How to Make Roasted Milk Tea (Without Milk Powder or Creamer)

ChaTime's roasted milk tea has been a favourite of so many of my friends and myself that there are times I want to make one at home.  Especially a hot one on extremely cold days like today!!  I know that most bubble tea places use milk powder or creamer in their drinks which makes it easier, however I don't have these items on hand. So I began using regular milk and thought I'd share some key tips on how to make milk tea, more specifically roasted milk tea in this post.  Making cold vs hot also requires different steps which I'll highlight but my recipe below will be for a hot roasted milk tea.

1.  Finding the right tea

Tea is available almost everywhere these days, but finding roasted tea...that can be a stumbling block from the start.  There are oolong teas that are roasted however, roasted oolong may be a little expensive to use and may not be exactly the right flavour profile.  A more readily available roasted tea is hojicha (also spelled houjicha) a Japanese style roasted green tea.  If you haven't heard of hojicha, you're missing out!  Comforting when brewed hot and refreshing and unique when cold brewed.  I purchased my first batch at Nohohon Tea Room which sells the Momo Tea brand (very nice teas) but recently I've also ordered online from Yunomi. Roasting levels can vary though.

2.  Quantity of tea leaves

Use at least double the amount of tea leaves for the volume of water used to brew the tea.  You could try three times the amount depending on the tea but start with two.  This is because of the addition of milk or ice that will dilute the brew.

3.  Using liquid milk instead of milk powder

So this post comes about because I don't have milk powder or creamer on hand.  To get a similar creamy taste, it's ideal to use 3.25% fat or homo milk for this but you could definitely use lower fat milk.  In addition, because you'll be using liquid milk, a small amount won't cut it, the quantity of milk will need to be almost equal to the quantity of tea and that is why you'll need to brew the tea strong.

4.  For cold milk tea, use large chunks of ice to cool the tea quickly.

You want the tea to cool very quickly to reduce the amount of water that gets added to the drink or you risk diluting the drink too much.

5. Steep time

There are some teas that will be quite bitter if over steeped so don't try to add extra time to the steeping unless you are making more than one portion. You will need to increase the steep time compared to making a single portion by about a minute.  I find with hojicha it doesn't over steep so easily so often I'll brew longer.



Hot Roasted Milk Tea:
Makes 1 large mug (approx 300ml)

6g of hojicha tea leaves (1 rounded tablespoon)
150 ml boiled water
1-2 tsp sugar (adjust to taste, I prefer 1.5 tsp)
150 ml milk

Put tea leaves into a brewing vessel*.
Pour boiling water into a separate cup first, then pour onto tea leaves (this step is to reduce the water temperature to about 85°C as boiling water with result in some bitterness).

Let steep for 3-5 minutes.
Strain the tea into your cup/mug.

This was after 4 minutes

Add sugar.
Heat milk till steaming (do no boil).
Add to tea and sugar, stir and ENJOY!.

*No brewing vessel, a small pot/saucepan also works (and steps may be simplier), especially when making more than one cup.

Eco-Cha Club Membership (October and November)

I've received my October and November Eco-cha tea club teas a while ago but have been too preoccupied to post a review so here is a combined post.  Again, 75g of tea is provided in the monthly subscription and it comes nicely package with an info card.

October (the club's 11th tea since it's start) was an heirloom small leaf black tea.  These were tightly rolled in strip form.

I brewed using their guidelines, 9 grams per 175ml with boiling water for 50 seconds.  This is definitely more than I usually use for black tea.  Tea soup was a nice reddish brown...

Taste was malty and there was a dried fruit taste to it, dried plum maybe (?) but the info card suggested dried apricot and papaya.  Still honing my tasting skills so will have to keep tasting this tea, maybe modifying the amount and steep times.  Not very astringent but I did feel like there was too much leaf in the cup though.   Again, maybe that is because I often use less per 175ml and not because I thought it was too strong. In terms of overall appeal, it was average for me. Only steeped 3 times as I didn't have the time for a long tea session.  Leaves look quite nice after the session.

The November tea (the club's 12th tea since it's start) was a Tieguanyin hand picked from a small farm in Muzha (Taipei).

This tea is processed in the traditional style where it is oxidized and roasted more heavily than the lighter Tieguanyin teas in recent years.  The batch is 50/50 of tieguanyin leaves and jin xuan leaves since there is such small quantity of original tieguanyin tea trees.

Brewed using their parameters, 10g per 175ml with boiling water for 50 secs.  Very strong roasted aroma and the tea soup brews up quite a dark orange brown.

Nice strong roasted flavour and I also want to say there was a slight creaminess to it on the 2nd brew.  It definitely is more of a fall/winter type of tea.  I've never been too fond of traditionally processed tieguanyins but maybe I haven't had top quality either.  I definitely lean more towards lighter tieguanyins.

Paired really nicely with a chocolate cupcake I made...

And, just because I was testing out a piping tip...here is pic of a cupcake topped with green tea whipped cream.

And just because it was my first time piping petals with whipped cream, I had to take a close-up...

Don't have a pic of the wet leaves as I only infused 3 times and leaves were not quite unraveled yet so I think it could have still had lots of flavour potential. Tieguanyins although very popular haven't really been a tea I drink too often so it was great to receive this tea.  I'll have a chance to get more experience brewing this tea and it definitely has a warming quality to it, great for the winter!

As I write this, one thing about the tea club I have to mention is that if you're in Canada, the box can take 3 weeks or more to receive.  I have yet to receive my December box (I'm sure this is partially due to Christmas volume).  It's slightly disappointing that it does take so long to get here especially when they put up info on their website about the tea soon after shipment so it's less of a surprise in terms of what tea will be in the box.  Anyway, hopefully the January one is faster.

Happy New Year!

Hello, it's been a while.

2016

Goodbye to an eventful (and stressful) year and soooo thankful for my family and friends for being there!

2017

HELLO to a challenging new year!

I recently welcomed my second child, hence my absence from this space.  So aside from feedings, diaper changes, taking care of my first child, sleeping, and online Christmas shopping I haven't had a chance to think about this blog.  Actually I've thought about it lots, but haven't had a chance to post anything.

Looking back, I've had some great meals and glad to have read some interesting books.  I posted on tea a few times and that is where I've actually been spending most of my extra energy on these last couple of months. However, I don't know if it's because I'm not as focused or congestion for part of the time has muted my taste buds, but I haven't had the tasting experiences I've expected.

Only in the last two days, the last two days of the year, was there a glimmer of promise...

2017...looks to be a very promising year, for tea and I that is.

Yesterday I had a chance to re-read some passages in one of my tea books from Taiwan and there was an intro written by one of their well known tea experts/enthusiasts.  He summed up tea drinking or "the way of tea" with these 2 words:

歸零

The first word means "return or back to" and the second word is "zero", so essentially return to zero.  I took it to mean a reset in a way.  Every time you drink tea, the act, the experience is like a reset.  You spend the time to brew the tea and taste the tea, calming your mind and revitalizing yourself.  Even the physical change that the leaf goes through as you brew the tea mimics these words; the dry leaves unfurl with the heat of the water and what you end up with if using whole leaf tea is the shape and likeness of the leaf prior to the processing...a return back to the original state (somewhat).

In some ways, the end of the year and beginning of a new year for some is like a return to zero...you think about what you've done the past year, your successes and failures and then start to think about your future self.  How you may do things differently or plan new beginnings.  As I write this, I'm quite looking forward to 2017 as I focus on balancing the needs of my expanding family and challenges I plan to put upon myself.

Happy New Year!!

Eco-Cha Club Membership (September) - My First Shipment!

I finally received my first batch of tea from Eco-Cha!  It actually took almost 4 weeks to arrive but sometimes that can happen if it gets stuck at customs.  And, I also have received the October package recently so this post is coming a bit late.  Eco-Cha is a tea company based in Taiwan that sources tea from family run farms that use sustainable methods.  I joined their tea club recently as I thought that this was something different and what is sent out to tea club members is not sold on their website.  I'm really excited as I've never joined anything like it despite there being other tea subscription clubs.

This month's tea is an Organic Wuyi Hong Shui Oolong tea 有機武夷紅水烏龍茶.

There is 75g of tea per month and it seems like every month they send a little something with the tea; September's was a metal tea strainer.  I already have the exact same one, but it was a nice extra.

Hong Shui Oolong 紅水烏龍茶 has actually been on my radar for over 5 years now but the reason it's been something I've been searching for info about is because I bought some Hong Shui Oolong from a wholesaler in Taiwan five years ago which was very different from the Hong Shui Oolong I could find online.  Hong Shui Oolong is supposed to be a tea in Taiwan that is similar to Dong Ding Oolong 凍頂烏龍 in the processing and rolled into ball shape, but I believe it is slightly more oxidized and does not come from Dong Ding mountain.  The Hong Shui I bought was  rolled into strip-form like Wuyi style oolong and like the product sent this month by Eco-Cha.  Looking back, the wholesaler said it was grown in Miaoli at 400m and the cultivar is qing xin da pang or da pa (青心大冇?); this cultivar is usually used to make Oriental Beauty Oolong (or Bai Hao Oolong).

I do have book on oolong tea and it describes Hong Shui Oolong 紅水烏龍 and how it used to be produced many years ago as a 'foreigner's tea' but is enjoyed by the locals now.  The one I have already, is not roasted and seems to bear the same tea "soup" colour of a red tea rather than the lighter orange-brown that is more common for the Hong Shui Oolong described in everything I could find about it.

I'm inclined to think my initial batch of Hong Shui Oolong from five years ago may actually be something different (it does taste good though!).  The tea from Eco-cha although rolled into strips (Wuyi style), does bear little other resemblance to the tea I have; it has the roasted quality and the tea soup is also not as "red" as the name would imply, more similar to Dong Ding Oolong and fits with all the other descriptions of Hong Shui Oolong except for the rolling style.

I brewed the tea using their specifications, 9 grams per 175 ml with boiling water for 50 seconds.  I have to say though, I thought it was too much leaves because the flavour seemed muddled, tangy, and there was moderate astringency.  When I used less leaves (5-6 grams), more of the baked fruit flavour came out and no astringency.  The leaves will open up more and I think that makes a difference.  I brewed this tea three times in each instance and the it didn't appear to be watered down, just liked the outcome using less leaves.

It's a nice tea for the autumn but I think I'm still going to experiment with leaf to water ratio, water temperature and steep time.  I think there is definitely more potential for this tea.

However, I did notice that there were a number of sticks/stems in the batch where the leaves were not attached which is a little disappointing.

Nonetheless, this is still an interesting tea though; more so for the organic growing method used which is somewhat a new concept.  It is one of the reasons that I joined, to try new teas either grown differently or processed differently from what you could find on the general market.  I also love getting packages!

Looking forward to more tea from Eco-cha!

Saturday Dinette on a Sunday and a Dried Date Tasting

An extended breakfast or brunch with one (or a number) of close friends is one of life's little pleasures.  It's definitely important once people settle down and have children.  One of my friends commented that after people start to have children, the likelihood that you'll see your closest friends may be once every 2 months.  I kinda didn't think that was true, but when I really start to think about it, it is not too far off sadly.  Of course there are times where it's once a month, but that means only 6-12 times a year! Anyway, makes getting together with close friends even more of a treasured moment.

This past Sunday, we got together for breakfast at Saturday Dinette and I was really impressed.  Got there just after they opened at 9 am and was greeted warmly.  Space is small and tables near the front are for parties of two, but there were slightly larger tables at the back.  Decor was comfortable and some might say a little retro, but I think it's like walking into a friend's kitchen who likes to cook and has a casual and cool style.  They describe themselves as a modern diner which is a very good description.

Menu is not too large, but there are enough choices and it has a very good mix of options, several jumped out at me.

I finally decided on the "Shrooms on Toast" and my friend ordered the "Herbed Poached Eggs".  They do have items that are more "meaty" and several add-on options, but we were happy with our choices.

I ordered an Apple on the Green tea and here they use Pluck Teas.  As I mentioned in a previous post, this is a local tea company and I've been seeing this brand in a lot of places I have recently gone to. Loved the little tea cup!!  I don't have tea cups like these but I'm tempted to start collecting a mismatch of these English style tea cups.  The french press idea is nice, but the only thing about that is that the tea leaves end up sitting in water still.  So in the end, I tasted green tea but not much apple.

Now onto the food.  First off, I must say presentation was great!

Herbed Poached Eggs

'Shrooms on Toast

The egg was perfectly done, whites were cooked well and egg yolk oozed out once you poked at it.  The mushrooms were aplenty and I liked the addition of ricotta cheese which was hidden under the egg.

Here's look at the inside, bar counter...

Besides having great food, the owner/chef Suzanne Barr has also established a social program called the Dinettes to train and employ young women from the YWCA which you can read about here. Definitely recommend this place not only for the food quality and service, but this initiative that gives back to the community!

After our breakfast, we still had time and lots to chat about so went for a coffee a few doors down.  It seemed like it was a new-ish coffee place to the area, called Hailed Coffee.  Decor was minimalistic and staff were friendly.

My Americano was pretty good, medium-thick mouthfeel and flavour was okay.  I can't really comment since I don't drink much coffee these days and was having decaf.  But they do offer the basics at decent prices and an interesting add-on called their "hailed syrup" which is cardamom flavoured.  But, my mind was on something else, the dried dates display.

They had a range of different types of dates (7 in total) and we decided to try them all.  It's too bad that after ordering I realized that by ordering them all, we weren't certain which one was which and had to go by picture as I took some closer pics with my phone and referred to them while we ate.

The dates paired really well with coffee! I think they would be a great alternative to a baked treat.  We liked (I think) the SAFAWI date because it was a chewier and denser date, kinda like a caramel.  The Saggie was the lightest coloured one and tasted okay but probably my least favourite since the texture of half the date was a bit like crystalized honey.

Besides coffee and dates, they offer a number of croissants, cookies, and biscottis...and Pluck Teas.  Would recommend trying this place out as it seems like it would be welcome in the neighborhood.

The inside...

A wonderful morning!!


Saturday Dinette

807 Gerrard Street E
Toronto, ON M4M 1Y6

http://www.saturdaydinette.com/

T: 416-465-5959

Hailed Coffee

801 Gerrard St. E

Toronto, ON M4M 1Y5

http://www.hailed.ca/#our-story

T: 647-352-4040

September: I'm Dreaming of...

Figs have been more readily available this September so one early morning I made a fig/honey white bean mochi.

Ahhh, September...the transitional month from summer to autumn.  Again, I'm late with this post.  I started writing on the first of September but didn't finish it until now.

For some people I know autumn is their favourite time of year, but I love the early sun of summer, the sky on warm summer evenings and everything in-between that it's hard to say "til next year' - but I know we must.  Autumn is upon us tomorrow!

So, this September I've been Dreaming of...

Getting up early to brew tea - quality me time...
the last few months I've been pretty sporatic with my tea drinking and brewing habits 

Making mochi...
I've been experimenting with different methods and hopefully I'll be able to post on what I've experienced soon

and 

Baking with chocolate...

A while ago I picked up the Mast Brothers Chocolate Cookbook but only had time to flip through it.  Most of the pictures are brown and shadow-y because, well, chocolate is brown.  Anyway, nothing really caught my eye at the time so I left it for another time to read through.  Well, earlier this month I read through the cookbook and part of it is a baking/cookbook and part of it tells their story; the story of how they started their bean-to-bar business and their ethos.  It was quite interesting.  I knew part of their story from reading the book Small Batch but there is much more detail and I'm in awe of the drive and determination.

So, I baked a chocolate cupcake.  It was good but because I was serving it to my toddler, I cut the sugar just a bit and didn't make the ganache that topped it.  So, if I did as the recipe instructed, I think it would have been an awesome cupcake.

In the past I've stayed away from baking many chocolate things because usually it doesn't go well and secondly, I actually just like eating chocolate on it's own more than in a baked good.  But chocolate baked goods are usually crowd pleasers so it's good to know a few good chocolate recipes.

After I finished reading about Mast Brothers, I came across a post about Dandelion Chocolate in Japan.  Dandelion Chocolate is another American bean-to-bar chocolate brand that had expanded to Japan.  The post mentions a flight of brownies that you can purchase, each using a specific single-origin chocolate.  Definitely would love to try these out (but, actually my partner already makes the best brownies I've ever had) or attempt making various chocolate desserts using various single origin chocolates, but the cost would be quite prohibitive!

Enjoy the rest of September!

Oriental Beauty Oolong Tea: Select vs Superior Grade

Tiny bud and leaves (My hand model did a great job!)

I haven't reviewed tea in a while, but I had this post since the start of the year and thought I'd revisit it.  In my Christmas tea gift set, I received 2 different grades of Oriental Beauty tea (also known as Dong Fang Mei Ren 東方美人or Bai Hao Oolong 白毫烏龍茶): Select and Superior grade from Taiwan Tea Crafts.  Love the taste of this tea as it has a strong natural sweetness to it!

Oriental Beauty is a high oxidized oolong tea.  They often get a section all to themselves because of the unique way in which the flavour is produced.  Jassids or little leaf hoppers bite the leaves and stems (while the plant is still in the field) starting a chemical process that results in a nice honey flavour profile.  This is something that was discovered by accident as these jassids were thought to have been a pest, ruining the crop.  But, upon one farmer harvesting and brewing the leaves, this oolong tea was conceived; and it is believed the Queen of England had a taste of it and named it "Oriental Beauty".

The Select grade is not from the original terroir in which this tea became known (Hsinchu, Taiwan), but the Superior grade is from the original terroir.

Could I tell the difference?

I wish I did a blind taste test, but my first tastings were done on individual days.  From my recollection, I think the superior grade was slightly more flavourful, but not by a huge difference; I definitely enjoyed both teas.  Most oolongs require near boiling water to brew but this one is unique in that it requires a much lower temperature, approximately 85 degrees C.  As you can see, it is very delicate and the whole experience from smelling the dry leaves, to brewing, to smelling and tasting the tea (also known as tea 'soup') and finally, admiring the open tea leaves.  I love looking at tea leaves once they have opened!  If you let the leaves cool, there is also a wonderful sweet smell to the leaves....would love to bottle that smell!

Select grade

Superior grade

Superior grade - wet leaves

This is definitely a nice drinking tea alone or with a light cake like chiffon so you can truly enjoy the natural flavour of this tea!  For those that also look for tea that doesn't use pesticides in it's farming practice, this tea can only develop where there is NO pesticide use.  Otherwise the jassids would not be able munch on the leaves so it's a good choice for those concerned with pesticide use.  I had to update this post as I just read an article that says it is possible that tea farmers may still use pesticides on tea plants that eventually will become Oriental Beauty Oolong tea.  They can still get these leaf-hoppers to munch on the leaves as some pesticides may prevent other pests but do nothing to hinder the leaf-hoppers.  Always good to be learning!  The article is very informative and provides more in-depth info on this teas production if you're interested.              

In terms of re-steeping, it doesn't re-steep all that well in that the first cup is quite the flavourful cup already and I think by the 3rd steep, it loses quite a bit of flavour.  However, both these grades are not too expensive so that's the trade off, and besides, I rarely get to the point where I'm re-steeping tea leaves 5 or 6 times these days.

Although this tea can be drunk any time of the year, I'm looking forward to drinking this more in the autumn when the weather gets colder (I know, for summer lovers like myself, hard to be reminded that summer is ending soon!).