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 Teh Tarik Recipe

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babybobby
post May 3 2018, 06:40 AM

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Im actually a bit reluctant to share my recipe but seems that you are passionate about milk tea so i see no reason why i shouldn't share. Im not dare to say this is the best but i like my own milk tea compared to outside because of the strong aroma and a little bit of astringent aftertaste. So far my friends like it.

First of all, to make a strong cup of milk tea with strong tea aroma and smooth taste you don't use tea bags. Use loose leaves sold in 50g, 100g or 200g packet. It is better to buy in smaller packet because if you buy the big one and once you opened it will start to lose flavor. Unless you are making milk tea frequently.

Second, make your own blend of tea that suits your taste. BOH tea alone is suffice, or you can experimenting between mixing half BOH and half Lipton, Hong Kong style milk tea add Pu Erh for a mellow taste but that is not all that necessary. Be creative to try Sabah tea or other tea as long as it is black tea.

Third is about the amount of tea leaves used. Asian milk tea is well recognized as having strong taste as opposed to western milk tea. If you notice in restaurants they use tea filter cloth that holds lots of tea leaves. That's one of the reasons why you use loose leaves instead of tea bags. Tea bags are suitable for making iced tea or teh O, definitely not for milk tea.

Fourth, you boil the tea instead of steeping it. Boiling on stove top with medium small fire will extract more of the tea essential oils responsible for the aroma. You don't want the tea leaves and water to go bubbling, but just hot enough for the leaves to float around. Ever wondering why mamak and indian masala chai taste so strong? Well, they boiled it.

Last but not least, water, sugar and milk. Use mineral water if possible. Sugar is a matter of preference, i use brown sugar. And full cream milk alone is enough if you use sugar. Otherwise condensed milk + full cream milk should be ok. Why full cream milk is important because the milk compound will bind to tea oxalate to make strong tea drinkable. For any amount of tea you make, you can add 40% to 50% milk. So far i found that only Dutchlady full cream milk tastes best with milk tea.
babybobby
post May 3 2018, 07:11 AM

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Here comes the recipe. For a glass that yields about 420ml of milk tea, i use about 330ml of mineral water that will eventually boil down to 250ml of tea extract liquid. Water lost during boiling as well as absorbed by the tea leaves.

Use a stainless steel pot, pan or bowl suitable for stove top. Add the water and 6 spoons of BOH loose tea leaves. Im using the transparent plastic spoon usually used in party or catering, should be around 4-5 tbsp if you use normal metal tablespoon.

Boil on medium small fire, when the water gets hot and the leaves start to float from bottom to top gently stir with spoon. Repeat this for about 3 to 4 times, more or less 8 minutes i think.

You can quickly cool down the liquid using ice water bath for cold milk tea or just wait longer for it to cool down. Use a bigger bowl filled with water for ice bath. Depends on you whether you want it hot or cold. After that you can use strainer to filter the liquid, press gently to squeeze out more liquid. Alternatively you can also use a french press, cloth filter or whatever method you think is the most convenient.

Add sugar and milk. I use about 3 plastic spoons of sugar then finally add the milk up to 420ml.

Sounds meticulous and mafan isn't it. Well, for a cup of satisfying milk tea im willing to sacrifice a bit of effort. There's no shortcut unless you buy outside.

Will update with pictures soon.

This post has been edited by babybobby: May 3 2018, 07:27 AM
babybobby
post May 3 2018, 04:29 PM

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QUOTE(Dwango @ May 3 2018, 08:04 AM)
Wow, looks like making a cup of nice milk tea isn't that straightforward after all. Thanks for the precious tips and lengthy writeup. Now I realise why I have failed. The secret is not to use tea bags but tea leaves, and to boil the tea leaves up to 8 minutes. Man, it's almost similar to cooking spaghetti al dente by boiling for 8 minutes.

Right, looks like it is time to go hunt for some Boh tea leaves. This time I think I'll succeed. I agree that we will need to sacrifice some time and effort to make a nice cup of tea.

By the way, I did a quick search on "Boiling of tea leaves, good or bad" and found out that black tea can generally be boiled but not other types of tea. Guess I can proceed to boil Boh tea leaves since it is black!
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My pleasure, im glad to see the enthusiasm in you. Too bad i don't have a weighing scale so i can't tell the exact amount of tea leaves used. But my guess is about 12x2g of regular tea bags for 1 cup of milk tea.

Yes, experts once said if you want health benefits forget about making milk tea, just drink regular green tea instead. If you want strong milk tea then love it solely because of the enjoyment, not because of health benefits. Adding milk to any tea will negate the health effects. Boiling black tea is ok, that's how indian chai being made. Steeping tea is preferable if you drink the tea plain.

Also remember not to boil the tea until it is bubbling. Just hot enough for the tea leaves to float around. Otherwise you may end up with more astringent taste. Sorry, i think "bring to a simmer" is more accurate term.

This post has been edited by babybobby: May 3 2018, 04:49 PM
babybobby
post May 3 2018, 04:42 PM

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QUOTE(Dwango @ May 3 2018, 12:11 PM)
Thanks for the suggestions on Teh boh Tarik or Harimau. A little update.

I went for a little shopping (I know it's quick). Saw this Teh Masjid. Apparently it is powder form. It's like Milo whereby you mix it with water. Hmmm, not too sure if it's authentic stuff but it's sure convenient way since you don't to deal with messy tea leaves. However, I have little confidence after reading some blogs saying some bad things about it, and moreover it's powder form so I'm not sure what other stuff they have added into the powder.

user posted image

I tried looking for Boh tea leaves but unfortunately couldn't find any. All they have are Boh tea bags. So I didn't get the Boh. I got the Lipton instead as they have the tea leaves.

Finally, I saw this Lipton Extra Kaw. Not sure if it tastes stronger or better than the normal version of Lipton. Has anybody tried this yet? The Lipton Extra Kaw are in tea bags though. I didn't buy it as I will try boiling the Lipton tea leaves first.

Here is the Lipton Extra Kaw I am talking about.

user posted image

This is the one I bought in the end. The Lipton tea leaves.

user posted image
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Don't get fooled by the convenience of using tea powder. These tea powders are not the same as microground tea leaves such as matcha. These powders are made from the tea stems and lowest grade of leaves left behind and they made into ground form.

If i use half lipton i will mix with half BOH, i never use all on lipton alone. I prefer using BOH as the base because it has a strong yet mellow taste that you can't get from lipton. BOH tea leaves also bigger in size after water is absorbed so this makes filtering much easier. You can try the lipton extra kaw, i guess it has almost the same blend of tea used in BOH, assam and ceylon.

Try switching different brands of black tea until you find the one that suits you. Maybe next time you can try 99 speedmart or KK. Usually they have BOH.
babybobby
post May 3 2018, 07:15 PM

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Finally, a picture is worth a thousand words. 😂

user posted image

1. Ok, first measure 6 spoons of BOH tea leaves. I use the plastic spoon. If you don't have one then try 4-5 normal tbsp. Add 330-350ml mineral water.

2. Bring to a simmer. When the tea leaves float on top gently stir with a metal spoon. The leaves sink and will float again. Repeat this 3-4 times.

3. For faster cooling i used ice pack for making ice bath. Ice cubes or normal tap water will be fine. This step is not necessary, if you use cold milk the milk tea will end up warm.

4. Let it cool for 5 minutes.

5. Filter the tea using strainer. Gently press the leaves to squeeze out remaining liquid.

6. The filtered tea extract. Add brown sugar according to your taste. I used 3 spoons or about 1 1/2 to 2 tbsp.

7. Add Dutchlady full cream milk only, never use low fat milk. My glass is 420ml when it reaches on top.

If making this everytime is rather painstaking then you can make ahead a larger batch of boiled black tea and keep it refrigerated for few days. Add sugar and milk separately only when you need to make a cup of milk tea. However the aroma of freshmade tea will fade over time.

If you want faster way you can steep the tea leaves in a French press. Add hot water and wait till all the leaves sink to the bottom. Then press the plunger to extract the tea. This is a less messy way but you won't get full flavor like boiled tea. Still it is good to go without much astringent taste.

*A friendly warning: don't drink this before sleep and don't ask why you are rolling back and forth in bed for few hours. Hihi

This post has been edited by babybobby: May 3 2018, 10:09 PM
babybobby
post May 3 2018, 10:23 PM

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Here's an example of hong kong style milk tea. They pour and pull the tea back and forth like we do. This is a no-boil tea but still using lots of tea leaves for a strong tea base. The milk tea in this video has a deep color due to pu erh. I used to add pu erh together with BOH and lipton it really has a nice dark color but the tea was too mellow for my taste. You can get pu erh tea from 99 speedmart as well.

I like to use boiled tea for my milk tea because of the full flavor and mild astringent taste. It's totally up to you.

This post has been edited by babybobby: May 4 2018, 02:14 AM
babybobby
post May 4 2018, 01:52 PM

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QUOTE(Dwango @ May 4 2018, 12:12 PM)
Pictures surely tell a thousand words. Thanks for the great effort which was surely useful.

After all this tips, I am happy to report that I have successfully made a nice cup of milk tea with a stronger taste even though I'm using the less favoured Lipton tea leaves instead of Boh leaves which are reported to give a stronger and better taste. Just few notes:-

1. The Liption tea leaves are really quite tiny. It's more like small and tiny little sticks instead of leaves. When boiled in water, no stirring is required as all the tea leaves/sticks/whatever you call it will be moving all over the place inside the pot when it's boiling. For this reason I just let it boil by itself. Instead of 8 minutes, I tried boiling it for about 5 minutes which still give a strong tea taste.

2. I used 3 to 4 tablespoons of tea just for experiment. I'm not too critical in making the measurements because I can always add more water or milk later if the tea is too strong (too much tea leaves added).

3. As the Lipton tea leaves are actually small little tiny sticks which look more like raw sugar(but black in colour), the sieve doesn't effectively remove all the residue of the tea. There are still some black residue after the tea has gone through the sieve. For this reason I need to engage the services of my ancient cloth sieve which I used for sieving coffee 35+ years ago to completely eliminate the tea residue.

4. It's quite a bit of work due especially on the sieving part. The cloth sieve has to be sterilized by going through hot boiling water first. After finished with the sieving, it has to be washed.

5. Despite the work, in the end I have got a rather respectable result with a much stronger tea smell than using 2 to 3 Lipton tea bags. I used Farm Fresh milk instead of Dutch Lady milk as Farm Fresh tastes better.

Summary:-

After this first experiment, I can now see the potential of good result by using tea leaves. Even just a first try, the stronger tea taste is already there, even with the mild Lipton tea leaves. I am sure the taste will be even better if I use Boh tea leaves and boil it for 8 minutes instead of 5 minutes.

The main disadvantage is the work involved, especially the sieving part. Nevertheless I am aware that nothing comes easy. Maybe I"ll try the Lipton Extra Kaw some other time when the Lipton tea leaves have been fully used.

Although the black tea can be kept in the fridge for several days, I think it is best if it is consumed in just one day. If the tea has been mixed with condensed milk and fresh milk, it needs to be consumed on the same day as it will not be good if consumed on the next day.
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Im so glad to hear about your breakthrough in making a better cup of milk tea. Yes that's why i'd rather choose BOH instead of Lipton because of the tiny leaves issue. Whenever i mixed with Lipton i have to use french press to completely eliminate the residue. If i used only BOH a normal tea strainer will do.

Lipton is more on the milder side so it is suitable for making iced tea and teh o. BOH on the other hand has a bold and brisk taste so it is good for milk tea. Also, it is a locally grown ceylon. Using it as tea base or paired with other black tea will give good result.

Lipton extra kaw has 10 potbags in every packet and each is 10g. So you can either cut open the potbag and boil the tea as usual or just steep the bag in hot water for 5 minutes. Try one potbag first if you think it's too mild then you can add another potbag or mix with other black tea.

I really hope you can try BOH on your next purchase as well as finding the tea that will stick around with your taste like a morning cup of joe. Do let us hear your feedback soon.

Good luck!
babybobby
post May 7 2018, 02:25 AM

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Here's a quick review of the Sabah tea i bought. Using the same amount of tea leaves like BOH, this Sabah tea has a delicate and soft taste, but nothing short of the "kick" that BOH gives. It is cheaper and the packaging has an extended part that you can easily roll up and store. I will use BOH and Sabah tea alternately.

I might consider to experiment with Tetley and Tesco Extra Strong Captain Scott's Blend tea. Not sure whether these expensive brands can give expensive results. 🤔
babybobby
post May 8 2018, 10:45 AM

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QUOTE(Tikietic @ May 7 2018, 11:56 PM)
Milk Tea...

Bros.... Give you one word, seek it well and you'll find it worthy of your time.

CHATRAMUE
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Thanks for the suggestion. I've heard thai tea is well known by its orange hue, i looked up the ingredients and found out they include "fd & c yellow #6". However thai tea also brew with spices like star anise so it might be a favorite choice for big fans of masala chai.

I used to drop by middle eastern shop at Ampang and bought a packet of arabic tea, its called Akbar tea, comes in a few varieties. Actually tastes very close to indian tea and aromatic but due to the shop distance i won't buy it so frequently.

Sometimes i do spice up a little by adding cardamom pods and ginger into my tea. It may be an acquired taste but i do love it very much.
babybobby
post Jul 21 2018, 12:20 AM

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QUOTE(hirano @ Jul 20 2018, 11:19 PM)
Wow this is informative. I don't have a kitchen for this, will try next year when I move house. Thumbs up bro.

Any idea for milk coffee? If you have ever tasted KluangRail coffee at the shop, that's a kaw one. But i dunno how to make it.
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Thanks. Try aik cheong kopi o Strong. I steep the coffee without the bag, then add sugar and full cream milk. Or a combination of condensed and evaporated milk.

Now im drinking essenso colombian blend microground coffee, maybe not as strong as normal coffee but the fresh roasted taste is there.

Oh yeah if you like espresso don't forget to download the mcd apps because you can get offers like, 2 medium iced latte for rm8.95.

This post has been edited by babybobby: Jul 21 2018, 12:36 AM
babybobby
post Jul 21 2018, 12:28 AM

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QUOTE(AaidenX @ Jul 21 2018, 12:05 AM)
My Teh Tarik is the best!

3 Bags of Lipton.
3-4 Teaspoons of Sugar (I like it sweet buddy)
200ml water.
Fernleaf INSTANT Milk Power (4 Teaspoons)
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Thanks for the recipe. I used to make milk tea with milk powder too, only when i need it warm because the powder only can dissolve in hot water. Taste milky instead.

Fernleaf is good, that was the brand i used. Then i saw at giant offers a cheaper brand called Promex full cream milk powder. The result also quite nice.
babybobby
post Jul 21 2018, 10:36 PM

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QUOTE(AaidenX @ Jul 21 2018, 01:08 AM)
It's simple buddy. Get hot water, pour it in a glass. Throw in the tea bags, stir, squeeze em, throw 'em. Throw in sugar and milk power, stir well and boom!
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Yeah probably the most easiest way, and milk powder can be kept longer too.
babybobby
post Aug 15 2018, 11:42 PM

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QUOTE(bazarayamy @ Aug 15 2018, 10:52 AM)
my family prefer boh if it comes to loose tea leaves, mainly for making milk tea, if they want normal tea, english breakfast tea bag... and i learnt about boiling the tea from my cousin who joined the catering service as part time. 'you dont just mix the tea, you cook it first' thats what he said... since then i've changed my way of making my fav milk tea...
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Exactly, and better yet simmering it. I heat up the water just hot enough for the tea leaves to float around, not until bubbling. Because the longer you boil it will lose aromatic oil.

If lucky enough you will see a thin layer of oil on top of the tea extract. That's what gives your milk tea a 'bonus' fresh vegetal taste, apart from the taste of tea itself.

Yes, a cup of favorite homemade milk tea will make you forget the rest.

babybobby
post Sep 7 2018, 10:02 PM

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QUOTE(xenith @ Sep 5 2018, 02:29 PM)
Thanks for the recipe, I'm adding kayu Manis and some pegaga to the tea. Everything taste amazing and I'm using Boh's tea dust to make 1.5 litre of tea and keep in the fridge.
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Welcome. Are u sure u add pegaga and not confused with buah pelaga (cardamom), right? Hihi if u add the spices it tastes like teh arab already which is very nice. Try pelaga + fresh or dry ginger also very nice. Or pelaga alone also not bad.

babybobby
post Sep 7 2018, 10:09 PM

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QUOTE(icemanfx @ Aug 19 2018, 05:12 PM)
Most if not all mamak stalls use tea dusts, condensed milk and evaporative mik for teh tarik; tea dusts is cheapest available tea leafs, generally give strong but harsh flavours. Creaminess of teh tarik is from the fat i.e palm oil at mamak stall.

If one is serious with quality teh tarik, should use "strong tea" from marks and Spencer, 35% milk fat cream, whipped and sugar to taste.
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Yes you are right. Should use quality strong tea instead of tea dust or fannings. That's why mamak teh tarik tastes very kelat. You will notice a big difference between Tealive or Gongcha vs teh tarik mamak. Good strong tea gives u the aroma without the astringent aftertaste.
babybobby
post Oct 6 2018, 07:28 PM

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QUOTE(Fantasia @ Oct 6 2018, 04:51 PM)
May I know how's the size of tea leaves from sabah tea? I find BOH tea leaves hard to strain
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I think a bit smaller than Boh tea leaves. Unless you want a completely clean extract then you can use muslin or cheese cloth. Im using a tea strainer which is ok for me even there are tiny residues floating around. I do have a french press which gives clean extract but due to simmering im not using it.

This post has been edited by babybobby: Oct 24 2018, 10:37 PM
babybobby
post Oct 24 2018, 10:36 PM

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QUOTE(imin @ Oct 24 2018, 02:36 PM)
wow parking in a very informative thread... will surely try out the methods in this thread later
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I've modified my recipe a bit. I reduced from 6 spoons of tea leaves to 5 spoons but increase the water to milk ratio. Before this was half tea extract half milk but now it goes 70/30. It has a more balanced taste. Also, i turned off the heat after the tea leaves bubbling for 30 seconds and let it steep for a minute or two before chilled in ice bath. Good luck.

This post has been edited by babybobby: Oct 24 2018, 10:48 PM
babybobby
post Nov 11 2018, 03:54 AM

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QUOTE(Fantasia @ Nov 9 2018, 06:13 PM)
I am ditching boh tea for sabah tea now. I find that sabah tea is not as astringent as boh tea while still retain good tea flavour.
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You know the golden premium tea aka "teh raja" by Jiu Ding Xiang? My mom gave me a few packets for trial. I did crazy thing like, adding milk into the gourmet tea. And it turned out if not exactly, at least much better than Tealive and Gongcha milk tea series. I think they use chinese tea like oolong and tie guanyin because this teh raja has very similar taste with their milk tea, and of course teh raja is so much more fragrant. It's hard to describe but if you happen to brew a cup of teh raja and add milk into it, its fragrance permeates even before you take a sip. You won't find that in Tealive or Gongcha.

user posted image
babybobby
post Jan 24 2019, 07:21 PM

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Has anyone tried the over-hyped DairyGo iced milk tea? Based on netizens feedback and many raved about it i think mainly because it is a stronger version of teh tarik.

I myself haven't tried it and don't think much interested in trying one. Mainly because i'm trying to avoid non-dairy creamer and secondly, quite pricey for a pack of 200ml milk tea. Sold at rm5 per pack at petronas and cheapest is rm3.80 on shopee, still find it quite not worth it. I guess the profits mainly go to the launching and promotion of the product.

I would better stick to pokka milk tea at least made with 100% milk and cheaper price for a bottle of 500ml. Or occasionally have a cup or two Tealive, Gongcha and Regiustea, you know nothing beats those real milk tea. Or better yet make my own when i'm in the mood.




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