Learn how to brew royal milk tea with French mineral water and hide in your home to become a noble for a moment
I bought tea from the UK and brought it back to Hong Kong. Why does it taste different from the tea I drink locally? Or brought Japanese tea to Europe to drink, but found it tasted weird? The same tea leaves taste different flavors. Many people think that the problem lies with the tea leaves. It turns out that everyone wrongly blames the tea leaves. In fact, water also has a great influence.
Photography: Gong Hui
Air content in tea affects taste
“Brewing black tea can be very complicated. Water, temperature, tea utensils, and proportions are all very particular. It would be a pity to think that tea leaves can be made by heating water and waiting for 3 minutes.”
Lan Lan once ran three black tea shops and started studying black tea many years ago. She is grateful to have met many seniors who taught her a lot about black tea. She emphasized that different water affects the taste of tea. “For example, when brewing premium Darjeeling, you need to use Japanese soft mineral water in a white porcelain pot, and pay attention to the temperature to adjust the temperature. If it is flavored tea, such as Earl Gray tea, you need French mineral water with a higher hardness to make the tea taste milder. By the way, this is something that many tea shops ignore.” She added that the air content in tea also affects the taste.
Europe has hard water and Japan has soft water
The water is soft and hard. Tap water in the UK and Europe is generally hard water. Hard water is rich in minerals, especially calcium and magnesium, and is rough and astringent in the mouth. Japanese water is mostly soft water, which is more delicate in the mouth and can easily bring out the taste and aroma of tea leaves. It has clear layers and is suitable for tea with a light fragrance.
Black tea has long been integrated into the lives of Hong Kong people, such as Hong Kong-style milk tea. “Everyone is used to the common milk tea, so it is difficult for it to become an expensive drink. Many of the milk teas in Hong Kong tea restaurants are brewed with low-quality tea leaves from Sri Lanka.” , not many people pay attention to tea.” Talking about the black tea drinking culture in Hong Kong, she said with regret: “Actually, there is a phenomenon that there is also black tea in Chinese tea, but people who make traditional Chinese tea often only have the impression of black tea. A few decades ago, people who did not understand the current changes in black tea in the West thought that black tea was cheap and refused to touch it, or looked down upon it. However, the Taiwanese used chemical theory to analyze tea, and also introduced Darjeeling to Chinese tea art, and traditional products. Teas such as oolong tea and even Longjing tea gardens are slowly adding black tea to meet market needs. For example, oolong black tea appears in Taiwan, which is a development of black tea that most people have not noticed now.”
Royal milk tea originates from Japan
Royal milk tea is a drink that Lan Lan often made in his teahouse in the past. Royal milk tea originated from Japan. It is made from black tea and milk. It is called Royal not because it comes from the Japanese royal family, but because the original businessmen wanted it. The product is named to sound more advanced. Tian Lanlan is demonstrating how to make royal milk tea using a French flavored tea, Mariage Freres Earl Gray French Blue, brewed with French mineral water. She believes that the harder French mineral water can reduce the astringency of the tea, and the milk tastes smooth. , so it is suitable for brewing royal milk tea.
Royal milk tea recipe (welcome to download):
