Hong Kong-Style Milk Tea

Hong Kong milk tea, also called "silk-stocking milk tea," blends Ceylon black tea with other leaves and is repeatedly strained through a white cloth bag that turns brown and resembles a silk stocking, then knocked together with evaporated milk and sugar for a deep amber, full-flavoured, silky cup.

Inheriting the habit of British afternoon tea, Hong Kong's cha chaan tengs adapted the drink locally, brewing a stronger tea base and using evaporated milk in place of fresh milk, and it grew into the everyday national drink of Hong Kong; its making technique is inscribed on Hong Kong's representative list of intangible cultural heritage.

Taken hot or over ice as "iced milk tea" for morning tea, afternoon tea or a cold drink in a cha chaan teng, often paired with a pineapple bun or egg tart, the emblematic symbol of Hong Kong tea-house culture.

The repeatedly brewed strong tea base, the cloth "silk-stocking" filter and the technique of knocking in evaporated milk are the marks that give Hong Kong milk tea its rich, smooth character.