After having some memorably good tea a few times, I became interested in making it at home. I am primarily interested in documenting steps for making cold milk tea as I think it is much more difficult to create a good outcome, but I thought I would document some hot tea as well.
Bubble tea from a tea shop (besides having lots of sugar) usually uses lots of tea to make a very strong drink that can be mixed with ice/milk without losing the overall flavor profile. I have consistently aimed to make my milk teas with less tea and less sugar so that I can have several over a course of a day. I usually like to drink a large cup in one serving (20-24 oz). Given the average tea bag is about 3 grams of tea, I am aiming to make my recipes at about 6-8 grams per 8 oz of water. I believe most bubble tea shops are using at least 1/3 more tea per serving than my goal.
One note - beware of astringency. Milk cuts astringency, as does lower brewing heat, shorter brewing times and using less tea. At one point, one of my recipes was fairly astringent, but I ignored it and drank it quite often. After a while I gained a super power - I could detect even the slightest hints of astringency in any tea. I had to go cold turkey for a few days for my mouth to return to normal. This has happened to me twice now. I even experimented with adding baking soda and other things (like egg shells) to reduce astringency.
I have been doing this for a while, and I usually make one recipe for a while before I change it. Unless an experimental change goes way off the rails, I drink what I make regardless of how much I liked it. Sometimes I have gone weeks/months without making any cold tea. So all in all, it has taken me a really long time to get a decent recipe out there.
Cold Milk Tea Recipe Number Five - This is it. If you want cold milk tea, check this out