{
    "id": 1079401,
    "title": "Thai Tea vs Hong Kong Milk Tea: Making Both at Home",
    "slug": "thai-tea-vs-hong-kong-milk-tea",
    "type": "page",
    "url": "https://teas.co.uk/wiki/thai-tea-vs-hong-kong-milk-tea/",
    "modified": "2026-11-14T01:08:43+00:00",
    "excerpt": "Thai tea and Hong Kong milk tea both start with very strong Ceylon style black tea and tinned milk. This page compares them and gives a home version of each using ordinary tea bags.",
    "content_text": "Thai tea vs Hong Kong milk tea, in short: Both start with very strong Ceylon style black tea. Thai tea is sweetened with condensed milk and poured over ice. Hong Kong milk tea is strained through a cloth bag and smoothed with evaporated milk.\nThai tea and Hong Kong milk tea are cousins: strong black tea and tinned milk, with no fresh milk in sight. They differ in sweetness, in temperature and in one signature step each, and you can make a fair version of both at home with supermarket tea bags.\nWe do not stock Thai tea mix, Hong Kong tea blends or tinned milk at teas.co.uk. We do stock the plain Ceylon and Assam teas both drinks are built on.\nLast reviewed by the teas.co.uk team in November 2026.\nThe two drinks side by side\n\nThai tea (cha yen)Hong Kong milk tea\nTeaStrongly brewed Ceylon black tea, or a local Assam typeCeylon black tea\nMilkCondensed milk in the tea, evaporated or whole milk poured on topEvaporated milk, about 30% of the cup, or condensed milk\nSweetnessSweet by design: sugar and condensed milkIn the original style you add your own sugar\nTemperaturePoured over iceBrewed hot and kept hot\nSignature stepMilk poured over the iced teaTea pulled through a cotton bag\n\nEach drink has its own page here: how to make Thai tea and Hong Kong milk tea.\nWhy shop Thai tea is orange\nThe bright orange of a Thai iced tea usually comes from colouring in the tea mix, not from the tea. One food writer's account names a yellow food dye as the usual source, with annatto used in some blends. Without it the drink is a darker, more muted amber.\nSo a Thai tea made with plain tea bags will be brown amber. It is the same drink without the dye. Spices are a similar story: in Thailand the tea is not typically brewed with spices, though some English language recipes add star anise or cardamom. Thailand also drinks it without milk, as cha manao, iced with lime and sugar. There is more in Thai iced tea explained.\nWhy Hong Kong milk tea is called silk stocking tea\nHong Kong cafes brew the tea in a thin cotton bag. Stained brown, the bag looks like a silk stocking, and the nickname stuck. The drink took shape in the middle of the twentieth century, when local diners adapted British tea with milk by swapping fresh milk for cheaper, more concentrated evaporated milk.\nThe cafe method is long: a 12 minute steep, with the tea poured back and forth through the bag four times. In 2017 the technique was declared part of Hong Kong's intangible cultural heritage. Our page on Hong Kong milk tea culture tells that story.\nHome versions with tea bags\nThese are home approximations in our own quantities, not the cafe originals.\nThai style iced tea\n\nSteep two black tea bags in 150ml of freshly boiled water for 5 minutes, then remove them.\nWhile it is hot, stir in a teaspoon or two of sugar and a tablespoon of condensed milk.\nFill a tall glass with ice and pour the tea over it.\nFinish with a splash of evaporated milk on top.\n\nHong Kong style milk tea\n\nSteep two black tea bags in 200ml of freshly boiled water for 6 to 8 minutes.\nRemove the bags and pour the tea between two jugs a few times, the home stand in for pulling.\nPour into a warmed cup and add evaporated milk until it makes up roughly a third of the cup.\nSweeten to taste.\n\nThe closest teas we sell\nDilmah Premium Ceylon Black is the closest match for both drinks, because Ceylon black tea is what both are traditionally made from. Our guides to Ceylon tea and Dilmah explain the tea, and the Sri Lankan tea shelf has the rest.\nTwinings Assam is the choice when you want more weight. Thai tea is also made with an Assam type leaf, and Assam is usually described as brisk and malty.\nTetley Extra Strong Breakfast Tea is the everyday box if you make these often. See our strong breakfast tea picks for others.\nNone of these is a Thai tea mix or a Hong Kong cafe blend. Those are made up to their own recipes, and the Thai mixes carry the colouring. What we sell is the plain tea underneath.\n\nWhich tea for which drink, at a glance\n\nDrinkTea we would useMilk to buy elsewhereServed\nThai teaDilmah Premium Ceylon Black or Twinings AssamCondensed and evaporatedOver ice\nHong Kong milk teaDilmah Premium Ceylon BlackEvaporatedHot\n\nCommon questions\nCan I make Thai tea with normal tea bags?\nYes. Use a plain, strong black tea and brew it at double strength. The drink will be amber, not orange, because the orange comes from colouring in commercial mixes.\nIs Thai tea spiced?\nNot typically in Thailand. Some English language recipes add star anise or cardamom.\nWhat is the difference between condensed and evaporated milk?\nCondensed milk is sweetened and thick. Evaporated milk is unsweetened and pours like cream, which is why Hong Kong milk tea uses it for body and Thai tea uses condensed milk for sweetness.\n\nReference noted\nFacts on this page were checked against the Wikipedia entry for Thai tea, the Wikipedia entry for Hong Kong style milk tea, the Takeout article on how Thai iced tea gets its colour and the Wikipedia entry for Assam tea.\nMore from the tea wiki\n\nHow to Make Milk Tea\nIced Chai: Concentrate, Dilution and Milk Guide\nIced Black Tea: Methods and Best Teas\nHong Kong Milk Tea: Strong, Silky, Sweet\nHow to Make Thai Tea (the Bright Orange One)\nCeylon Tea\nHong Kong Milk Tea Culture: The Silk Stocking Craft\nThe Ultimate Guide to Making Tea\nHow to Make Bubble Tea at Home\nThe whole Tea Wiki, A to Z",
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