Here is how to make oolong milk tea: brew oolong a little stronger than you would for a plain cup, sweeten it lightly while it is still warm, then add cold milk — dairy or a barista plant milk — and serve it over ice, with or without chewy tapioca pearls. The result is a smooth, fragrant, orchid-and-cream cup that sits comfortably between a black and a green milk tea.
This is the practical oolong milk tea recipe, with real amounts, ordered steps, and a quick table for matching your leaf to the right water and milk. For the full background on what the drink is, how it differs from milk oolong, and its caffeine, see what is oolong milk tea. For the underlying template that every milk tea builds on, see how to make milk tea.
What oolong milk tea is
Oolong milk tea is simply a milk tea built on brewed oolong instead of the usual black or green base. Oolong is partly oxidised — it lands between green and black tea — and that middle ground gives it a wide flavour range. A green, floral, buttery oolong makes a lighter, more perfumed cup; a roasted or dark oolong makes a toasty one, with honey and stone-fruit notes and a fuller body. Either way the milk rounds off the edges and adds a creamy finish.
Oolong is prized in China and Taiwan, where it is drunk on its own across many re-steeps, and it has become a popular bubble-tea base throughout East Asia — an oolong bubble tea is one of the most-ordered options on a boba menu after the classic black milk tea. Because oolong is less tannic than a strong black tea, it tends not to fight the dairy, so its aroma carries through rather than getting flattened.
The key technique: brew it strong
Oolong is made to be re-steeped, so a single gentle steep will vanish the moment you add milk and ice. The fix is to brew a concentrated base. Either steep the leaf longer and heavier than you would for a plain cup, or pull two short steeps from the same leaf and combine them — the second infusion of a rolled oolong is often the sweetest, and blending the two gives you depth without stewing the leaves into bitterness.
Match the water to the style, just as you would for a plain brew: cooler water (around 85–90°C / 185–194°F) for a green, floral oolong so its aromatics do not scorch, and hotter water (around 95–100°C / 203–212°F) for a roasted, dark one to draw out its toasty depth. For the full brewing method, temperatures, and re-steeping rhythm, see how to brew oolong tea. Two more habits matter: sweeten while the tea is still warm so the sugar dissolves cleanly, and add the milk cold and last so it stays fresh and the drink chills fast.
Ingredients and amounts
This makes about two iced servings. Scale it up or down freely — ratios matter more than exact numbers.
- Water: about 2 cups (480 ml).
- Oolong: about 2–3 tbsp loose-leaf oolong, or 3–4 oolong tea bags — a generous, brew-it-strong measure.
- Sweetener: 2–4 tbsp sugar or simple syrup, to taste (brown sugar or a caramel-like black sugar syrup is lovely with a roasted oolong).
- Milk: about ½–1 cup (120–240 ml) per serving — whole dairy milk for the richest cup, or a barista oat or soy milk, which hold up best against the tea.
- Ice: a generous glassful.
- Optional: cooked tapioca pearls (boba) for an oolong bubble tea.
How to make oolong milk tea, step by step
- Brew the oolong strong. Heat your water to the right temperature for your style, pour it over the leaf or bags, and steep 3–5 minutes for a bold single brew — or steep two short infusions (about 1–2 minutes each) and combine them for a rounder concentrate.
- Sweeten while warm. Strain out the leaves or bags, then stir your sugar or simple syrup into the hot tea until it fully dissolves. Taste and adjust — remember milk and ice will soften the sweetness.
- Cool, then chill. Let the sweetened tea come down to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold. Cooling it first keeps the ice from melting on contact and watering the drink down.
- Fill a glass with ice (and boba, if using). Spoon cooked, still-warm tapioca pearls into the bottom of the glass first, then pack in ice.
- Pour in the tea. Fill the glass most of the way with the cold oolong base, leaving room for milk.
- Top with milk and stir. Add your cold milk to taste — a tea-to-milk ratio of roughly 3:1 to 2:1 is a good starting point — give it a stir, and drink it fresh.
Green vs roasted oolong at a glance
The one choice that changes the drink most is which oolong you use. Both make an excellent cup; they just pull it in different directions.
| Oolong style | Flavour in milk tea | Water temperature | Best milk |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green / floral (e.g. jade Tieguanyin, high-mountain) | Light, perfumed, orchid-and-cream, buttery | ~85–90°C (185–194°F) | Whole dairy or oat, so the florals stay clear |
| Roasted / dark (e.g. Da Hong Pao, roasted Tieguanyin) | Toasty, honeyed, stone-fruit, fuller-bodied | ~95–100°C (203–212°F) | Whole dairy or a splash of cream; barista soy also works |
Storage and make-ahead
The tea base is the make-ahead friend here. Brew a batch of strong, sweetened oolong, cool it, and keep it covered in the fridge for about 2–3 days, then build glasses with milk and ice to order. Add the milk only when you serve — a pre-mixed milk tea does not keep as well as a plain tea base. If you are making an oolong bubble tea, cook the tapioca pearls fresh and use them within a few hours; they turn hard and lose their chew once they sit too long or go into the fridge.
Serving and boba
Oolong milk tea looks best iced in a tall, clear glass, where you can watch the tea and milk marble together before you stir. If you have added pearls, use a wide straw so the boba can travel up it. For the full pearl-cooking method and a complete pearl-to-tea build, follow our boba milk tea guide and simply swap the black tea base for your strong oolong. You can, of course, skip the boba entirely — plenty of people drink oolong milk tea plain over ice, or warm on a cold day.
A quick note on caffeine and safety
Oolong is a true tea, so oolong milk tea does contain caffeine; a stronger, brew-it-strong base carries a little more, while a greener, cooler, shorter steep pulls a bit less. Keep fresh dairy cold and use it promptly, and brew-then-chill your tea rather than leaving warm tea to sit out for hours. Check plant-milk labels if you need a specific option, and note that any biscuit or cookie garnish may contain gluten. Never give honey to infants under 12 months. Caffeine sensitivity and dietary needs vary from person to person — responses vary, and this is not medical advice.