Hong Kong Milk Tea

Name: Hong Kong Milk Tea
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 15 min
Yield: 2 servings
Cuisine: Chinese
Ingredients: 2 cups water; 4 tsp Ceylon or Assam loose-leaf black tea; 6 tbsp evaporated milk; 2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk; 2 cups ice cubes (for iced version)

A silky, full-bodied Hong Kong-style milk tea made by steeping a blend of black teas, then "pulling" the tea back and forth for a smooth, creamy texture before adding condensed milk.

15 minMediumServes 2160 cal/serving

ChineseNon-Alcoholic DrinkStovetopVegetarianLow CarbHalal-friendlyKosher-styleGluten-FreeNut-FreeEgg-FreeSoy-FreeShellfish-FreeSesame-FreeLow-SodiumPork-FreeAlcohol-FreeNightshade-FreeCorn-Free

Ingredients

2 cups water
4 tsp Ceylon or Assam loose-leaf black tea
6 tbsp evaporated milk
2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
2 cups ice cubes (for iced version)

Instructions

1

Bring 2 cups water to a rolling boil in a saucepan over high heat.
2

Add 4 tsp Ceylon or Assam loose-leaf black tea, reduce heat to medium-low, and steep for 5 minutes. The tea should be very dark and strong.
3

Strain the tea into a heatproof pitcher using a fine-mesh sieve. To achieve the characteristic smooth texture, pour the tea back and forth between two pitchers or a pot two to three times from a height of about 12 inches - this is the "pulling" technique that aerates the tea.
4

Stir in 6 tbsp evaporated milk and 2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk until fully combined. Taste and add more condensed milk if desired.
5

Serve hot as is, or pour over 2 cups ice cubes (for iced version) for Hong Kong-style iced milk tea.

Questions

Can I make Hong Kong Milk Tea dairy-free?

Yes. The dairy in this entry is 6 tbsp evaporated milk, 2 tbsp sweetened condensed milk. Swap the evaporated milk for a plant-based version of the same product; the sweetened condensed milk for a plant-based version of the same product. The richness shifts slightly, but the method does not change.

Can I halve or double Hong Kong Milk Tea?

Yes. As written it serves 2. Every ingredient in this entry carries precomputed half and double quantities, and the app's batch dial rewrites them inside each step. To make a pitcher, multiply everything and stir over ice at the end.

Serve it with

Egg Tart dessert
Congee breakfast
Steamed BBQ Pork Buns starter

Cook this free in the app

Textual Chef is 4,512 plain-text recipes, free to read and free to cook from. No account, no paywall, no ads, no life stories. Open this one in the app and each quantity sits inside the step that uses it, so you read once and cook.

Every recipe is curated or public-domain sourced, written to one template and checked before it publishes. Nothing here is a scraped blog post.

Cook this free in the appNo download needed. It opens in your browser. The kitchen tools (planner, shopping list, pantry, import) are $5.33 a month billed annually; the first 30 days are free.