Should You Put Milk in Earl Grey Tea?
What is Earl Grey Tea?
Earl Grey tea is a form of black tea often imported from Sri Lanka. The Earl Grey Cream that we carry at The Tea Haus is a mellowed Earl Grey tea blend with delicious creamy notes. There is no real dairy in this tea, but the natural cream
The name alone implies that combining Earl Grey Cream with creamy dairy is a natural match. Is this a tea-must or a tea faux pas? Learn more about whether or not milk and Earl Grey are a good combo and how to go about mixing your teas with additives in the best (most delicious) manner.
Will Milk Curdle in My Earl Grey Tea?
One major concern people have when toying with the idea of pouring milk into Earl Grey is the dissatisfying curdling effect. If you steep your tea and top it off with cold milk, the oil of bergamot in the blend will react with the milk and lead to curdling. If you steep a strong cup of black tea with a larger dose of oil, this curdling is even more likely.
How to Prepare Earl Grey Tea With Milk (Without Curdling).
The relationship between milk and Earl Grey started back in Britain. The British began debating the most effective order to mix tea and milk. Milk first, followed by boiling water and tea? Or boiling water and tea, followed by a top-off of dairy? Here's the best way to go about adding your dairy so the milk won't curdle in the hot cup of tea.
1. Start with fresh, cold water and heat until just below boiling.
2. Measure your Earl Grey tea, place loose leaves in your tea infuser of choice, and allow it to steep for 3-5 minutes
3. Reserve some hot water and fill your teacup. Let sit for about a minute to warm the cup, then pour the water out.
4. Add the milk to the warm cup—this will bring the milk to temperature so it doesn’t curdle.
5. When the tea is done steeping, slowly put it into your teacup over the milk.
Make a Custom Cup of Spicy Earl Grey
If you want to add the bells and whistles to an otherwise straightforward cup of tea, you can add a few ingredients to quite literally spice things up with this recipe.
Ingredients
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7 cups of water
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4 teaspoons of loose leaf earl grey tea
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½ cup brown sugar
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6 cardamom pods (crushed)
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1 tsp fennel seeds
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10 peppercorns
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1 cup whole milk at room temperature
Simply boil the 7 cups of water in a large saucepan on an element set to high. Steep the earl grey tea for 3 minutes and remove tea leaves. Mix in the brown sugar and spices. Finish by bringing the mixture to a boil for an additional 5-6 minutes. Finally, strain the tea and stir in the milk. Ready to serve!
Earl Grey tea from The Tea Haus
The Tea Haus has a wide selection of creamy black earl grey teas.
Product Spotlight: Earl Grey Cream
CAD $4.50 per 50g
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To see more Flavoured Black Teas, visit our Flavoured Black Teas section or to browse all Black Teas visit our Black Tea section.
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