Earl Grey Milk Tea (How to Make Earl Grey Tea with Milk)

❤️Why you will love this recipe

• This recipe makes very delicious milk tea, with light hint of citrus flavor from the bergamot orange oil in the Earl Grey tea.
• You get to learn to make your own hot tea, iced tea as well as your own bubble tea with boba pearls.
• All it takes to make this easy Earl Grey milk tea is 4 simple ingredients - Earl Grey tea leaves, milk, sugar and water.
• You can customize the sugar level to suit your preference.
• And it is very quick to make too. You only need about 5 to 10 minutes to make a perfect cup of Earl Grey tea.

Milk tea

• Water - use filtered water.
• Earl Grey tea bags - I prefer to use tea bags for the convenience of not having to strain the tea. Use good quality tea.
• Sugar - white sugar works best for this recipe. Both coarse sugar or granulated sugar can be used.
• Milk - use whole milk for a creamy cup of milk tea.
• Boba pearls in brown sugar syrup (optional) - adds a lovely chewy texture to the cold milk tea.

Boba pearls and brown sugar syrup (for the bubble tea only)

• Water - use filtered water. Water is used to cook the pearls as well as to make the brown sugar syrup.
• Brown sugar - this is for the brown sugar syrup. Both dark brown sugar or light brown sugar will work for this recipe.
• Boba pearls (uncooked) - these can be purchased in uncooked form from local or online stores.

🧾Substitution and variations

• Tea bags can be replaced with loose leaf tea. For every tea bag, replace with one teaspoon of loose leaves. Strain the tea after steeping it for 3 minutes in hot water.
• This is a sweet tea recipe, but if you prefer your milk tea unsweetened, you can always omit the sugar. You can also replace the sugar with other sweeteners such as brown sugar, honey or even maple syrup.
• Whole milk can be replaced with skim milk. For plant-based milk options, you can use almond milk, coconut milk, cashew milk or oat milk. You can also use non-dairy creamer in place of the milk.
• Boba pearls can be replaced with jelly boba like in this lychee milk tea recipe or with grass jelly like in this grass jelly milk tea.

Hot Earl Grey tea with milk

1. Measure water into a small saucepan 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 the tea in and serve.

Earl Grey bubble tea (Earl Grey boba tea)

1. Boil the boba pearls accordingly to the package instructions. If there are no instructions, add water into a small saucepan and bring it to a boil.
2. Add the uncooked boba pearls and stir. The pearls will afloat to the top after a few minutes. Stirring will prevent them from sticking to one another.
3. Let the pearls cook on medium heat for 15 minutes (or as per the package instructions). After 15 minutes, check if the pearls have turned chewy and the centers are not hard. If still hard, continue cooking for another 5 to 10 minutes.
4. Turn off the heat and let the pearls continue to soak in the hot water for another 15 minutes before straining.
5. To make the brown sugar syrup, add water into a small saucepan. Add the brown sugar and turn on the heat to a low flame. Stir to dissolve the sugar.
6. Let the syrup cook for a few more minutes until it thickens slightly (the sides of the syrup will start bubbling).
7. Turn off the heat and add the strained boba pearls. Mix well.
8. To make the milk tea, follow the instructions for the iced Earl Grey milk tea above.
9. To assemble the Earl Grey bubble tea, divide the cooked boba pearls into prepared drinking glass.
10. Top the boba pearls with ice cubes.
11. Pour in the cold milk tea and serve.

🍽️Serving & storage

• The milk tea (without the boba pearls) is best consumed within the same day it is made. If not served immediately, it should be kept refrigerated. It can last in the fridge for 2 days.
• Heat it up for a cup of hot tea or simply enjoy it chilled straight from the fridge.
• For the milk tea with boba pearls, assemble the drink just before serving. The boba pearls are best served warm.

💭FAQs