Burmese Milk Tea: What It Is, How It Is Different from Others, and Cultural Aspects
I never get the team coffee or tea thing since I love them both. In fact, I have a penchant for all things bittersweet: tea, coffee, chocolate, matcha, and sometimes even outside of the food palate. They all pair well with milk, and I can usually substitute one of these for another.
Like most of our favorite things in life, it’s about more than just the taste. I have nostalgic memories of going to a neighborhood tea shop with my late grandpa in the afternoons when I was young, ordering “extra-sweet milk tea” for me (& bro if he also tagged along) and regular for grandpa.
The Burmese term La-Phet-Yay (လက်ဖက်ရည်) means strictly milk tea. Clear tea has a totally different term Yay-Nway-Kyan (ရေနွေးကြမ်း) which is just hot water steeped with tea leaves. I have seen people loosely translating Yay-Nway-Kyan as green tea, but Yay-Nway-Kyan isn’t limited to just green tea; it refers to all hot water drinks with any kind of tea, even herbal. In fact, an average household or restaurant in Myanmar uses black tea for Yay-Nway-Kyan as it is the most readily available throughout the country although other grades of tea are also produced.
Back to the milk tea version — despite their resemblance, it doesn’t have spices like Chai or added flavors/colors like the Thai tea version. Though we can draw comparisons to other milk teas across the globe, Burmese milk tea has its own unique taste and way of preparation.
Key Ingredients
Traditionally, evaporated milk and condensed milk are used to make Burmese milk tea. Evaporated milk because tea shops didn’t (most in rural areas still don’t) have refrigerators to store fresh milk.
Evaporated milk has less water content— adding evaporated milk to extremely strong black tea, combined with the thickening effect of condensed milk, results in a milk tea with a thick consistency, an important characteristic of Burmese milk tea.
Burmese milk tea is conventionally served hot though you can find iced versions offered on the menus of a few tea shops these days. Strong black tea, brewed over a long period of time, has a high level of tannins (the chemical compound responsible for that bitter taste) and can cause stomach upset if taken cold. At most tea shops, tea-pots are put on simmer the whole day to maintain the heat as well as to reduce it down to super full-bodied strong tea.
Technically, you can make endless combinations of these three ingredients though most shops only keep track of the 5–10 most popular variations. Some shops would even add extra sugar to boost the sweetness. Hot water may also be added to control the strength of the brewed tea. In this menu of a trendy tea shop in Yangon, you can see a few possibilities.
Tea Culture and Habits
People usually drink it in the morning with breakfast (that’s why tea shops also serve breakfast food) or/and in the afternoon when you need a bit of pick-me-up.
Tea shops are predominantly male scenes. Men would share newspapers, chat about the latest news, argue about their favorite soccer teams and matches, talk politics, speculate on the latest conspiracies, or just spend some idle time leisurely.
Around 20 years ago, it was quite scandalous for girls from good families to spend time at tea shops. I still vividly remember how a girl in my class expressed her disapproval of such females back in middle school.
Even now, if a woman of marriageable age sits in a tea shop alone, she is certain to get lots of stares and side-eyes.
So, on top of my addiction to the taste of Burmese milk tea, going to a tea shop has personally been an act of rebellion against stereotypes and challenging the status quo.
Basic Recipe and Preparation
I am no recipe expert, but this can get you started.
For 1 serving of Burmese milk tea (8–12 oz), you need:
- 2 tablespoons of Crushed Black Tea Leaves (Due to low supply, authentic Burmese tea packs are being sold at a high premium on Amazon. Use whatever strongest tea you can find. Assam CTC black tea will work just fine.)
- ~1/2 cup of Evaporated Milk (Use full cream milk if you can’t find the evaporated milk. For plant-based options, I like oat since it tends to have a creamier body. Thickness matters, remember?)
- 1 teaspoon of Condensed Milk (One teaspoon is just enough to balance out the bitterness of the tea. Add more if you want it sweeter.)
Boil the crushed black tea leaves in ~1 cup of water on the stove over medium heat. It doesn’t matter if you add the tea to the already boiling water or boil them together. Once it bubbles up, lower the heat and simmer for about 5~10 min to reduce to half the volume.
Fill your cup with milk. Pour the tea through a sieve into the cup. Add condensed milk, stir, and done!
If you like your tea hot rather than lukewarm, microwave the milk a bit before pouring the tea in. I just usually fill whichever cup/mug I’m using halfway with milk, and then heat it up. It may not be the safest practice, but I like my Burmese milk tea to be piping hot. I really can’t get used to the lukewarm and weak English-style tea.
Due to the weather in Yangon, tea can take a while to cool down enough to drink. People would converse over this waiting period. When my family goes out for breakfast, we take the timing to order tea seriously so that the temperature of the tea would be just perfect to drink by the time we finish eating food.
You can also try to aerate the milk tea traditionally by pouring it back and forth between two mugs. Or use a milk frother to get a latte effect.
Honestly, you can just eyeball everything and have fun with it. Make it with whatever milk you have in your fridge.
I’ve tried making the tea with my Moka pot, and it is a faster process and gives satisfactory results. If you are making multiple servings, boiling a big pot on the stove is faster. You can also try using an espresso machine if you have one.
Hope you enjoy reading about Burmese milk tea. I tend to get serious about my caffeines. :D
