Everyone can change something that looks ordinary into a special thing. Tea making is among the things people do regularly but they rarely think about it. It is the time you start adding style to your tea and prove to your friends and relatives that you can prepare something different and possibly better. Apart from Iced tea, Hong Kong tea, Assam tea and Chai, you can also make Hokkaido Milk Tea. Hokkaido milk tea is among the most popular tea among the Japanese and they specifically make it from Hokkaido milk, which is rich and offers a creamy taste.
A brief introduction to Hokkaido milk tea
Hokkaido milk tea has an extra special taste and aroma. Its main ingredients are fresh Hokkaido milk, black tea leaves and honey or sugar. So, it comes with many health benefits.
Even though you can enjoy Hokkaido milk tea at any time, the best time to take it is early in the morning – after you have woken up. It will freshen up your mind soon after you have woken up so that you can be ready for your daily tasks. You can also drink tea in the evening to boost your energy level after a busy day. The taste and aroma of Hokkaido milk tea will motivate you to continue working. People in Japan enjoy homemade milk tea but they also go out when they want to enjoy a different taste and flavor. Hokkaido milk makes the tea creamy and smooth because of its unique milky flavor. Japanese use it in puddings, cakes and pastries too.
Hokkaido Milk Tea Recipe Preparation
Today, Hokkaido milk tea is found in teahouses in all part of the world but for the best experience and convenient taste, you can try the pre-packaged tea bags made for travelers. If you want to make it at home, here is what you need.
Method 1
Ingredients
- 1 cup of clean water
- 2 teaspoons of black tea leaves or 2 black tea bags
- ½ cup of Hokkaido milk or nut alternative
- Caramel sauce, brown sugar or honey
Instructions
- In a saucepan, bring your 1 cup of water to boil
- After the water reaches 212 degrees Fahrenheit, add the black tea leaves
- Turn the temperature to low and allow the leaves to simmer for 1-3 minutes depending on the taste and flavor you want. The flavor will get stronger if the tea steeps for a long time.
- Add your ½-cup milk. Simmer for 1-3 minutes
- Using some boiling water, rinse your teacups to heat them. You just need to pour some water in the teacups and then discard it.
- Using a mesh strainer, pour your tea mixture into the teacups. The mesh strainer should remove all the loose tea leaves.
- Sweeten the mixture with caramel syrup, brown sugar or honey depending on your needs.
Method 2
Ingredients
- 250 ml of clean water
- 2 teaspoons of black tea leaves or 2 black tea bags. You can replace this with 150ml Oolong tea.
- 30 grams of fat milk powder
- 20ml caramel syrup
- 20ml sugar water. Boil 1 ml of water with 1KGof sugar
- Topping like pudding, pearl, jelly. Make or buy from a local store
- Ice
- Measuring cup, shaking flask
The preparation steps
- Put the toppings in your cup
- Get the 150ml Oolong tea into the shaking flask. Oolong tea is found in supermarkets. Alternatively, get the tea and or tea bags and soak them in hot water for roughly 5 minutes. Filter the hot water and remove the entire residue.
- Take the 30 grams of milk powder and dissolve it in the tea. Stir properly.
- Pour the 20ml caramel syrup and 20ml of the dissolved sugar into the shaking flask. Add the ice cubes, cover the jar and shake the mixture properly.
- Pour the tea into your cup and enjoy the great taste and flavor. You just need to follow a few steps to enjoy Hokkaido tea similar to that offered in tearooms.
The flavor profile of Hokkaido milk tea
Hokkaido milk tea provides a stronger flavor, which is properly balanced by creamy textures. The tea provides roasted and earthy flavors thanks to the added black tea leaves. Most people love the creamy milk tea because it provides a heavenly robust texture along with a very rich tea flavor. Like taro boba tea or taro milk tea, you can dress up the beverage as fruit tea by including more ingredients. To make the milk tea more indulgent and sweet, some teashops will add a dash of coconut oil or ice cream to the blend. In western countries, people confuse the tea with a bubble tea or boba tea because it might contain tapioca pearls. Boba is one of the popular Taiwanese beverages. Green tea is way more popular than some earl grey or this royal milk tea, some prefer the Nidashi milk tea which we recommend you test as well many recipes come from Taiwan. Darjeeling is a city in India where loose leaf teas are coming from, many in Kyoto appreciate Indian teas with fresh milk and drink it as latte.
The origin of Hokkaido milk tea
Hokkaido milk tea originated from Hokkaido province of Japan and circulated to other Asian countries, where people enjoy it as one of the best tasting teas. It is enjoyed throughout China, traditional teahouses and in the American tearooms. Generally, people consume it when hot but you can try the iced version tea. The tea is unique when brewed according to Indian, English or Chinese traditions. Addition of the locally sourced milk and added sweeteners make the Japanese fashion unique.
Hokkaido, the .largest prefecture, is situated on the northern part of Japan and close to Russia. The biggest city of the amazing prefecture is Sapporo, which is the capital. Sapporo is also the home to the Sapporo Snow Festival, one of the world’s biggest snow festivals. People travel from different parts of the world to witness the huge snow sculptures that decorate this city during the cold month.
Hokkaido is also widely known for its high quality and delicious tea products. Actually, Hokkaido produces roughly 50 percent of Japan’s milk and 90 percent of the natural cheese. The dairy products from Hokkaido are more expensive than those from other prefectures are. That is due to the high quality and freshness people associate them with.
The cool summertime, perfect climate, fresh air and the availability of green and wide lands make the cows in Hokkaido live in good unstressed environments. So they produce good quality milk. Most famous Japanese confectionery makers came from the prefecture. You will find the Sapporo city of labelled as Kingdom of Sweets.
The best Hokkaido milk tea destinations
Japanese milk tea offers a unique flavor due to the blended rich and pure ingredients. In some prefectures in Japan, Hokkaido’s dairy products are expensive. That means you are likely to pay more for the tea. Here are some of the popular Hokkaido milk tea destinations.
- Odori Bisse
After you get a chance to tour Hokkaido, Odori Bisse should not miss in your list of destinations. It is very close to Odori Park and a shopping place dedicated to sweets. In addition to Hokkaido Milk Tea, you can try many types of sweets from the famous confectioners of Hokkaido.
- Sapporo Sweets Café
Sapporo Sweets Cafe situated in Odori offers dairy products to people who are very far from the city centre. If your time in Sapporo city is limited, you will want to try the tea and dairy products from many places offered in the café.
- Tea Salon Gclef (Kichijoji)
The Tea Salon Glef teashop has remained a top choice for individuals who enjoy royal style Hokkaido milk tea. In addition to milk tea, their menu includes scones, waffles and teatime sweets. The price of tea in the teashop is high, but the quality is worth the price. The decoration of Gclef is a combination of Japanese tea parlour and old-fashioned European style.
- Kenyan (Shibuya)
Kenyan is another popular Hokkaido milk teashop that has been a favourite of the locals for many years. The teashop specializes in black tea and it has received a certification from the Japanese Black Tea Association. When touring the Shibuya area, you might need to try the types of milk tea they provide.
- Chunsuitan (Daikanyama)
The Taiwanese tea brand, Chunsuitan, has branches in several places in Japan – mainly Tokyo. Most of the people who visit this place have positive reviews for the drinks offered. Chunsuitan mixes unique flavors, such as fruit flavors and Japanese Matcha tea in Hokkaido Milk tea. Feel free to add tapioca balls and make it your favorite tea drink.
Conclusion
A cup of well-prepared Hokkaido milk tea will help you burn mental fatigue in the afternoon and immediately you wake up in the morning. The yummy taste and aroma of the tea will help recharge your energy level so that you can continue working throughout the day. Traditionally, the Japanese drink tea in their homes. They will only go out when they want to change the taste and flavor of Hokkaido milk tea. When traveling from Hokkaido to Tokyo or Okinawa, you will find many milk teashops offering different things but Hokkaido tea will not miss in the list of offered items.