One pleasant surprise for visitors to Japan is discovering the amazing selection of drinks you can find. Even vending machines are not like the lame ones we have here. They have a huge variety of high quality, tasty beverages. One of my favourites was always Japanese royal milk tea.
So creamy and rich in flavour – it was almost always my choice. On a hot day, chilled milk tea is so delightfully refreshing. Drinking it hot is wonderful as well! I will show you how to make both versions.
how to make Japanese royal milk tea
There are a few different kinds of black tea that can be used for Japanese royal milk tea.
- Darjeeling (India) – light coloured with a floral aroma.
- Assam (India) – dark, bold, and malty.
- Ceylon Uva (Sri Lanka) – amber and full bodied.
I use a blend of 75% Darjeeling for the light colour and delicate floral scent, and 25% Assam for a bit of depth and robustness.
To get the most flavour out of your tea, we want to open it up first. Do this by putting it into a small bowl and add just enough boiling water to evenly coat the tea leaves. In the meantime, heat the milk and water in a small pot.
Just before the milk/water begins to boil, add in the moistened tea leaves and turn off the heat. Stir them with a spoon to mix them in. Cover the pot and let it sit for four minutes (five if you intend to drink the tea iced). Prepare your teacups by filling them with hot water to warm them.
After the steeping is finished, give it another stir, then strain the milk tea into a bowl or measuring cup with a pour spout. Now sweeten it to your taste preference. In Japan they often use liquid sugar called gum syrup. You can use sugar if you’d like, but I used honey.
Remove the water from the teacups and pour in your tea. It is ready to enjoy hot.
However, my favourite way to enjoy Japanese royal milk tea is iced. It is so delicious and refreshing. If you want to try it this way, pop the bowl in the fridge to cool for a bit before serving it on ice.
Japanese Royal Milk Tea
- Prep Time: 1 minute
- Cook Time: 4 minutes
- Total Time: 5 minutes
- Yield: 2 servings 1x
- Category: Tea
- Cuisine: Japanese
Description
A rich and creamy milk tea that has a delicate floral aroma. You can enjoy this famous Japanese tea both hot and iced.
Ingredients
Measurements for 2 servings (see note for 1 serving – not half)
1 1/2 tsp (heaping) Darjeeling tea leaves
1/2 tsp (heaping) Assam tea leaves
300 ml milk
100 ml water
honey, to taste
Instructions
Measure the tea leaves into a very small bowl. Add in just enough boiling water to thoroughly cover the leaves. Let this sit to open up the leaves.
[Hot version: preheat tea cups by filling with hot water.]
Heat milk and water in a small pot over medium heat. Just before it begins to boil, add in the moistened tea leaves and turn off the heat. Stir with a spoon to mix.
Cover the pot and allow it to steep for 4 minutes (5 if you will drink it iced).
Give it another stir, then strain the milk tea into a bowl or measuring cup that has an easy pour spout. Sweeten the tea to your taste preference with honey.
Hot version: Empty hot water from tea cups and fill with prepared milk tea.
Cold version: Chill in fridge until cool enough to serve over ice.
Notes
Measurements for one serving: 1 1/2 tsp (heaping) black tea leaves (75% Darjeeling, 25% Assam) – 150 ml milk – 75 ml water
Keywords: Japanese tea, royal milk tea
I’m obsessed with Japanese milk tea! But it’s expensive at import stores. Thanks for showing how to make it at home 😀
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I know! I needed a solution too 🙂
This is great
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Thanks!
Great, easy-to-follow recipe
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Thank you
Beautiful
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Thanks Erica, appreciate it.
Delicious tea recipe!
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Thank you 🙂
Can’t wait to make this! 😀
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Love it 🙂
Delicious and soooo good on as ice tea.
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Thank you!
Really enjoying this tea. Comforting.
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Thank you 🙂
A friend and I made this. First time we tried Japanese milk tea. Loved it.
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Thanks so much!
My daughter made this for me today. Ice tea which I never tried before. So smooth and tasty.
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So glad you liked it. Thank you
Thank you for sharing this. Such a delightful drink for a hot day. Will try it hot in the winter.
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Thanks for the review!
Not much one for writing reviews however I have been enjoying this tea most of the summer. It’s such a great tea to sit and relax with that I just wanted to thank you for the recipe.
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Awe, thank you for going out of your way and writing one in this case. That made me very happy to read.