Roasted Milk Tea
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Roasted Milk Tea is a rich, bold, nutty drink with a smoky aroma made by toasting or caramelizing the tea leaves and sugar together before adding milk. It is super easy to make, and you only need 3 ingredients to make this.
Do you like milk tea? Have you ever tried toasting the tea and sugar in the pan first to make Roasted Milk Tea?
Toasting the tea leaves and caramelizing sugar before adding the milk adds a bold, caramelly, toasted flavor to the milk tea. It is easy and requires 3 ingredients that you definitely have at home. It can be served hot or iced and is often paired with toppings like boba or grass jelly.
What is the Difference Between Roasted Milk Tea and Regular Milk Tea?
Regular milk tea is made by brewing strong tea with hot water, then adding milk for a creamy flavor. Because of the high water content, milk tea can sometimes be watery and mild.
Meanwhile, Roasted Milk Tea is made by toasting tea and sugar until caramelized, then adding milk and cooking until it simmers to steep the tea. Since the milk is infused with the tea, it is much creamier than regular milk tea. You also get a bold caramelized flavor and a delicate smoky aroma.
Ingredients You Need
- Loose tea leaves. I like using black tea because it is the classic milk tea flavor. You can also swap it for another variety like oolong or green tea.
- Sugar. Regular granulated sugar is ideal for a nice caramel flavour, but you can also swap for brown sugar or another sweetener.
- Milk. You can make this with any milk you would like. I used regular milk. For a creamier flavor, you can use a 50/50 blend of evaporated milk and regular milk. For a milder flavor, you can also swap some of the milk with water.
Cooking Tips
- Use room-temperature milk. If you add cold milk to your cooked sugar and tea, the sugar will immediately harden from the temperature difference. If the sugar hardens, don’t worry, and let the bottom heat melt the sugar while you scrape the bottom with the spatula.
- Don’t overcook the sugar. Caramelized sugar burns extremely fast, so make sure you keep an eye on the color. It is better to use a light-colored pan to check the color.
More Drink Recipes
- Banana Pudding Matcha Latte
- Coconut Matcha Cloud
- Japanese Coffee Jelly
- Corn Cream Latte
- Maple Cream Latte
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp loose tea leaves
- 3 tbsp granulated sugar
- 2 cups (500 ml) milk
Instructions
- Add tea and sugar to the light colored pan. Toast on low-medium heat, stirring occasionally until the sugar melts and caramelizes. Don't stir too much. Stirring the caramel too often will clump the sugar.
- When the sugar is caramelized into a golden color, add the milk and dissolve the sugar by stirring with a spatula. Bring to a simmer and turn off the heat. Let it infuse for 5 minutes.
- Strain out the tea leaves.
- Serve hot or iced. Let it cool completely before adding ice. Add toppings like boba or grass jelly if preferred.
