Earl Grey Milk Tea - How to Make Earl Grey Tea with Milk

This Earl Grey milk tea recipe is perfect for tea lovers. It is super flexible, you can enjoy the drink hot or cold with the same recipe (see the details in the recipe card below).

And you can take this tea to the next level and use it to make Earl Grey bubble tea for boba lovers with just a simple addition of boba pearls. The warm and chewy tapioca pearls against the iced tea is a perfect combination for glass of delicious tea.

All it takes to make this easy Earl Grey milk tea is 4 simple ingredients - Earl Grey tea leaves, milk, sugar and water.

This is a sweet tea recipe, but if you prefer your milk tea unsweetened, you can always omit the sugar. You can replace the sugar with other sweeteners such as honey or even maple syrup. I would strongly recommend adding sugar to the drink if you are making it into a bubble tea as the boba pearls taste best when soaked in sugar syrup.

All in all, you only need about 5 to 10 minutes to make this Earl Grey tea with milk for a perfect cup of hot Earl Grey tea with milk or a chilled and refreshing cold Earl Grey flavored milk tea.

How to Make Earl Grey Milk Tea

Ingredients

• Water
• Earl Grey tea bags (or loose leaf tea)
• Sugar
• Milk
• Boba pearls (optional)

Hot Earl Grey Tea with Milk

1. Fill a small pot with water and bring it to a boil.
2. Turn off the heat and dip the tea bags into the hot water. Let the tea steep in the hot water for 3 minutes.
3. Cover the pot with a lid while waiting for the tea to steep.
4. Remove the teabags (squeeze out all the liquid tea from the bags) and discard them.
5. Add milk.
6. Next, add sugar to the tea and stir to dissolve. Since the tea is hot, this should not take more than 1 minute. Pour into cups and serve.

Iced Earl Grey Milk Tea

The steps for making iced Earl Grey milk tea is similar to the hot tea above, but to make iced tea, you only use half of the water to steep the tea. The remaining half is to be added to the tea after mixing both milk and sugar and it is best that the water is cold (or at least room temperature).

1. Add half of the water in the recipe into a small pot. Bring it to a boil
2. Turn off the heat and dip in the tea bags. Cover the pot with a lid and let the tea steep in the hot water.
3. Remove the teabags (squeeze out all the liquid tea from the bags) and discard them.
4. Add sugar and stir to dissolve. Top up with the remaining water and the milk. Stir well.
5. Chill the tea in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
6. To serve, add ice cubes into a drinking glass. Pour in the tea and serve.

Earl Grey Bubble Tea (Earl Grey Boba Tea)

1. Boil the boba pearls accordingly to the package instructions. Once cooked, mix them with brown sugar syrup and set aside.
2. To make the milk tea, follow the instructions for the iced Earl Grey milk tea above.
3. To assemble the Earl Grey bubble tea, add about 3 tablespoons of the cooked boba pearls into a drinking glass.
4. Top the boba pearls with ice cubes.
5. Pour in the milk tea and serve.

Notes

Can you make the tea without milk?

• This is a milk tea recipe, but the Earl Grey tea can definitely be enjoyed without any milk. Simply replace the milk in the recipe with water.

Can you make the milk with milk powder?

• This recipe uses fresh milk, but you can also use milk made with milk powder. Get the instructions on how to make milk with milk powder here.

Are there any substitutes for milk?

• Yes, there are. Simply substitute the whole milk with plant-based milk options like almond milk, coconut milk, cashew milk or oat milk. You can also use non-dairy creamer in place of the milk.

Can you use white sugar simple syrup for the boba pearls in the Earl Grey bubble tea?

• Yes, you can. Once the boba pearls are cooked, mix them with simple sugar syrup made using white sugar.
• You can also use the simple white sugar syrup to sweeten your Earl Grey milk tea.

Can you use other tea instead of Earl Grey tea?

• Yes, you can. Earl grey tea is basically black tea infused with bergamot oil. Bergamot is a citrus fruit and it is the essential oil from this fruit gives this tea a lovely citrus hint.
• If you do not have Earl Grey tea (tea bags or loose tea leafs) , you can use any other type of tea (black tea) or a blend of black teas.

How long will the milk tea last?

• The milk tea (without the boba pearls) is best consumed within the same day it is made. Even then, it should be kept refrigerated if not consumed immediately.
• Simply heat it up for a cup of hot tea or simply enjoy it chilled straight from the fridge.

Like this Earl Grey milk tea recipe? Here are my other posts you might want to check out

• Earl Grey Cheesecake - Perfectly Cream and Simply the Best!
• Pandan Milk Tea - Easy Homemade Bubble Tea Recipe
• Grass Jelly Milk Tea - Easy Bubble Tea Recipe
• Grass Jelly Drink - Easy Homemade Tea Recipe
• How to Make Milk with Milk Powder

Recipe (Printable)

Here is the full printable version of my Earl Grey tea recipe.

📖Recipe

And that's my easy milk tea recipe for you.

Enjoy!