What is Royal Milk Tea?
Royal Milk Tea (ロイヤルミルクティー) is a popular Japanese drink made with strong black tea brewed with water and milk until rich and creamy. It can be served both hot or cold and you can find bottled versions in pretty much any convenience store or supermarket in Japan.
It is the perfect tea for morning or afternoon and goes especially well with desserts and sweet snacks. You can even find Royal Milk Tea flavored cakes, cookies and other sweet treats, which goes to show how well loved it is!
While quick and convenient powders exist, it’s easy to make Royal Milk Tea from scratch at home with just tea leaves, milk and sugar. I hope you give this simple yet luxurious recipe a try!
Royal Milk Tea vs. Tea
Black tea with milk, what’s special about it? You might be wondering how Royal Milk Tea is different from your standard British brew.
A regular black tea with milk (known in Japan as milk tea) is made by steeping black tea leaves in hot water, then adding a small amount of milk at the end. Some Japanese sources mention that you should use room temperature milk for this so that the temperature of the tea doesn’t drop, but I lived in the U.K. for several years and only ever saw people pour milk straight from the fridge. If anything, even then, the tea is usually still too hot to drink straight away.
Royal Milk Tea on the other hand, is made with a higher milk percentage, often 50% water and 50% milk. For this ratio to work, a different method needs to be applied. Simply adding extra milk would make the tea cold and dilute its flavor, so instead, the tea leaves are simmered together with the water and milk in a saucepan. You could say the method is similar to making chai tea but without the spices.
Milk tea has a clean tea flavor with a hint of creaminess, while Royal Milk Tea is thick, rich and very creamy.
Key Ingredients & Substitution Ideas
- Tea leaves: I used loose Assam tea leaves, which are most commonly used for Royal Milk Tea as they are known for their strong, bold, and malty flavor with a rich color. Assam is often used in breakfast blends so if you can’t find Assam on its own, breakfast tea is a good substitute. For more information on the types of tea used in Royal Milk Tea, check out the section below.
- Milk: Whole milk works best for this recipe due to its rich, creamy mouthfeel. However, if you follow a plant-based diet then substitute with a creamy plant-based alternative such as a high-quality oat milk.
- Water: If possible, soft water is best for brewing tea because there are fewer minerals to interfere with the flavor. The tea’s natural flavor shines more brightly with soft water, but of course, it’s not essential for the recipe.
- Sweetener: Royal Milk Tea is nearly always sweetened and I’ve experimented with various sweeteners in this recipe. I found that condensed milk adds an extra creaminess that really compliments the flavor of the tea leaves. Of course, regular sugar (light brown or white) is also delicious.
What Kind of Tea to Use For Royal Milk Tea
Since Royal Milk Tea contains considerably more milk than your average tea, you need a strong and bold leaf to that stands out, weak teas will be lost in the creaminess.
To create an authentic Royal Milk Tea, I recommend Assam, which is most often used due to its rich, full-bodied flavor. In fact, because it has such a rich flavor, it is commonly used for other strong teas such as Indian Masala chai and British breakfast tea.
If you’re into floral teas, Earl Grey or Lady Grey would also work perfectly with this recipe.
Darjeeling is also commonly used for a lighter flavor and color. Ceylon also works well as a substitute, but overall I recommend Assam tea.
Visual Walkthrough & Tips
Here are my step-by-step instructions for how to make Royal Milk Tea at home. For ingredient quantities and simplified instructions, scroll down for the Printable Recipe Card below.
This section aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the cooking steps and techniques with visuals. It also includes more in-depth tips and tricks and explains why I do what I do.
Start by boiling enough water to make the tea (80ml per cup) plus extra to heat your cup(s). Once it comes to a rolling boil, turn off the heat and pour the hot water into your serving cup. Heating your cup will stop the tea from cooling too quickly once poured.
I use a saucepan since it will be used again to heat the milk later. Of course, you can use a tea kettle at this point if you prefer.
Leave 80ml of freshly boiled water in your pot and add 5g of loose Assam tea leaves for each portion. Mix, then cover with a lid and steep/steam for 1-2 minutes.
If using tea bags, I recommend opening the bags and pouring the loose leaves into the hot water for maximum flavor extraction. Most teabags hold approx 3g of tea, so each portion would use 1½-2 teabags of tea.
While we need freshly boiled water to extract the maximum flavor from the tea, boiling the tea leaves will over-extract the flavor creating bitter notes and astringency. Therefore, it is not recommended to boil the tea leaves.
Once 1-2 minutes have passed, remove the lid and add the milk. I use 160ml per serving. Heat on low with the lid off, and slowly bring the heat up to a very gentle simmer – small bubbles will start to form around the edges of the pot. You can add sugar or your choice of sweetener here if you’re making one portion.
Be careful not to heat it too quickly, as this can cause the milk to curdle. It is also important not to boil the milk as this can add an unpleasant “scolded milk” flavor to your tea.
If you have a thermometer, you can check the temperature and make sure it doesn’t exceed 70℃ (158℉).
The best temperature to brew black tea is between 90-100℃ (194-212℉) and since milk cannot reach this temperature without scolding or curdling, we need to steep the tea in hot water first and add the milk later.
Once your tea is nice and hot, turn off the heat and place a lid on top. Steep/steam for 3-5 minutes depending on how strong you want it to be.
This allows the tea leaves to fully infuse the milk.
Dump the hot water from your warmed teacup and use a tea strainer while pouring the milk into the cup.
Tip: If you like your tea piping hot, you can strain and then reheat it once more right before serving.
If you haven’t added sugar yet, you can add it now. I find 2 tsp of condensed milk or sugar per 240ml cup adds a good amount of sweetness, but you can add more or less depending on your preference.
Enjoy!
Jump to Full Recipe MeasurementsHow to Store
Royal Milk Tea is best served immediately after it’s made.
If you want to make a large batch, you can cool it and keep it in a sealed container in the refrigerator. It’s best consumed within 4 hours but can be kept for up to 2 days.
Reheat in a pot on the stove or the microwave and be careful not to let it boil.
I hope you enjoy this Royal Milk Tea recipe! If you try it out, I’d really appreciate it if you could spare a moment to let me know what you thought by giving a review and star rating in the comments below. It’s also helpful to share any adjustments you made to the recipe with our other readers. Thank you!
More Japanese Drink Recipes
If you’re interested in trying more Japanese drinks, check out some of my other recipes:
Royal Milk Tea
Ingredients
- 80 ml water plus extra to warm the cup
- 2 ½ tsp Assam tea loose, approx 5g per cup (see note)
- 160 ml milk I recommend whole milk or a creamy plant-based alternative like oat milk
- 2 tsp sweetener of your choice use more or less to taste, I like to use condensed milk for an extra creamy flavor
Instructions
- Pour 80 ml water into a saucepan, plus enough to warm your cup (approx 240ml). Bring to a rolling boil, then turn off the heat. Pour the hot water into your cup, making sure there is 80 ml water left in the pan.
- Add 2 ½ tsp Assam tea to the pan and mix.
- Place a lid on top of the pan and steep for 1-2 minutes.
- Remove the lid, add 160 ml milk and stir. If you are making one portion for yourself, you can also add your sweetener here. Heat on low until small bubbles appear around the edges, then turn off the heat. Do not let it boil, and avoid heating over 70 °C (158 °F) as this can scold the milk and alter the flavor.
- Cover with a lid and steep for 3-5 minutes.
- Pour the hot water out of the teacup, then pour the tea through a tea strainer and into the cup.
- If you didn't add your sweetener earlier, you can add it now and adjust it according to your preference. Enjoy!
Leave a rating and a comment