How to Make Traditional Milk Tea at Home with Authentic Flavor
This traditional milk tea recipe is designed for use in a tea shop, but you can easily make it at home because it's quite simple. The key to making milk tea is the ratio of ingredients, and to achieve the authentic flavor, it's essential to use black tea, also known as red tea, rather than Lipton or other types of tea as suggested in some recipes.
Ingredients
- 70g black tea
- 200g white sugar
- 250g milk powder
- 100ml condensed milk
Instructions
Preparation and Ingredient Notes
The ingredient ratios listed above will yield 1.5 liters of milk tea concentrate.
When making milk tea, there are two ingredients to pay special attention to if you're inexperienced: black tea and milk powder.
Black tea, also known as red tea, is the best type of tea for making milk tea. There are many varieties of black tea. In this recipe, I use Royal Black Tea. You can substitute with other black teas, or you can quickly grab an unbranded black tea from the supermarket. Learn more about black tea here.
Milk powder is a creamy, rich powder that adds flavor and texture. There are many types of milk powder available, such as Kevit or Frima. In this recipe, I use Kevit milk powder.
The other ingredients, condensed milk and white sugar, are quite common.
Brewing
Boil 1 liter of water, add 70g of black tea, stir well, and steep for 15 minutes, then strain the tea.
Add 200g of white sugar and 250g of milk powder to the tea and stir until well mixed.
Since you're making a milk tea concentrate, the mixture may seem a bit thick. You can adjust the sugar and milk powder to taste, but avoid reducing them too much, as ice will be added when serving.
Finally, add 100ml of condensed milk. Stir until all ingredients are fully dissolved, then add 300g of ice cubes and stir until the ice melts. At this point, you can strain the mixture to ensure the tea is smooth and free of any residue.
Adding ice when making milk tea helps cool the tea quickly, preserving the aroma and allowing it to chill faster in the fridge.
The final product after completion is 1.5 liters of milk tea concentrate. You can enjoy it immediately with added ice or chill it in the fridge for 8 hours for a more aromatic and flavorful tea.
