Last Updated on 04/28/2020 by Desmond
“Silk stocking milk tea” is a type of milk tea with the most authentic Hong Kong-style, also known as “Hong Kong milk tea” or “Hong Kong-style milk tea.”
Since the British colonial rule in Hong Kong, the British spread the habit of “afternoon tea” to Hong Kong. Different from the ordinary Chinese people’s habit of drinking tea in the morning, the British are used to enjoying tea at about 3 PM to 5 PM, between lunch and work, and having some dessert.
Ceylon black tea is prevalent in Hong Kong because of its good tastes and costs less. Westerners like to add light milk and sugar when drinking to make the tea taste more fragrant and smooth, that’ the basis of Hong Kong milk tea.
Silk stockings milk tea is a typical drink in Hong Kong people’s daily beverage for breakfast and afternoon tea time. The milk tea served by Hong Kong tea restaurants typically made in the way of silk stockings milk tea.
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Why Say Hong Kong Milk Tea As “Silk Stocking Tea?”
The inventor of silk stockings milk tea is Muhe Lin, the founder of Lan Fong Yuen, a time-honored brand in Hong Kong’s Central.
Before world war ii, coffee was the main beverage in Hong Kong, and milk tea became more popular than it since the 1950s and 1960s.
In the beginning, Hong Kong milk tea was relatively rough and taste bitter. Because most restaurants in Hong Kong use a big kettle to boil tea, with the long-time steeping, made the black tea taste bitter and astringent.
In 1952, Muhe Lin formed the Lan Fong Yuen restaurant in Central and began to improve Hong Kong milk tea. He asks a blacksmith to make a small teapot out of copper, which he called the “hand pot,” and his wife used a cloth to DIY an infuser to filter the tea leaves.
“The teapot is so small that you don’t have to take a long time for heating. And brewing the tea, again and again, can remove the tea’s herbaceous smell off, make the flavor more balance.” Muhe lin said. “The making time should be controlled properly; shorter cannot remove the smell, longer will make the tea bitter and harmful to the stomach.”
At that time, the workers who work near the docks will come and buy a cup of milk tea. “The workers saw me wash my tea in a bag and feel it was fascinating. When they saw that the cloth bag was brown, they thought it was silk stockings. So every time they will shout, ‘one cup of silk stockings milk tea.'” Muhe Lin said.
So, Hong Kong milk tea gradually gets the nickname “silk stockings milk tea,” But in fact, it does not make with silk stockings.
How To Make A Cup of Hong Kong Milk Tea
The way to make authentic Hong Kong milk tea, first, you should prepare an infuser, which is made from nylon mesh.
Put the Ceylon black tea in the nylon mesh. Ceylon black tea is classified by shape and size. Tea masters can decide the flavor, color, and concentration of milk tea through control the amount of Ceylon tea,
Then, put the nylon mesh filled with tea leaves into a teapot, add boiling water, cover and let it steep for a few minutes. This process is called “baked tea” locally.
After the tea taste dissolves enough, pour it into another teapot, and pour it back into the first teapot through an infuser, repeated several times. This process is called “pulled tea,” just like the “Teh Tarik” in Malaysia.
Repeatedly pulling and filtering, the tiny tea leaves are completely filtered out, and under the effect of surface tension, making black tea get a smooth and delicate taste.
As a result, the nylon filter mesh is dyed coffee color, which looks like a silk stocking from a distance. People easy to make a mistake to think that milk tea is made with a silk stocking.
Finally, pour the black tea into a cup that has been with milk(or condensed milk), a spoon is served for the customers to stir themselves. Then it’s time to enjoy the traditional Hong Kong-style milk tea.
Yuenyeung(tea blend coffee), Another Kind of Hong Kong-style Milk Tea
Yuenyeung milk tea is another popular way of making black tea in Hong Kong.
To make Yuenyeung milk tea, first, use the Hong Kong-style milk tea brewing method to make a cup of black tea, and then make a cup of coffee of the same volume. At last, blend the two and add milk and sugar to serve.
Because the ratio of black tea and coffee is 1:1, just like the mandarin duck(called Yuenyeung in Chinese), which is the symbol of loyal love, so named Yuenyeung milk tea.
Yuenyeung milk tea has both the fragrance of coffee and the smooth of milk tea, and it’s a unique flavor.
