Cold brew tea is one of my favorite ways of making cold tea. I’m Taiwanese-American and boba milk tea is in my blood. And obviously, I love coffee, so why not put milk in cold brew? I’m talking about during the brew.
Milk brew has long been popular in Japan, and now it is picking up steam across the Pacific to the US. Essentially, instead of making a cold brew concentrate with water, you use milk.
When I told my partner that I was assigned to try out milk brew, he said, “But you’re lactose-intolerant.” (Correct) “…and you don’t like milk.” (True. I do still eat dairy, but I only like milk when it’s heated into a cappuccino.) “Also, you don’t like cold brew.” (Yup.) So obviously, I’m the best candidate for taste-testing milk brew and writing about my experience.
Very importantly, as there are many different cold brew recipes out there, please don’t heat milk in your kettle for a hot bloom. In fact, just don’t do a hot milk bloom for health safety reasons. There are enough food recalls right now, why risk more hazards at home? Additionally, keep it in the refrigerator at all times.
Alright, so, from the perspective of someone who is lactose-intolerant and hates the taste of cold brew, I conclude that milk brew is acceptable. Those who love iced lattes will probably enjoy milk brew. I have many reasons for disliking cold brew—flavor is the biggest one—but I do try it about once a year by itself and in iced signature drinks. The reasons why I don’t like it are the same as the reasons why people like it.
After several recipe attempts and some instant spit-outs, I finally landed on flavors that reflected what milk brew is described as: chocolatey, smooth, and creamy. Of course, the “chocolate” part and additional flavors will heavily depend on the coffee you choose. It’s like a thicker-bodied iced latte without any punchiness of espresso.
To test the recipes, I used macadamia nut milk, black sesame milk, and, later, lactose-free milk. The alt milk area of my local fancy grocery store was peppered with other potentially good candidates: corn, pistachio, banana, hemp, rice, but I decided to stick with at least one known nut milk and one fun one (I’m a sucker for anything with black sesame).
If you are starting from a cold brew recipe, know that you’ll likely need to increase your time, because the fats found in milk—alt or not—have a thick membrane that is difficult for coffee to penetrate, especially when it’s cold. I recommend tasting your mix throughout your brew time so you don’t overdo it.
I began with Kyoto-based cafe company Kurasu’s recipe. The direct steep didn’t turn out great, wholly due to user error (did you know grind size is important?). After putting the grounds in cold macadamia milk and black sesame milk, giving it a good stir, then 16 hours later, pouring the mix through a V60 filter, I quickly learned that the filter is not it. It was dripping slower than cold brew made via a tower. I switched to a mesh strainer, which worked better for filtering, but didn’t help the absolutely over-extracted and astringent results. The black sesame milk actually includes almonds, too; however, it was far too thick to grab the coffee flavor, let alone go through the filter. My repeat of this with less time, a brighter coffee, and coarser grounds was also not fruitful.
For straining loose grounds, I recommend using the aforementioned cooking mesh filter or a French-press-like filter. Even then, you may still have that gritty body that reminds you of all the work you put into this drink.
Next, I thought I’d try the suggested “tea bag” approach: put coarsely ground coffee into a reusable cloth tea bag and steep like you would tea. Imagine my surprise the next morning when the macadamia milk was still the same color: the bag I used was too thick, and I should’ve used mesh or metal. In a fit of desperation (not recommended if you’re making it for others), I stuck my finger in, opened the bag, and let the grounds go free. There was a robust finger stir, too. That went back in the fridge.
After Instagram listened in on my conversation about milk brew, it suggested Morgan Eckroth’s recent Reel recipe using lactose-free milk. Unsurprisingly, it worked, and I added a few hours for more coffee flavor. Around this time, I remembered the formerly tea-bag brew and strained that, too. That also ended up tasting lightly sweet but with the richer macadamia milk body.
Milk brew doesn’t produce a concentrate like cold brew does, but adding an ice cube would be a nice touch for those who prefer a more diluted coffee drink. That said, the caffeine level does not change, and thanks to a few sips of that, I was able to write this piece’s first draft all in one sitting.
Jenn Chen (@thejennchen) is an Editor At Large at Sprudge Media Network. Read more Jenn Chen on Sprudge.
