How to Brew Hong Kong Style Milk Tea - Loose Leaf

Authentic Hong Kong Style Milk Tea

Our BASELINE instructions on how to brew your Hong Kong style LOOSE LEAF tea.

Adjust your ratios to create the custom taste you want to achieve.

Enjoy a cup of fresh brewed Hong Kong style milk tea by following these steps. Adjust to your preference.

Instructions for 16 oz of brewed tea:

What you need

  • 2 pots or kettles
  • 1 strainer or filters
  • 6 heaping teaspoons of tea
  • 26 oz of water to produce approximately 16oz of tea (some water will evaporate or soak into the tea leaves)

Steps

  1. Put 6 heaping teaspoons of tea into a pot of boiling water (26oz) and let brew on medium boil for at least 7-8 minutes (ideally 15 minutes).
  2. Strain tea into another pot with cloth strainer (recommended traditional way) - OR use paper tea bag filter, ultra fine mesh metal strainer, or paper coffee filter.
  3. Pulling method: repeat the straining 4 times between the two pots to bring out the flavor and smoothness of tea.
  4. Bring the strained tea back to a running boil.
  5. Take tea pot off stove.


Serving HOT Hong Kong Style Milk Tea:

What you need

  • hot tea
  • mug and spoon
  • evaporated milk and/or condensed milk
  • sugar

Steps

  1. Get a mug and put about 1/4 evaporated milk and 3/4 tea (hot off the stove).
  2. Add desired amount of sugar and stir.
  3. Enjoy your authentic Hong Kong Style Milk Tea!


Note: You can also use condensed milk by itself or in combination with the evaporated milk. Experiment with ratios of tea, water, milk types, and sweeteners to achieve desired taste. Remember that condensed milk is already sweet.

Taste: Bold
Sweetness: Medium (but adjustable)
Makes: Two 8oz cups