Roasted Oolong Milk Tea Recipe

This Roasted Oolong Milk Tea Recipe is made with just 2 ingredients! It is sweet, and creamy and tastes like earthy, floral, and buttery tea with milk! Iced tea with Oolong Milk Tea cannot be much easier. 

 

 

I absolutely love iced teas, and as such have multiple iced tea recipes for you. 

 

• Rooibos: Raspberry rhubarb iced tea
• Black: Ginger lemon iced tea
• Green: Grapefruit mint iced tea
• White: Guava iced tea
• Herbal: Hibiscus tea
• + I've got a ton more in the 99 Summer Drinks cookbook!

 

Why you’ll love this recipe

 

You will love this recipe because it is super easy, as it takes only 2 ingredients. You will love this drink if you like creamy, cold drinks, for example, Brazilian lemonade, or even eggnog for Christmas. 

 

Tea is generally delicious with milk, yes? Many find this combination strange, but I assure you that the Brits love this combination for a reason. It doesn't feel heavy, yet is very comforting.  

 

This also means that this is a very low-calorie creamy drink with less than 100 calories yet it feels like more, you know? That is just a delicious bonus if you ask me. 

 

 

Using roasted oolong milk tea makes it just a little more interesting! 

 

Ingredients

 

For this oolong milk tea, you will need two things: Oolong milk tea leaves and sweetened condensed milk (and water, which does not count). If you want to make sweetened condensed milk from scratch, you can. That way you can even make this drink vegan if you like. 

 

Anyway, to learn more about oolong milk tea leaves, read under Recipe FAQs. 

 

 

Step-by-step instructions

 

Add milk oolong tea leaves in a pot with cold water and let it steep, covered, in the refrigerator for 8-9 hours.* (1-2)

 

Strain out the tea leaves, and it ends up being about 1 ⅔ cups (400 milliliters) of tea. Mix the cold tea with sweetened condensed milk (3) and serve right away! Whisk vigorously with a whisk (4) to make sure it gets properly incorporated.

 

 

If you want to enjoy the cold brew tea without sweetened condensed milk, simply leave it out. It will still taste a hint of milk because of the oolong milk tea leaves! 

 

* You can also heat water up to 175℉ (80℃) and steep the tea for 2 minutes before straining, then cool the mixture, although it will no longer be cold brew.

 

Storage

 

The iced tea can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 24 hours. However, before you add the sweetened condensed milk, it can be stored in the refrigerator for days.

 

Just make sure you have a lid on or that it is covered, so that the drink doesn't get the 'refrigerator flavor'. 

 

Recipe FAQs

What is oolong milk tea?

Oolong milk tea is tea leaves that are made in a different way than regular teas. It can be ball-shaped, twisted, curled, or rolled.

 

Rolling is an important aspect of oolong processing that changes not only the looks but also the color and aroma of the final tea leaves. Depending on how and when the leaves are rolled during processing, the tea master can subtly alter the tea’s final flavor.

 

 

Shaping the tea leaves means they get bruised, and bruising breaks the cells of the leaves. This releases enzymes and essential oils that alter the flavor. 

 

It is neither black nor green tea, it is its own kind of tea. However, due to different oxidation levels, it can resemble both green and black tea. Due to different production styles, oxidation levels can range between 8% - 80%. 

 

• Low-oxidation oolong milk tea is mild, floral, sweet, and slightly buttery. Often called jade oolong tea.
• High-oxidation oolong milk tea is also floral yet more buttery and toasty, sometimes also more spiced. And it is also full-bodied and creamy. Often called amber oolong tea. 

 

 

After oxidation the oolong is roasted, drying out the leaves. This will also change the flavor of the final product. 

 

The origins of oolong milk tea

We don't really know, but it is generally said that it originated either in China or Taiwan. Chinese oolong is usually leaning more toward dark, high-oxidized teas whereas the Taiwanese are more toward low-oxidized, green teas. 

 

Caffeine-levels of oolong

The caffeine levels of oolong milk tea will depend on the oxidation levels. High-oxidation teas will have caffeine contents similar to black tea, while low-oxidation teas will resemble green tea levels. 

 

In addition to this, it will also depend on how the tea leaves are cultivated and processed, so you will need to check the package instructions or ask the vendor. 

 

For reference, an 8-ounce cup of green tea typically contains 30 to 50 milligrams of caffeine, whereas black tea contains around 40 to 80 milligrams of caffeine per 8-ounce cup. Oolong is somewhere in-between there.

 

 

Health benefits of oolong milk tea

As a semi-oxidized tea, oolong tea contains a lot of antioxidants, including many of those found in both green and black teas. Antioxidants protect our cells from damage caused by aging, lifestyle, and the environment. 

 

Research shows that the nutrients in oolong tea have stronger antioxidant and antimutagenic effects than green and black teas. All in all, oolong tea can

 

• lower the risk of diabetes
• lower the cholesterol, which is good for your heart health
• it is high in an amino acid called L-theanine, which studies show has cognitive effects like improved brain activity, better sleep, and reduces stress and anxiety. 
• it is high in fluoride content, which can reduce the risk of tooth loss and oral cancer. 
• it is also a great source of manganese, potassium, magnesium, niacin, and sodium.

 

What is cold brew?

Cold brew is just as the name indicates, you brew the tea (or coffee) in cold water. It just takes longer than in hot water. Oolong tea takes between 8-9 hours for the perfect cold brewed tea. 

 

Cold brew brings out all the notes of the tea, making it less bitter, more smooth, and refreshing. And, if you're worried about caffeine levels, cold brew is your answer. The cold brew method reduces the caffeine levels by half.

 

 

Expert tips

Variations

You can use this recipe with both jade and amber oolong tea, although when adding milk, I think amber is better. Here are my ways to make oolong iced tea extra delicious:

 

• Jade: Omit the sweetened condensed milk, but add 1 tablespoon of lavender honey. 
• Amber: Make as stated in the recipe card, but add ⅓ teaspoon of vanilla extract to accentuate the toasty flavor of high-oxidized tea.

 

Iced teas don't need a lot of ingredients to make them delicious! But a little sweetener often helps to bring out the flavors of the tea. 

 

Did you like this recipe? Here are more iced teas I think you’d love:

 

I’d love to hear your thoughts. Comment below or tag me @thegingerwithspice on Instagram. And don’t forget to Pin it for later! To make sure you’re never missing another recipe, please feel free to subscribe to my newsletter. 

 

As thanks, you will receive a free e-cookbook Travels Through the Seasons, with many delicious recipes from around the world that suit different seasons of the year. 

 

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