved from last year.

What Makes This Recipe Great

This recipe is a really fun way to enjoy a springy, delicious co*cktail. Lychee adds a sweet, tropical flavour that offsets the sometimes perfume-like quality of sakura!

When combined, the floral essence of sakura and the sweetness of lychee create a unique and enticing taste profile. The flavors are well-balanced and absolutely delicious, specifically in drinks like this one.

Whether you choose to make this lychee co*cktail with or without alcohol, you will love its fun, fruity, and floral flavor and refreshing sparkling finish.

Ingredient Notes

Here’s what you need to make these sakura lychee mocktails:

• Sakura flowers: Look for salt-pickled ones if you can’t find fresh flowers.
• Sakura powder: You can find this at Japanese grocery stores and online.
• Lychees in syrup or juice: Canned lychee adds all of the sweetness you need for your mocktail, plus adds a great garnish. Because the lychee syrup is sweet enough, you won’t need any additional sweeteners like simple syrup, honey, or agave.
• Sparkling water: Use soda water to complete the spritz part of your spritzes!

How to Make This Lychee co*cktail Recipe

To make this, start by re-hydrate your dried sakura flowers. This also helps to remove the briny flavour from the salt pickling. After it soaks, gently use your hands to remove excess salt. Then lay the flowers flat on a paper towel until you’re ready to use them.

To make the drink, dissolve the sakura flower into water. This step adds a more concentrated sakura flavour to your non-alcoholic lychee co*cktail. You’ll sweeten the drinks with some of the syrup from the preserved lychees.

Then fill your glasses with plenty of ice, pour in the lychee-sakura mixture, and top each glass with plenty of fizzy water.

Step-by-Step Instructions

1. In a large bowl, combine warm water and sakura flowers and let soak. Use your hands to gently rinse off the flowers and move them to a paper towel to sit.
2. In a small bowl, mix together sakura powder and filtered water until smooth.
3. To assemble your drink, add ice cubes to your favorite co*cktail glass, add your sakura mixture, about 1/4 cup lychee syrup or lychee juice, and top off with sparkling water or tonic water. Alternatively, you can use a co*cktail shaker, shake all ingredients except the sparkling water, strain into the glass with ice, and top with the sparkling water and garnish.
4. Garnish with an edible flower (sakura) and one lychee on a toothpick.

Expert Tips

• Lychee co*cktail Recipe: If you’d like to make this alcoholic, you can add a touch of your favourite clear alcohol, like rums, gin, or vodka, but it’s delicious on its own and is the perfect springtime mocktail. Empress gin, which has a lovely purple color, would be a great boozy addition that also adds a vibrant hue.
• Garnish: To add a pretty garnish to your glasses, top each with a fresh sakura flower and lychee fruit.

Recipe FAQs

More Non-Alcoholic co*cktail Recipes

Matcha Coquito (dairy free, non-alcoholic)

Piña Colada Mocktail (vegan, refined sugar free)

Matcha Martini Mocktail (non-alcoholic)

If you make this recipe, be sure to let me know what you think with a star rating and comment below! Follow me on Instagram for more delicious recipes!