Kopi, Teh or me?

If there's one thing I very quickly started to crave after leaving Singapore, it must be the local caffeine fix. Not from the big American chains like Starbucks or Coffeebean, nor from the plethora of too-cool-for-you cafes that have been sprouting all over the tiny island, but from the coffeeshops or hawker centres that are as ubiquitous as boulangeries are in Paris.

When I was still gainfully employed (aka useful member of society), a coffee/tea run before work, after lunch, and in the middle of the infamous mid-day slump were imperative. Then of course, what better way to end the day than with another cup of deliciously thick and creamy tea?

In an earlier post, I did alude to the fact that I grew up drinking my sweet black tea prepared a little differently. In lieu of the milk and sugar, is evaporated milk and condensed milk. Yes, you read it right - creamy evaporated milk to thicken up the tea and tame the tannins (wao, did I just spin some alliteration or what) and then more milk, except even creamier and even thicker. This goes best with your strongest black tea. Do not waste your delicate white teas, especially not that expensive silver tip tea you were saving for a nice rainy day. This needs a cup of strong black tea, made from dust grade tea. Back in Singapore, they'd be so black you wouldn't be able to tell it apart from a cup of black coffee. And they'd give me the jitters - just what I needed to get me out of the mid-day slump.

Here's a quick recipe for a good cup of Teh (pronounced 'Tay', with less emphasis on the 't'). Feel free to dial down on the condensed milk, and up on the evaporated milk if you like yours less sweet. That would be called a Teh Si (pronounced 'Tay See').

TEH

For one

Ingredients

One tea bag of black tea (e.g. Typhoo, PG Tips, or Tetley)

1 cup of boiling hot water

1 tablespoon of condensed milk

1 tablespoon of evaporated milk

Method

Add hot water to tea bag, and let it steep for 30 seconds. (Some tea companies even recommend using a teaspoon to give the tea bag a few good squeezes while it is steeping, to get the most of your bag of tea. Others invent tea bags that let you do that without additional flatware. Gotta love the British.)

Add condensed milk and evaporated milk, and give the tea a good stir.

Serve immediately, while still hot.

P.S. For an iced version, halve the amount of hot water and pour into a big glass of ice. Serve immediately.