Xinjiang Salty Milk Tea
新疆咸奶茶
English: Xinjiang Salty Milk Tea
Chinese: 新疆咸奶茶
Pinyin: xinjiang xian naicha
Literal: Xinjiang salty milk tea
Province: Xinjiang (also Inner Mongolia)
Milk tea has taken the world by storm. Where Chinatowns across the world used to be cheap lunch buffets, cookware shops and wet markets, now they’re packed with trendy bubble tea stores. But Xinjiang’s salty milk tea is quite unlike any bubble tea or even British tea you’re likely to have had.
If you like two sugars in your cuppa, then this is probably not the beverage for you. Xinjiang milk tea is salty, almost savoury, yet creamy and moreish. It is traditionally made by boiling compressed Fu brick tea (茯砖茶) with milk, milk skin, salt and butter or ghee. In the pastoral communities of northern Xinjiang, it is a drink for mealtimes. Hearty breads, noodles, hunks of meat and few vegetables need a warm cup of tea to wash it all down.
The exact preparation varies across Xinjiang, depending on whether it is being made by Kazakh, Uyghur or Mongolian communities. Each has its own traditions, but this one is closer to the Kazakh style. Butter is sometimes added, while in some Mongolian preparations I’ve had, lamb fat is used instead. Not too much, just enough to give the tea a smoother mouthfeel. Milk skin is often added too for richness, but I’ve replaced it with clotted cream in the recipe as it’s easier to get hold of.
Fu brick tea is a dark, post-fermented tea, which basically means it undergoes microbial fermentation after the leaves have already been processed and dried. The conditions in which the tea is pressed encourage this fermentation, giving it a deep, earthy flavour that stands up well to milk and salt. Fu brick tea isn't always easy to find, though, so use any robust loose-leaf black tea you can find. I’d avoid a delicate breakfast tea and go for something like an Assam-style black tea.
Makes 3-4 big cups
Ingredients
15g Fu brick tea (茯砖茶) broken into pieces, or robust loose leaf tea
500ml water
500ml whole milk
½–1 tsp salt, to taste
1 tsp butter
1 tbsp clotted cream (optional)
Method
Brew the tea. Bring the water to a boil in a saucepan. Add the broken brick tea (or loose leaf) and reduce the heat. Simmer for 5–8 minutes, until you have a dark, strong tea.
Pour in the milk and bring the mixture back towards a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for another 2–3 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Work the tea and milk together. Use a ladle to scoop some of the tea from the pot and pour it back in from a little height. Repeat several times. This traditional technique helps combine the tea and milk and gives the drink a slightly richer texture.
Strain out the tea leaves, then stir in the salt. Start with ½ teaspoon and add more until the flavour is distinctly savoury but not aggressively salty.
Stir in the butter and the cream to give the tea a richness.
Serve hot. Pour into bowls or small cups and serve. It’s usually served just before or alongside a meal.
Note: Don't be tempted to add sugar. The first sip can be slightly strange if you're expecting Western-style milk tea, but the salt brings out the sweetness of the milk and the earthy depth of the brick tea. Think of it less as a sweet drink and more as a warm, savoury accompaniment to a meal.
