TeaChat

Evaporated milk + Oversteeped black tea for HK Style milk tea. No need to use good tea. Dregs will do. Love it.

How was that earl grey puerh? I would love to hear your experience

I remember such a scenario of conversation:

A: Do you add milk in tea?
B: No serious tea drinker would add milk in tea.
Me (intimidated): I absolutely won't add milk in tea! I only add tea to milk

Jokes aside, I used to think it was impossible to drink tea in the morning (with an empty and sleepy stomach) and thought Brits and Americans must have very strong stomach, as there are so many "breakfast" black teas. But after I learned to add milk in black tea, I enjoy black tea during breakfast from time to time.

I also suspect that I tend to add milk to tea containing high content of anthocyanin - a source of both floral aroma and astringency, such as some Indian black teas and Red Ruby from Taiwan. The latter one is quite expensive so I don't drink it often. But generally I feel a lot of Indian black teas, Kenyan black teas and Chinese hei cha, when mixed with milk, would yield unique flavors that wouldn't be found in the absence of milk.

gingkoseto, Thanks for sharing the joke & your experience. I am very happy to have become more "sophisticated" in my tea-drinking, enjoying a variety of teas w/o the addition of milk etc.; nonetheless, I have not stopped drinking some "rough" (my term) teas that w/ milk give me something I haven't gotten elsewhere.

plant partaker wrote:How was that earl grey puerh? I would love to hear your experience

I haven't tried it yet. I just got back to the States after a long time abroad, and the Earl Grey Puerh is packed away with my stuff across the country. I'll open her up on 5 or 6 weeks and post then!

gingkoseto wrote:I remember such a scenario of conversation:

A: Do you add milk in tea?
B: No serious tea drinker would add milk in tea.
Me (intimidated): I absolutely won't add milk in tea! I only add tea to milk

Jokes aside, I used to think it was impossible to drink tea in the morning (with an empty and sleepy stomach) and thought Brits and Americans must have very strong stomach, as there are so many "breakfast" black teas. But after I learned to add milk in black tea, I enjoy black tea during breakfast from time to time.

I also suspect that I tend to add milk to tea containing high content of anthocyanin - a source of both floral aroma and astringency, such as some Indian black teas and Red Ruby from Taiwan. The latter one is quite expensive so I don't drink it often. But generally I feel a lot of Indian black teas, Kenyan black teas and Chinese hei cha, when mixed with milk, would yield unique flavors that wouldn't be found in the absence of milk.

I think many of us have had this experience, being told that "this way is right" and "that way is wrong". Bugs me how many people stick to those lines. Anyway, I agree, ultimately, and I think my normal, standard teas (puerh, hongcha, and oolongs) don't hit me right first thing in the morning, but those milky, sugary Indian blacks certainly do!
...I always feel funny when I write things like that last sentence.

Well, adding the milk to the tea makes a tea a bit sophisticated. Me like to drink Rum vanilla tea with milk.

plant partaker wrote:How was that earl grey puerh? I would love to hear your experience

Finally tried it. Nice enough, interesting novelty. Weak bergamot flavor, strong earthy shou taste, though not an earthy that I like, and a bit of a clash with the milk and sugar I use with earl grey. But still worth trying and fun for a variety, when I get tired of just straight earl grey (I usually take my EG with a drop of vanilla extract....dunno how that will work with the EG puerh). Almost tasted like the smokey EG I ueed to get from a French tea company.

I enjoy drinking high quality keemun with milk, as a perfect replacement for morning coffee. I think too many people force themselves to hate milk in tea for sake of snobbery

Oolong flavored ice cream is what got me to try milk in my oolong tea.

I know this is about black tea, but I just thought some of you might want to know that oolong ice cream EXISTS... and it is GOD.