Longan tea or nam lamyai is a common drink you can get from street vendors in Thailand. The main ingredients in this drink are dried longan and pandan leaves. While the longan boasts a unique flavor, the addition of pandan leaves gives it a beautiful aroma, making it the perfect drink for any hot summer day.

What is Longan or Lamyai?

Longan (ลำไย - lamyai in Thai) is a tropical fruit tree native to Asia. Its round, yellowish-brown, edible fruits are typically found in hanging clusters. The thin, tough shell encases white, translucent flesh that surrounds a single dark seed. Longan juicy pulp has a subtly sweet and musky taste.

In Thailand, longan is available fresh as a seasonal fruit, dried, and canned in syrup. The fruit is known to be rich in vitamin C, potassium, magnesium, and antioxidants, which may help support your immune health and heart health.

Why We Love This Drink

The Thai longan drink is a light and refreshing drink that requires just 3 simple ingredients (if you don't count water, that is), which are dried longan, pandan leaves, and sugar. All of these ingredients can easily be found in Asian grocery stores or online.

Once you have all the ingredients, nam lamyai is one of the easiest drinks to make. You just have to boil everything in one pot. Easy-peasy and very little cleaning! Isn't that how we hope every drink should be?

Also, with its exoticness (especially the flesh), it works as a drink you can entertain your friends, family, or guests with.

If you love easy drinks, be sure to give Thai pink milk, bael fruit drink, chrysanthemum drink, and hibiscus drink a try!

Ingredients

Here is a visual overview of the ingredients in the recipe. Scroll down to the recipe at the bottom for quantities.

Dried Longan: The type normally used to make this longan tea is usually darker in color, but it's hard to find online if you don't live in Thailand. You can use the one I've linked to instead. It's perfect for making this drink too.
Water
Pandan Leaves: I use fresh ones because I grow the plant at home. If you can't find fresh pandan leaves, go for the dried ones here but put them in a steeper when making the drink and discard before drinking.
Brown Sugar: You can sub this with another type of sugar or sweetener. Just adjust the amount to your taste.

How To Make Thai Longan Drink

Rinse the dried longan until the water is clear. Then, soak the longan for about 20 minutes.
Rinse the fresh pandan leaves. If using dried ones, put them in a steeper so that they are easy to discard later.
Set a pot of water over medium heat. Add the soaked longan, pandan leaves to the pot and boil for about 20 minutes so that the longan flesh is soft.
Once the longan is soft, bring the drink to a boil and add the sugar. Stir until the sugar is fully dissolved. Turn off the heat.
Let the drink cool to room temperature and serve with ice or store in the refrigerator.

Tips

Make sure the dried longan you use is not too old. Otherwise, the drink can smell off. Check there's no mold before use.
If using fresh pandan leaves, tie them into knots before adding to the pot so that they stay in the water and are able to release their scent.

How to Serve and Storage

Nam Lamyai is normally served with ice. Simply fill a glass with ice, pour the drink in, and put the longan flesh on top.

You can have this drink without ice, but it would still be served chilled. All you have to do is let the drink cool after you've boiled it. Once it's room temperature, put it in the refrigerator and wait until it's cool enough to drink.

This longan drink can be kept in the refrigerator for 3-5 days. I don't recommend keeping it any longer than that because it contains longan flesh.

📖 Recipe