Adding milk to tea has a few benefits, according to the experts. It can help counteract the tannin's astringent or bitter aspects and adds a few calories and nutrients to an otherwise nutritionally bereft beverage.
Adding milk does decrease the antioxidants in tea, but in varying amounts. Proteins in milk can bind to the tea polyphenols thus decreasing their antioxidant capacity.
Research suggests adding milk reduces its beneficial impact. That's because milk contains proteins and fats that reduce the effectiveness of antioxidants, which can improve heart and gut health. Antioxidants can also slow the ageing process. So if it's health benefits you want from tea, drink it black.”
The answer is that in the 17th and 18th centuries the china cups tea was served in were so delicate they would crack from the heat of the tea. Milk was added to cool the liquid and stop the cups from cracking. This is why, even today, many English people add milk to their cups BEFORE adding the tea!
Although typically served with milk, it is also common to drink certain varieties black or with lemon. Sugar is a popular addition to any variety. Everyday tea, such as English breakfast tea, served in a mug with milk and sugar is a popular combination.
Tea is often thought of as Britain's national drink. But how we enjoy it varies from person to person – from no milk, three sugars, to a traditional builders' tea.
One of the most popular milk teas in China is the Hong Kong-style milk tea. Stemming from the British practice of adding milk to black tea, the signature drink in Hong Kong is strained through a sackcloth to encourage smoothness, thus also known as "silk stocking milk tea".
The idea of adding dairy to your cuppa is thought to have first originated on the Himalayan foothills of Tibet. Tibetans would traditionally add yak's butter to their brew as a means of packing extra calories into their diets – vital during cold winters in the mountains.
Tea latte –Tea (can be any type of tea) with steamed or frothed milk added. It can be sweetened or unsweetened. Boba Tea – Or bubble tea, a milk tea from Taiwan with added tapioca pearls popular around the world.
Doodh pati chai, literally 'milk and tea leaves', a tea beverage drunk in India, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Teh tarik, a kind of milk tea popular in Malaysia and Singapore. Suutei tsai, a salty Mongolian milk tea. Shahi haleeb, a Yemeni milk tea served after chewing qat.
If you drink milk tea in moderation, it can help the body detoxify. However, excessive drinking can cause the body to overheat, which can result in a chemical imbalance and a breakout of pimples.
Tea without milk is typically referred to as "black tea."
In 1680 Madame de la Sabliere, served tea with milk at her famous Paris salon. She is traditionally ascribed to introducing the custom to Europe. It is also thought that the poor quality in tea had to be softened with the flavor of milk just to make it palpable.
Traditionally, Earl Grey tea is served with a slice of lemon and sugar to taste. According to YouGov, a massive 85% of British Earl Grey and English breakfast tea drinkers enjoy their tea with milk. In the US, they like to add milk and sugar to their Earl Grey tea.
You can add as little or as much as you please—though adding milk first and then pouring the tea on top might make it taste better. This is because when you add hot tea to cold milk, you're bringing the milk to the temperature of the tea, distributing the flavor more evenly.
Fine china cracks when you pour boiling tea into it, so sticking the milk in first cools the water, which keeps the cup from cracking.
There are no set rules on how much milk you should add to tea, it's all down to personal preference and the variety of tea being made.
Mongolians drank tea with milk. Chinese did not. The simple fact is that China was never traditionally a country where cows grazed in vast numbers. Milk was available in England in the countryside and it was common to drink Chinese black tea with milk even before Indian tea arrived in the 1840s.
Turns out, it's all to do with taxes. Tea was first brought to Britain in the early 17th century by the East India Company and was presented to King Charles II. His Portuguese wife, Princess Catherine of Braganza, set the trend in drinking tea, which then caught on among the aristocrats of the time.
Herbal tea
Rooibos, chamomile and even peppermint may all be served with milk. Peppermint tea may taste delicious with almond or coconut milk, while rooibos can be served with almost any type of dairy or dairy free milk.
Turkey had the highest rate of tea drinkers in 2022, with nine in ten people saying that they regularly drink the hot beverage, followed by Kenya. Tea is the second most widely consumed drink around the world, coming in only after water.
The tree was a Camellia sinensis, and the resulting drink was what we now call tea. It is impossible to know whether there is any truth in this story. But tea drinking certainly became established in China many centuries before it had even been heard of in the west.
Originally, tea was valued for its medicinal qualities. It has long been known that tea aids in digestion, which is why many Chinese prefer to consume it after their meal.