Yuanyang

Why this works

Tea and coffee should fight. Both are bitter, both are astringent, and both carry caffeine. In practice they balance, because their bitterness comes from different places. Tea's astringency is mostly from tannins and catechins, which give that drying grip on the tongue. Coffee's is from roasted compounds and chlorogenic acid breakdown products, which taste toasty and bitter rather than drying. Combined with evaporated milk, whose concentrated casein binds a good share of both, the drink tastes rounded and strong rather than harsh.

The tea has to be Hong Kong milk tea, not just tea with milk. It is a strong blend, usually based on Ceylon, boiled rather than steeped and pulled repeatedly through a fine cloth bag, which gave it the nickname silk-stocking milk tea because the stained bag looks like one. The boiling and pulling extract a lot of body and smooth the tannins, and evaporated milk, which is richer and slightly caramelised compared with fresh, gives the characteristic silky texture.

The three to seven ratio keeps the tea in charge, with coffee adding depth and a roast note. More coffee and it starts to taste like a strange latte.

The name, yuanyang, means mandarin ducks, which are seen in pairs and are a Chinese symbol of a devoted couple. It is the classic order in cha chaan teng, the Hong Kong tea restaurants that grew up after the Second World War serving Western-influenced food cheaply. Their milk tea is officially recognised by Hong Kong as part of its intangible cultural heritage.

Variations

• Yuanyang dung: iced, poured over a glass of ice.
• With condensed milk: replace the sugar with condensed milk for a sweeter, thicker drink.
• Half and half: equal coffee and milk tea, stronger and more coffee-forward.
• Without milk: coffee and plain strong black tea with lemon, an occasional cha chaan teng order.