You’re probably here because someone told you how tasty Oolong milk tea is, right? Well, they didn’t lie! As you’ll see, this tea is worth the hype because of its uniqueness.
The perfect oolong milk tea recipe is pretty easy. To make Oolong milk tea, brew the tea leaves first using hot water. Then mix it with other tea ingredients. You can use milk, tapioca pearls, brown sugar syrup, and honey. Viola! Your tea is ready. See, you’re done already. It’s pretty much the same as making black or green tea. Even if it’s your first time, you can make a perfect oolong bubble tea.
Wondering what Oolong teas to use for this recipe? You can either use loose-leaf tea or oolong tea bags. It all depends on you and your taste buds. We love the Oolong milk tea recipe because you can tweak it as you please. Ready to make tea with our amazing oolong milk tea recipe? If yes, then let’s get started!
What Is Oolong Milk Tea?
Do you really know what an Oolong milk tea is? It’s a tasty drink that uses Oolong tea as a base. You can call it milk tea or Oolong bubble tea. Ingredients that make up this tea include oolong tea, tapioca pearls, brown sugar, honey, and milk. So, this is how it works – you use black or green tea for regular bubble tea while you use oolong tea for oolong milk tea.
Beyond being a tasty drink, Oolong tea represents a rich cultural heritage. The tea originates from China and Taiwan, and “Oolong” means “black dragon.” If you couldn’t tell by now, the tea’s flavor is as unique as its name. In fact, it differs from black and green tea because it’s not too oxidized.
While Oolong milk tea is a generic name for Oolong bubble tea, it’s also a type of tea. Oolong milk tea is a type of Oolong tea that naturally tastes milky. So, you can do that one without adding milk. Awesome, right? For other types of tea, milk, brown sugar, and black tapioca pearls add flavor. Oolong milk tea has become popular, of course, even more than green and black tea. So, do you love to drink bubble tea? Then you can enjoy oolong milk tea hot or cold!
How to Brew Oolong Tea for Milk Tea Recipe
Do you want to brew a perfect oolong milk tea? Then you shouldn’t skip this process. The first step is to brew tea, and here we show you how. You can brew using loose-leaf tea or tea bags. Don’t worry about the flavor; it’ll stay rich for your perfect tall glass of oolong tea.
- Start by getting the ingredients: Having water is a no-brainer. So, water first, and then 1 or 2 tablespoons of oolong tea. Feel free to experiment here, okay? You’ll also need an electric kettle or any other utensil to heat the water. Other things you need are: a strainer, a teacup or pot, and a measuring spoon.
- Now, start heating the cold water. Heat the water using medium-high heat. Stay put until the water boils, then turn off the heat. Be careful to let it rest for about 2 minutes. If you’re done with that, pre-warm the teacup with hot water.
- If you’re set, let’s get brewing: First, measure the tea leaves – do this based on how thick you want the flavor. After that, put them in the teacup. Now, let’s get brewing! Pour the water over the leaves and cover with a lid.
- Continue the brewing process. Of course, you’re not done yet. The next thing to do is let the tea steep. How long should you do this for? Again, it depends on how thick you want the flavor. Ideally, two to five minutes is enough, just make sure you taste it at intervals.
- Now, you can remove the tea leaves. When you finish brewing the tea, remove the leaves using a filter. Viola! The brewed tea is set for a delicious boba tea treat.
Bonus tip: If you want to make cold milk tea, allow the tea to cool for a while. Now that you know how to brew oolong tea, let’s make an oolong milk tea recipe!
Oolong Milk Tea Recipe: How to Make the Perfect Cup
You can make oolong milk tea using oolong tea bags or loose-leaf tea. So, if you’re ready, let’s get started!
Ingredients
- One cup of water
- One cup of hot or cold milk
- 1/2 tablespoon of honey
- Brewed oolong tea
- Tapioca pearls (boba pearls)
- Brown sugar
- Hot water
- Ice cubes
Utensils
- A small saucepan
- Teapot
- Filter
- Serving glass
Steps to Make an Oolong Milk Tea
Follow the following steps to prepare a tasty cup of oolong milk tea.
- First, cook the tapioca pearls: Don’t worry; doing this is pretty easy. Just follow the instructions on the pack, and you’re good to go! Once you finish, drain it and keep it aside.
- Next, make brown sugar syrup: Should you do this if you have honey? No, honey is already a sweetener. Use either honey or sugar, NOT both. To make the syrup, first, heat the saucepan using medium heat. If the pan is warm enough, add water and sugar. Allow the content to heat until it becomes thick. We haven’t forgotten our tapioca pearls – add to the pan and let it mix too. When you’re done, keep it aside.
- Now, make the brewed tea: If you haven’t brewed your tea yet, we’ve got you. Use the steps we outlined above to do that. When you’re done, come back and continue to the next step.
- Start mixing the ingredients: Good job, you’re getting close! Now, put the tapioca pearls and sugar syrup (or honey) in a serving glass. After that, pour the brewed oolong tea into the glass. Finally, pour the milk into the glass. You can use hot or cold milk, depending on the temperature you want. By now, you can see how yummy it looks!
Your Oolong milk tea is ready to be served: Now, put a bubble tea straw in the serving glass and serve immediately. If you’re making cold milk tea, you can add ice cubes. Viola! Your oolong milk tea is ready.
Pro Tip: For a cold milk tea, you can use two to four ice cubes. However, ensure the ice cubes don’t affect your tea’s flavor.
Looking for other tasty oolong tea milk recipes? You can try these: iced milk tea, raspberry Oolong milk tea, and creamy Oolong milk tea. You know what they say – variety is the spice of life!
Is Oolong Milk Tea Healthy?
Apart from its rich nutrition calories, milk tea has several health benefits such as:
- Stress reduction
- Improved brain activity
- Reduced anxiety
- Low sugar intake – consider reducing the amount of sugar syrup to achieve this.
What Does Oolong Milk Tea Taste Like?
Do you want to know how oolong milk tea tastes? It has a silky and sweet taste. The taste of your oolong milk tea largely depends on the base and recipe. But don’t worry, you have many options if you want something rich and tasty. It’s just like making bubble tea with black tea – the tea you use matters.
Oolong milk tea has a natural creamy taste and flowery scent. When it hits your tongue, it tastes very light yet buttery. Sounds amazing right? If we could capture this in words we’d say oolong milk tea tastes like heaven! Now, imagine adding brown sugar syrup and tapioca pearls to it. Mmm, nothing prepares you for the bliss.
At the end of the day, however you decide to make your milk oolong boba tea, you’ll enjoy it. We’ll show you the different types of oolong tea to help you choose well.
Different Types of Oolong Tea
What’s an oolong milk tea recipe without oolong tea? The amazing thing is it balances green and black tea. The tea leaves undergo a drying process called oxidation.
While some are very flowery and smoky, others are not. So there are tea leaves with a lighter flavor than others. No matter the tea you choose, you’re still in for a treat!
Some of our favorite Chinese and Taiwanese oolong teas include the following:
Milk Oolong Tea
This is a Taiwanese tea, also known as Jin Xuan Tea. But most people call it Nai Xiang tea or Golden Daylily tea. You’ll probably hear any of these names, but they’re the same plant.
Wondering why it has milk in its name? It’s because of its creamy milk flavor! It mostly brings out this flavor when left to dry in the sun for a specific period. So, if you’d love a natural milk-flavored oolong tea, you can try this. This tea is perfect for hot or cold milk tea, and we approve. You may not add tapioca pearls and brown sugar if you don’t want added flavor.
Iron Goddess of Mercy Oolong Tea
This tea is also known as Tie Guan Yin or Ti Kuan Yin, and is super popular. And guess what? You can use this to make the most tasty oolong milk tea. Once you take a sip, it’s like a flavor explosion in your mouth. Seriously, it’s that good! And to top it off, it has this lovely floral aroma.
The leaves are grown in Fujian province, which is famous for its teas. The whole process of making this tea is quite hectic and takes over 60 hours of roasting. But we’ll tell you, it’s totally worth it because the taste and quality are amazing. Plus, it’s packed with nutrients, so it’s good for you too!
If you’ve never made oolong tea, we highly recommend starting with Tie Guan Yin. They are perfect for bubble teas. Just mix it with tapioca pearls, milk, and brown sugar, and you’re in for a treat. You can find Tie Guan Yin oolong tea at bubble tea shops near you, like Kung Fu Tea. So go ahead, give it a try, and indulge in the goodness!
High Mountain Oolong Tea
If you want a lighter boba milk tea, consider high mountain oolong tea. This tea is also called Gaoshan. It is the closest in flavor to black tea. As the name implies, it is tea grown in the high Taiwan mountains.
High mountain tea is also used to describe various oolong teas grown in the same conditions. Some of these teas include Yu Shan, Alishan, and Wu She. They grow slower than other oolong teas and in very high altitudes.
Gaoshan leaves are seasonal and usually harvested in June and October. Leaves harvested in June are called spring Gaoshan while those in October are called winter Gaoshan.
These tea leaves are mostly smooth and are suitable for several drinks. Its creamy flavor and floral scents make it great for oolong milk tea. Also, you can add tapioca pearls to this too.
Phoenix Oolong Tea
This oolong tea is also known as Dan Chong or Dan Cong. It is grown and harvested in the Guangdong Province of China.
Most people love this tea for its natural taste and flavor. In fact, it is a best-seller among oolong tea customers.
As the name implies, Phoenix Oolong tea is grown in the Phoenix mountains of southern China.
Do you need a rich cup of oolong milk tea? Then you should choose this oolong tea. You can add ice cubes, maple syrup, tapioca balls, or boba pearls too!
Wuyi Oolong Tea
Finally, let’s talk about this awesome tea called Wuyi Oolong, or Da Hong Pao. It’s the last one on our list, but of course, not the least. Picture this: if the Ti Kuan Yin tea is like the dark knight, Wuyi oolong is its lighter match.
Do you love milk teas with a deep, sharp, and rich flavor? Then Wuyi oolong is perfect for you. It may be pricey, but why not, it’s the best of the best. Oh, and by the way, you can totally enjoy it with ice cubes if you want.
Our Final Thoughts
The perfect milk tea recipe is tasteful yet healthy! Preparing an oolong milk tea is one of the simplest things to do. Thankfully, you don’t need much, and milk’s always available.
You can use oat milk, soy milk, dairy milk, coconut milk, condensed milk, or whole milk. Also, using other additives like boba pearls or brown sugar gives a unique flavor to the drink. After following our oolong milk tea recipe, grab a bubble tea straw and drink away!