Cheese Tea

Ingredients

Tea

• 4 ggood oolong or jasmine green tea
• 400 mlwater at 90°C
• sugar syrup, to taste
• ice

Cheese foam

• 80 gcream cheese, softened
• 150 mldouble cream
• 80 mlwhole milk
• 2 tbspicing sugar
• ½ tspfine salt

To serve

• a tall clear cup
• no straw

Directions

1. Salt against the bitterness of tea is a genuinely good combination, and it is why this took off rather than being a novelty. It is the same logic as salted caramel, and the salt must be clearly present.
2. Use a decent oolong or jasmine green tea, brewed strong. It has to stand up to a thick layer of cream, so a weak tea disappears completely.
3. Let it cool before assembling, since hot tea melts the foam instantly. Chill the brewed tea thoroughly. Beat the cream cheese until completely smooth before anything else goes in.
4. Add the milk a little at a time, since dumping it in gives a lumpy mixture that cannot be rescued. Add the double cream, icing sugar and salt and whip the mixture.
5. Whip it only to soft peaks, thick enough to sit on the tea but still pourable. Over-whipped foam becomes stiff like whipped cream and sits on top as a solid lid, and it will not flow into the drink as you sip.
6. Lift a spoonful: it should flow off in a thick ribbon rather than dropping in a lump or running like liquid. Keep everything cold, and chill the bowl and the cream beforehand. Cold cream whips better and holds its structure far longer. Fill a clear cup two-thirds with the sweetened iced tea.
7. Pour the foam gently over the back of a spoon so it floats rather than sinking. Pouring over a spoon is what keeps the layers distinct, and the visual separation is much of the appeal. Serve it immediately, since the foam gradually sinks into the tea and the layers merge within twenty minutes.

Technique

• It does not taste savoury; the cream cheese provides tang and body.
• The salt against the tea’s bitterness is why the drink works.
• Whip the foam only to soft peaks, or it sits as a solid lid.

Substitutions

• Mascarpone in place of cream cheese, which is milder.
• Any good strong tea as the base.

Variations

• Made with matcha, coffee or fruit tea.
• Topped with cocoa or crushed biscuit.
• Made with a lighter foam, using more milk.

History

Created at Taiwanese tea stands around 2010 and exported worldwide as the successor to bubble tea.

Frequently asked questions

What is Cheese Tea?

Cheese Tea is a drink from Taiwan: iced tea capped with a salted whipped cream-cheese foam, sipped through the lid. Created at Taiwanese tea stands around 2010 and exported worldwide as the successor to bubble tea.

How long does Cheese Tea take to make?

Cheese Tea takes 15 min of preparation and 5 min of cooking. The recipe makes 2 drinks. It is rated medium to make.

What can I substitute in Cheese Tea?

Yes, within limits. Mascarpone in place of cream cheese, which is milder. Any good strong tea as the base.

What is the most important thing to get right in Cheese Tea?

Salt against the bitterness of tea is a genuinely good combination, and it is why this took off rather than being a novelty. It is the same logic as salted caramel, and the salt must be clearly present.