Hong Kong Milk Tea 港式奶茶
By Michael · from our van kitchen
One summer morning we were having breakfast at my mom’s house, like we do pretty much every day when we’re there. My mom has a Hong Kong style milk tea pot that she bought in Canada about two years ago. It has the classic cloth filter inside, the same kind the cha chaan tengs use. She had only used it once. She doesn’t drink milk tea by herself, and you really have to make a big pot, so she was waiting until there were more people around to drink it. Rina doesn’t drink it, so that day it was really me and my mom.
So I made the milk tea, with her pot and her tea, and she watched. I paired it with saté beef ramen, using the saté beef my mom made for dinner the night before. You can watch me make it.
Why regular tea bags don’t work
Hong Kong milk tea is supposed to be really strong and really bold. The regular tea bags most people have at home don’t work for this because they’re not strong enough, unless you put in something like 20 bags. That’s why we used a very fine loose black tea. This one came from Canada. My brother-in-law knows some of the cha chaan teng owners up there, and it’s a really nice tea.
I filled the pot only about halfway with water and used about five spoonfuls of tea. Then I closed the lid and let it sit on a low simmer. After five or seven minutes I kept it going, because the longer it sits, the bolder the flavor gets. Somewhere around 15 to 18 minutes is where I wanted it.
While the tea simmered, Spencer and I made a strawberry milkshake in the blender. He knows the rule: never put your finger or your hand inside a blender.
The pour
A little evaporated milk goes on the bottom of the cup first. Then the tea goes in, and you watch the color turn. It had a very creamy smell and a pretty strong milk tea flavor. For my cup I added some condensed milk to sweeten it.
My mom only had a small taste. It was around 11 in the morning and she was afraid she wouldn’t be able to sleep that night. For me it was a very bold, strong flavor, very authentic tasting. A very delicious cup of milk tea, made at home.
If you have one of these pots sitting in a cupboard like my mom did, this is a good reason to take it out. Just make sure you have someone to share the pot with.
Ingredients
The tea
- Water, enough to fill the pot about halfway
- About 5 to 6 tablespoons of very fine black tea (I used about 5 spoonfuls)
In the cup
- Evaporated milk, a little on the bottom of the cup
- Condensed milk, to sweeten
Steps
- Fill the milk tea pot about halfway with water.
- Spoon about 5 to 6 tablespoons of the fine black tea into the cloth filter that sits inside the pot. The filter keeps the tea leaves out of the pot itself. I put in about five spoonfuls.
- Close the lid and let the tea hang out in there on a low simmer, so you get all the flavor out.
- Keep it going for about 15 to 18 minutes. The longer it sits, the bolder the flavor is going to be.
- Put a little evaporated milk on the bottom of the cup.
- Lift the filter out of the way and pour the hot tea into the cup. Watch the color change.
- Taste it. For my own cup I added some condensed milk to sweeten it.
Amounts are what I said in the video. Where I didn't measure, it says "to taste". Cook it your way.
