How to Make Hong Kong Milk Tea
For 2 cups, bring 500ml of water to a boil, add 20g of a strong black tea blend (Ceylon with some broken Assam), and simmer gently for 8-10 minutes at 95-100°C (203-212°F). Pour it back and forth through a cloth filter between two pots 4-6 times, steep 3-5 more minutes, then serve about 180ml of tea with 60ml of evaporated milk per cup, sweetened to taste.
Hong Kong milk tea is the daily drink of the city's cha chaan teng, the casual cafes that grew out of British colonial tea habits in the 1950s. It is far stronger and creamier than a British cup of tea with milk. The tea is simmered rather than steeped, filtered through a long cotton bag, and mixed with evaporated milk instead of fresh milk. Locals call it silk stocking milk tea because the stained cotton filter looks like a stocking, and because of the smooth texture it gives the drink. The technique is the point. Simmering extracts heavy body and tannin from the leaf. Pulling the tea, which means pouring it from one pot through the filter into another and back again several times, aerates it, filters out fine leaf dust and makes the texture silky. Evaporated milk has had about 60% of its water removed, so it adds creaminess and a cooked caramel note without diluting the tea. The finished cup should be deep tan and coat the inside of the cup. Each cafe guards its own blend. Most combine several grades of Ceylon black tea, including broken leaf and fannings for color and strength, sometimes with Assam or a little Pu'er for depth. At home, a 3:1 mix of broken-leaf Ceylon and Assam CTC gets close. The same base, sweetened with condensed milk instead of sugar and evaporated milk, makes cha chow; mixed with coffee it becomes yuenyeung.
Recipe
Teaware
- Two saucepans or pots with pouring spouts (1 liter each)
- Cotton tea sock filter with a handle
- Kitchen scale
- Timer
- Measuring jug
- Thick-walled ceramic cups, warmed
- Can of unsweetened evaporated milk
Steps
- 1
Blend and weigh the tea
Weigh 15g of broken-leaf Ceylon and 5g of Assam CTC, 20g in total, and mix them.
Fine broken grades matter here; whole leaf does not give the dark color and heavy body this drink needs.
- 2
Boil the water and add the tea
Bring 500ml of water to a boil in the first pot, add the tea, and stir.
Some cafes put the leaf inside the cloth filter and lower it into the pot; loose leaf in the pot is easier at home.
- 3
Simmer
Lower the heat and simmer gently for 8-10 minutes, keeping it just below a hard boil.
A hard rolling boil for this long makes the tea bitter; small steady bubbles are enough.
- 4
Pull the tea
Set the cloth filter over the second pot and pour the tea and leaf through it from about 30cm. Then lift the filter into the first pot and pour back. Repeat 4-6 times.
Pour from height in a steady stream. The pulling is what makes the texture smooth, so do not skip or rush it.
- 5
Rest the tea
Return the pot with the filtered tea and leaf in the filter to very low heat and let it steep for 3-5 minutes more.
Keep it hot but not bubbling during this rest.
- 6
Add evaporated milk to the cups
Warm 2 cups with hot water, empty them, and put 60ml of evaporated milk in each.
Milk first in the cup lets the hot tea mix it evenly without stirring.
- 7
Pour and sweeten
Pour about 180ml of hot tea through the filter into each cup, roughly 3 parts tea to 1 part milk. Add 1-3 teaspoons of sugar to taste.
Cafes serve it unsweetened and let you add sugar. Taste it plain first; the evaporated milk is already slightly sweet.
Tips
- Rinse the cotton filter well after use and keep it damp in a jar in the fridge; cafes treat a well-stained filter as a sign of experience.
- For iced milk tea, chill the finished tea and serve it over ice made from tea so it does not dilute.
- Swap the evaporated milk and sugar for 2-3 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk to make cha chow.
- Mix 3 parts milk tea with 1 part strong coffee to make yuenyeung.
- If your blend tastes thin, increase the leaf to 25g rather than simmering longer.
Common Mistakes
- Using fresh milk instead of evaporated milk — the tea turns thin and watery; evaporated milk gives the body.
- Steeping instead of simmering — the base is too weak to carry the milk; simmer 8-10 minutes.
- Boiling hard for 15 minutes or more — the tea turns harsh and bitter; keep a gentle simmer.
- Skipping the pulls — the texture stays rough and fine leaf dust stays in the cup; pull 4-6 times.
- Using a fine mesh strainer instead of a cloth filter — dust passes through and the mouthfeel is gritty; use a cotton tea sock.