Turn bitter black tea into a deliciously decadent drink. Mixed with sweet brown sugar and creamy milk, you can serve this hot or cold! Simple to make and totally addicting, you’ll never drink iced tea in any different way! This drink is perfect for those who love black tea but want a sweet twist. Lightly sweetened and topped off with milk, it is the ultimate treat!
Milk tea is essentially black tea and milk combined. However, like many foods and drinks, milk tea varies from culture to culture. British milk tea has sugar in addition to tea and milk. Indian Spiced Milk Tea, commonly known as masala chai or chai tea, is a blend of tea, spices, sugar, and milk. Thai milk tea is a combination of tea, sweetened condensed milk, and evaporated milk, as well as a little sugar. I started drinking chai tea actually. I really like the taste of it. Especially with the hint of cinnamon!
How to make Brown Sugar Milk Tea (Without Tapioca Pearls)
You don’t need the tapioca pearls for this recipe! Many recipes out there call for them, but since I don’t have any, let alone can I find them, I made it without them.
- Black Tea: Caffeinated or decaffeinated will work just fine. You can use teabags or loose tea leaves.
- Brown Sugar: You can use light or dark brown sugar. The difference between them is that light brown sugar has fewer molasses than dark. Therefore, the light brown sugar has a mildly sweet flavor that’s used in all-purpose cooking. The dark brown sugar is a more robust and slightly bitter flavor similar to toffee and is mainly used for complex recipes such as barbecue sauce or spice cake mixes.
- Milk: Whole milk is preferred, however, you can use 2%.
- Ice, if making cold.
- Heavy cream, if making cold.
Make It Hot: Boil 2 cups of water, then divide it in half. Pour one cup into a mug to warm up the mug, then discard. This will help keep the tea hot. Steep the tea bags according to directions on the package or box; discard the bags. Pour the tea into the cup. Mix in the brown sugar until dissolved. You choose whether you want to warm up the milk or not, then pour it into the mug. Froth some milk and sprinkle with extra brown sugar for some pizzazz!
Make It Cold: Boil 1 cup of water, then steep the tea bags according to directions on the package or box. Pour the tea into a cup; discard the bags. Stir in the brown sugar, then allow to cool to room temperature. If you’re in a hurry, place it in the fridge. In a small bowl, pour heavy cream plus 1 teaspoon of black tea and whip it until frothed. Whip only until frothed, or the whipped cream won’t mix with your drink properly. Pour the milk and the remaining 2 tablespoons of heavy cream into a jar. Add the already sweetened and cooled black tea and mix until well combined. Fill half a glass with ice. Pour enough milk tea to fill the glass, top with frothed cream, and enjoy. Sprinkle with extra brown sugar for some pizzazz!
Tips & FAQs
- Storage: It’s best consumed the same day. However, you can store it in a glass jar with a lid for 2 days.
- Dairy-Free: Substitute the milk for almond or oat milk. Cashew and soy milk will give it a weird taste.
- Add extra brown sugar if you like sweetened tea. This is sort of sweet, but not overly sweet. If you like sweeter things, add more brown sugar.
Want the recipe? Click print below! Let me know how it came out for you by tagging me on Instagram (@missravenskitchen) and using #missravenskitchen! Follow my Facebook page for updates as well! Let me know if I need to tweak anything.
Brown Sugar Milk Tea (Without Tapioca Pearls)
Ingredients
- 1 cup boiling water
- 3 black tea bags or 1 tbsp loose leaf black tea
- 1 tbsp brown sugar, more or less depending on how sweet you want it
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- Pinch of brown sugar (optional)
- 3/4 cup water
- 2-3 black tea bags or 1 tbsp loose black tea leaves
- 1 1/4 cups whole milk, cold
- 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp heavy cream
- 2 tbsp packed brown sugar, more or less depending on how sweet you want it
- Slightly adapted from https://milkandpop.com/milk-tea/
Instructions
- Boil water. Put tea bags in the mug (or loose tea in kettle or infuser). Follow the directions for steeping the tea bags or loose tea you are using, being careful not to over-steep.
- While the tea is steeping, warm up the milk on the stove or you can microwave it for 30 seconds to a minute. You can skip this step, however, it will cool down your drink if you use cold milk.
- Remove tea bags (or pour strained loose tea into a mug) and stir in the brown sugar until dissolved. You can also use brown sugar syrup if you don’t want to use brown sugar.
- Pour warm (or cold) milk into the tea. Stir. Froth some milk and sprinkle with extra brown sugar if desired.
- Using a stove or kettle, boil the water.
- Place the black tea bags in a cup and pour the hot water over them. Let steep for 5 minutes. Don’t rush it. You don’t want weak black tea.
- Stir the brown sugar until dissolved and wait for the mixture to cool to room temperature. Remove the tea bags. If using black tea leaves, remove the leaves.
- In a small bowl, pour 1/4 cup of heavy cream plus 1 teaspoon of the black tea and whip it until frothed. Whip only until frothed, or the whipped cream won’t mix with your drink correctly.
- In a jar, pour the milk and the remaining 2 tablespoons of heavy cream. Add the already sweetened and cooled black tea and mix until well combined.
- Fill half a glass with ice. Pour enough milk tea to fill the glass, top with frothed cream, and enjoy.
- Slightly adapted from https://milkandpop.com/milk-tea/
Notes
The Make It Cold section was adapted from https://milkandpop.com/milk-tea/
I take no credit for their work on the cold version of the brown sugar milk tea. All credit goes to them.
Nutrition Facts
Calories
118.8Fat (grams)
3.9Sat. Fat (grams)
2.27Carbs (grams)
17.47Fiber (grams)
0Net carbs
17.47Sugar (grams)
17.51Protein (grams)
4.01Sodium (milligrams)
49.72Cholesterol (grams)
14.64These facts are based on the Make It Hot section. If you want the nutrition for the Make It Cold, please visit the link I have posted in that section.
Miss Raven's Kitchen 
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