Hong Kong-Style Milk Tea Making Technique

Inheriting British afternoon tea, Hong Kong's cha chaan tengs localised the drink, developing the distinctive craft of repeatedly brewing through a white cloth bag and knocking in evaporated milk, until it became the everyday national drink of Hong Kong. The making technique entered the first Hong Kong ICH inventory in 2014 and was elevated to the first Representative List of the ICH of Hong Kong in 2017.

Making Hong Kong milk tea blends Ceylon black tea with other leaves and repeatedly draws the brew through a white cloth bag that, stained brown by use, resembles a silk stocking and gives the drink its name; evaporated milk and sugar are then knocked in so the tea turns smooth and even, the heat and ratios held entirely in the master's hand.

Hong Kong milk tea is the soul of cha chaan teng culture, carrying the post-war street life of Hong Kong and its East-meets-West food tradition, a key symbol of collective memory for the city.

Hong Kong milk tea can be tasted at cha chaan tengs across the city.