Most commercially available milk tea is not made with fresh milk; instead, it is usually flavored with non-dairy creamer, commonly referred to as creamer-based milk tea. While convenient, creamer milk tea is not a healthy choice. If you want a healthy milk tea, you can make fresh milk tea at home. Not only is the recipe simple, but you can also adjust the milk ratio to your preference for taste and strength, making it both healthier and more delicious. Here is how to make fresh milk tea:
Gather Ingredients: Purchase black tea and fresh milk. You can use regular black tea bags, with Ceylon and Assam being the best choices. For better quality, you can also buy loose-leaf black tea for brewing from a tea shop. Options priced from NT$600 per 600 g and above offer great quality. Be sure to buy whole milk for a richer milky flavor.
Brew the Black Tea: Key points for brewing black tea: 1. Turn off the heat after the water boils, then add the black tea and steep it—steeping makes it taste better. 2. The tea flavor should be strong, which comes from using more tea leaves rather than steeping it longer. 3. The longer black tea is steeped, the more bitter and astringent it becomes. If you are using budget-friendly black tea, you can steep 60 g of black tea bags in 2,000 cc of hot water for 10 minutes. If you want higher quality, use 2,000 cc of hot water with 100 g of loose-leaf black tea, but steep for only 3 minutes before removing the leaves. This prevents bitterness while keeping the tea flavor strong, though it comes at a higher cost.
Heat the Milk: While whole milk already has a rich flavor, you can heat it slightly to help release the milky aroma, which tastes even better when combined with the black tea.
▲ Making fresh milk tea at home is best done with whole milk, which gives the resulting milk tea a richer flavor.
Ratio for Fresh Milk Tea
Generally, the ideal ratio for fresh milk tea is 2/3 black tea to 1/3 fresh milk. Store-bought fresh milk tea rarely exceeds this ratio because fresh milk is expensive, and adding more would not be cost-effective. When making it at home, if you prefer a stronger milky flavor, you can change the ratio to 1:1. If you prefer it even creamier, you can add a bit of heavy cream or condensed milk.
Fresh milk is naturally sweet, so you can actually omit sugar syrup to lower the calories and make it a healthier drink. If you prefer it sweeter, you can add sugar syrup. Raw cane sugar (Ershatang) is the best choice, but remember to dissolve the sugar in boiling water separately rather than adding the sugar directly into the black tea or fresh milk, as this will affect the texture and mouthfeel.
There are three keys to making delicious fresh milk tea: 1. Do not steep the black tea for too long, or it will become astringent. 2. The tea must be strong, which you can achieve by using more tea leaves and less water. 3. Use whole milk so the milky flavor is rich. That covers how to make fresh milk tea. Everyone’s palate is different, so the recipe, as well as the ratios of milk and black tea, can be adjusted—it is by no means set in stone.
▲ Fresh milk tea is delicious and healthy, and making it at home is more affordable than buying it outside.