Every Chinese kid grows up looking forward to the Lunar New Year for one thing: Chinese lucky candy. You’ve heard of white rabbit candy, but the Chinese strawberry candy (Garden Lucky candy) is the creamy, strawberry hard candy wrapped in a shiny red foil that is so delectably good and makes the New Year so sweet! This strawberry milk tea is inspired by that very candy that I grew up on.

You can easily recreate this strawberry candy flavor with strawberry syrup, condensed milk, and some evaporated milk, which tastes amazing with a floral jasmine green milk tea.

So, here’s how to make this festive Chinese New Year Candy milk tea at home!

What is Chinese New Year Candy?

There are several candies people associate Chinese New Year with, from the more traditional sweets like candied coconut strands, candied lotus root seeds, and sesame candy to more modern ones like White Rabbit milk candy, lucky strawberry candy, and fruit jelly cups.

But, the Garden lucky candy is arguably the most popular, especially among kids.

It’s a milky hard candy with a strawberry milk candy center shaped in an oval. They’re wrapped in a shiny red foil with gold Chinese letters, making them good luck in color! It’s hard to mistake them for any other candy.

My grandma used to add them to our red envelopes for extra good luck!

What Does Chinese Lucky Candy Taste Like?

Chinese New Year candy tastes like strawberry milk!

It’s creamy, sweet, fruity, and has an amazing strawberry flavor.

First, you taste the milk candy coating the strawberry middle, which tastes very similar to creamy condensed milk. Then, the inside is a strawberry milk flavor that’s worth the wait.

The candy is hard at first, but once you soften it, it gets satisfyingly chewy, not soft, but more of a tough chew. It’s hard to beat a candy that tastes like strawberry milk!

What is Chinese New Year Candy Milk Tea?

Chinese New Year Candy milk tea is a jasmine milk tea flavored like strawberry candy! You can do this by either using the actual candy itself or using strawberries and condensed milk for the same flavor.

This recipe uses homemade strawberry syrup and condensed milk to recreate that signature fruity and creamy flavor. You can also use different teas if you want a slightly different flavor profile, but I think jasmine green tea works best!

What Does Chinese New Year Candy Milk Tea Taste Like?

Satisfyingly, this Chinese New Year Candy milk tea tastes very similar to the strawberry hard candy.

The fresh strawberry flavor is light and not overpowering and the condensed milk gives it that distinct milk flavor.

This strawberry milk tea is super creamy, but not in a heavy way. It’s the same way that adding milk powder to bread makes it taste more milky but not creamy. The tea adds a nice floral flavor that complements the strawberry well and it’s very fragrant!

How to Make Lucky Candy Flavor

As mentioned, you can recreate the Chinese New Year candy strawberry flavor with fresh strawberry syrup and condensed milk.

You can make your strawberry syrup using your favorite recipe, but you want to make sure that you strain out any strawberry pulp or bits. I usually cook my strawberry syrup on the stove until it reduces, but you can also make a macerated strawberry sauce as well.

Once you make your syrup, you can mix it in with your milk and add condensed milk for extra creaminess and sweetness. If you don’t want to add extra sugar, you can also use evaporated milk instead for the same flavor!

Can I Use the Actual Garden Lucky Candy?

Yes! For a truly replicated flavor, you can take some of the candies and dissolve them into a little bit of hot milk. Depending on how sweet you want it, you can use 2 or 3 of them and taste.

I like dissolving it into milk because it’s milk + sweet milk haha, but you can also dissolve it into hot tea if you’d like! You just won’t get a pretty gradient when you assemble your drink.

I don’t recommend dissolving the candies into just hot water because it will make your drink diluted and watery.

You might have to reheat your milk or tea to dissolve the candies fully, but it will dissolve!

How to Make Chinese New Year Candy Milk Tea

Here’s what you’ll need to make Chinese New Year candy milk tea at home:

• 2-3 tbsp homemade strawberry syrup
• 1 tbsp jasmine green tea
• 1/3 cup half and half
• 2 tsp condensed milk
• 1 cup ice
• 1 cup water

Chinese New Year Candy Milk Tea Recipe

1. Brew Tea. Boil water. Add Jasmine green tea leaves to a heatproof teapot or cup and add hot water. Brew for 3-5 minutes or until well-brewed. Let cool before use.
2. Make Strawberry Sauce. Add strawberries, water, and sugar to a small pot and simmer the mixture until it reduces to your desired consistency. Let cool before use. (Full instructions here.)
3. Make Strawberry Tea. Add strawberry syrup to your brewed tea and mix until dissolved. You can add some food coloring for a brighter color!
4. Make Sweet Milk. Dissolve condensed milk into half and half. It might be easier to dissolve it into a little bit of hot milk or half and half before combining it with the cold.
5. Assemble Drink. Add ice and strawberry tea to a glass, then top with your sweetened milk.
6. Mix and Enjoy!

How to Make It Dairy-Free

Need this drink lactose-free? You can swap out the condensed milk for coconut or oat condensed milk, and swap the half and half for a creamy dairy-free alternative milk like oat milk.

You could also use coconut cream or vegan heavy cream, too!

Swapping out the dairy does change the taste, depending on which alternative you use, but it still tastes great!

Tips:

Here are some tips for making this delicious Chinese New Year Candy strawberry milk tea at home!

• Use Premade Strawberry Syrup: Want a more convenient method? You can use premade strawberry syrup to make this milk tea! The downside of premade syrup is that it’s usually very sweet and doesn’t have a very strong strawberry flavor.
• Make a Latte: For a creamier version, you can make this milk tea into a tea latte by making a concentrated Jasmine tea and adding it to your sweetened milk base. Just add regular milk to your sweetened half-and-half for a balanced, creamy milk tea.