Hong Kong milk tea was made with very strong black tea and very rich milk. In the 1950's Mr Chun Yip formalized the method for making Hong Kong Milk tea.
It is said that Milk Tea was created in a Cha Chaan Teng ( Coffee and Tea Cafe)- Lan Fong Yuen, in central Hong Kong. In the 1940's ships would come to Hong Kong pier and the sailors would give the owner, Mr. Chun-Yip, of Lan Fong Yuen, tea. He would collect the tea in a glass jar, not wanting to waste any of the tea. He would mix the tea together and brew it. He mixed milk and it would be richer. They are now well known outside Hong Kong in China and all over Asia for their milk tea.
His mixture is 6 types of tea- put into a "stocking". They mix the tea and the water together. The water temp is 212 degrees. They put on the stove and once the water starts to bubble it is time to pull the tea. Pulling the tea is straining it back and forth between kettles, with the tea in the stocking. Strain the tea in the stocking into another kettle then repeat, repeating 6 times. The tea has to be steeped long enough to bring out the color and fragrance. Then fill the cup with 1/3 c evaporated milk then tea is added.
Milk Tea started because Chinese were not into cows milk. Cow's milk just wasn’t a thing. When the British came in the 19th century to Hong Kong with tea and were adding milk to the tea- which went against the way Chinese drank their tea. The Chinese were at a loss- cows milk was super expensive and they didn’t have the access to it. Then in the 20th century evaporated milk became a thing- they used that. It was cheap, available, easy to store, long lasting, and delicious. And today it is still used- and it won’t be Hong Kong Milk Tea if it didn’t have evaporated milk in it.
Also the British milk tea is real soft, mild, and light in an almost diluted way- milk tea with evaporated milk kind of snacks you in the face with the flavors. It’s decadent.
Every tea master makes their milk tea different. So much plays into the taste- Temperature of the water, the steep time, how many times they pull the tea, the tea blend- all are said to play into the nuances of the taste.
People are pretty secretive about their methods- but most teas are made of a Ceylon tea, or Shrinklan tea- a blend of strong, brisk, black teas. Some use an Ceylon Orange Pekoe tea. Orange Pekoe is a grade of tea- it is the youngest and tenderest tea leaves- it contains the new, first flush leaves only. There is NO orange flavor in Orange Pekoe.
Infuse the tea 2-3 minutes from 10-12 minutes. The pulling method- pouring through the stocking supposedly enhances the flavor, the color, and also softens the astringency. Mix with evaporated milk. Others say pull/pour 4 times, not 6 times. And they say 30% milk not 20%. So, you can see the recipe varies.
The taste has a tannin forward, astringent, tangy, and then after you swallow you get the rich, smooth, creamy milky evaporated milk. If you make it cold- they add condensed milk,
From one of the You Tube videos I watched. This was the recipe they came up with.
Hong Kong Milk Tea, also known as silk stocking tea
they did tea blend- Shrilankan tea- Ceylon- very brisk, bright
2 parts Cut Ceylon tea to one part Empress Oolong, one part Fire Phoenix Puerh- all ground up
then ground red dates
1 tsp cut tea per 100 ml of water
bring to boil
trick in Hong Kong is too put in half an egg shell (although I watched 6-8 you tube videos and I never saw anyone add an egg shell)
steep for 10 minutes
pull out the egg shell
pull the tea- pour it back and forth- from kettle to kettle through the sock
then pour into your final kettle- using a very fine filter
then add the 30% evaporated milk
I found some milk tea at Jungle Jim's that I thought would be fun to share at my milk tea, Passport to Tea 2023.
