Lychee Powder

Pulp juice from the white aril of Litchi chinensis is concentrated and spray-dried on a maltodextrin carrier to make lychee powder. It is a light yellow, water-soluble powder with a sweet, floral flavor often compared to rose. The red leathery shell and the large dark seed are removed before juicing and are not part of the powder.

Lychee is one of the most aroma-driven fruits in the juice-powder range. A small amount of powder carries the rose-like note of the fresh fruit, and the flavor is usually the reason to specify it.

SKU: BOT-FPO-0090 Category: Fruit Powders Tags: Bakery & Snacks, Fruit & Berry, Fruit Powders, Gummies & Chews, Lychee, Spray-Dried Juice

Lychee Juice Powder Processing

The species is Litchi chinensis Sonn., the lychee, a subtropical evergreen tree of the soapberry family (Sapindaceae) native to southern China and northern Vietnam. Longan, Dimocarpus longan, and rambutan, Nephelium lappaceum, are relatives in the same family with similar translucent arils but different flavors. Buyers searching for “lychee powder” do not mean either of them, and the species name fixes the identity.

The raw material is lychee juice concentrate pressed from the white aril. The shell and seed are discarded before pressing, and the juice is concentrated and blended with maltodextrin before atomization in a spray dryer. The carrier is what makes the finished powder soluble and free-flowing, and it also dilutes the intense sweetness of the pure juice.

Lychee trees ripen their fruit within a short season, and the fruit browns quickly after harvest, so processors press soon after picking. Fresh arils are pale and translucent, which is why the powder is light yellow and not strongly colored.

Lychee cultivars differ in sweetness and seed size, and small-seeded types such as Feizixiao give more aril per fruit. The concentrate is a blend, so the powder is described by flavor character and not by cultivar name. Fully ripe fruit gives the strongest floral aroma, while fruit picked early is more acidic and less perfumed.

Lychee Flavor, Color & Forms

The powder is light yellow, and it dissolves to a pale, nearly clear solution with a faint haze. The sweetness is high and round, with a floral tone and a light acidity from malic acid. The rose-like aroma comes from terpene alcohols and related volatiles, among them compounds such as linalool and geraniol, and a rose-oxide note that is regarded as characteristic of lychee.

Characteristic constituents are sucrose, glucose and fructose in the sugar fraction, malic acid, vitamin C, and a light phenolic fraction. No figure is given for any of them. The flavor sits mostly in the volatile fraction, which is why spray-drying temperature and storage affect the powder’s aroma more than its color.

Pairing choices follow from that aroma. Lychee works with rose, jasmine, green tea, ginger and citrus, and it clashes with heavy spice or smoky flavors. Because the sweetness is strong, a lychee drink usually needs less added sugar than a formula built on a tart berry or citrus powder.

Form	What It Is	Choose It When
Lychee Juice Powder	Spray-dried aril juice on maltodextrin	A soluble, floral lychee flavor is wanted
Freeze-Dried Lychee Powder	Fruit dried under vacuum, keeping pulp solids	A fresher aroma and pulp texture matter
Lychee Extract Powder	Ratio extract	A concentrated extract is specified
Litchi Seed Extract Powder	10:1 extract of the litchi seed	The seed, not the fruit pulp, is the requirement

Typical Specifications

Specification Item	Product Information
Latin Name	Litchi chinensis
Plant Part	Fruit & Berry
Processing	Spray-Dried Juice
Common Name	Lychee
Raw Material	Lychee juice concentrate
Ingredient Type	Juice Powder
Carrier	Maltodextrin
Appearance	Light Yellow powder
Flavor	Sweet, floral, rose-like
Solubility / Dispersibility	Water Soluble
Quality Parameters
Moisture (LOD)	≤5.0%
Heavy Metals	Lead ≤2 ppm · Arsenic ≤1 ppm · Cadmium ≤1 ppm · Mercury ≤0.1 ppm
Microbiology	TPC ≤10,000 cfu/g · Yeast & Mold ≤1,000 cfu/g · E. coli Negative · Salmonella Negative/25 g
Shelf Life	24 months in unopened original packaging, cool and dry storage

Application Areas

Milk Tea and Tea Latte Powders

Instant milk tea powders use lychee powder to add a floral fruit layer to black or oolong tea with creamer. It dissolves in hot or cold liquid, and its aroma is strong enough that a small inclusion flavors the cup without altering the tea body.

Cocktail Mixer and Spritz Powders

Mixer powders for lychee martinis and spritzers combine lychee powder with citric acid and sugar. It stays in solution, keeps the drink clear, and gives the recognizable floral note that fresh juice delivers only when it is bought in season.

Gummies and Jelly Candy

Confectioners add lychee powder to gummies and konjac-style jelly cups for its floral sweetness. The flavor is delicate, so it is added after the main cook, and the very high sugar of the powder is counted in the total sugar balance of the candy.

Yogurt and Ice Cream Bases

Dairy bases take lychee powder to build a clean floral fruit flavor with milk and cream. The aroma pairs well with coconut, rose and citrus, and the pale color allows pastel finished products without added colorants.

Dessert Jelly and Pudding Mixes

Dry dessert jelly and pudding mixes use lychee powder as the main flavor. Gelling agents set the texture, and the powder disperses evenly in hot water, so the flavor is uniform from the first spoonful to the last.

Moisture Pickup & Stability

Lychee powder is a high-sugar glass with a low glass-transition point, and it takes up moisture quickly. A drum left open in humid air first becomes sticky at the surface, then forms a hard cake. Weigh it in a dry room, and reseal the liner after every draw to keep the powder free-flowing.

The floral aroma is the quality most at risk. Terpene alcohols oxidize and evaporate with air and warmth, so aged powder tastes sweeter and flatter than fresh product. Sealed packaging, cool storage and short open times preserve the character, and dry blends should add lychee powder late, away from heated steps.

Color changes are slow but visible. Browning reactions between sugars and amino traces shift the light yellow toward cream and tan under warm storage. In acidic drinks the flavor remains stable for the shelf life of a typical mix, but strong acid can mute the floral note. Test lychee flavor in the finished matrix and not in water alone.

Powder particles can also adsorb odors. Stored beside spices, tea or cleaning agents, a lychee powder can pick up foreign notes that mask its delicate perfume, so keep the drum sealed and in a clean, odor-free store.

Packaging & Commercial Supply

Essencefield supports product evaluation, formulation trials, commercial orders, and ongoing ingredient supply. Packaging, storage, and shipping arrangements are determined by product characteristics, order quantity, stability requirements, and destination-market needs.

Supply Item	General Information
Sample	Available upon request for formulation, testing, and supplier evaluation
Order Quantities	100 g · 1 kg · 5 kg · 25 kg · 100 kg · 500 kg · Bulk
Sample Lead Time	Typically 5–7 days after sample confirmation
Production Lead Time	Typically 15–30 days after order and specification confirmation
Packaging	Suitable protective inner packaging with bags, cartons, drums, or other appropriate outer packaging
Storage	Store in tightly sealed, suitable protective packaging in a cool, dry environment. Protect from moisture, heat, and direct sunlight. Specific storage conditions follow the approved product specification.
Documentation	COA · Product Specification · TDS · SDS · Applicable declarations (as applicable)

Final order quantities, lead times, packaging, documentation, and shipping arrangements are confirmed according to the selected product and commercial requirements.