This is the Kwench Lychee Boba Refresher ($5.95) from KFC, featuring lemonade combined with lychee syrup, osmanthus syrup and green tea, finished with popping boba.
The beverage presented with a layered appearance, the red popping boba settling beneath a translucent beige liquid. Once stirred, initial contact delivered an intensely syrupy sweetness that persisted through to the finish, alleviated only slightly as the ice melted. The sweetness was likely compounded by the addition of lychee and osmanthus syrups to an already-sweet lemonade base, possibly Schweppes, resulting in a concentration of sweetness that overwhelmed the underlying flavourings. The lychee tasted more like concentrated syrup made from preserved fruit than fresh lychee, while the green tea remained entirely undetectable. Osmanthus emerged only as a fleeting floral quality in the aftertaste as the liquid sweetness gradually receded.
The popping boba introduced textural interest but added another source of sweetness, along with artificial strawberry notes that amplified the drink’s medicinal, syrup-like character. These additional flavours further obscured the underlying tea and floral notes.
Overall, a syrup-based refresher dominated by concentrated lychee sweetness, with a fleeting floral osmanthus finish and no discernible green tea, resulting in a poorly balanced drink. The likely combination of sweetened lemonade and additional syrups intensified the sweetness, while the popping boba compounded the artificial fruit character.
This Kwench Lychee Boba Refresher was purchased from KFC in Sydney, Australia, in October 2026.