Hong Kong Style Milk Tea vs Thai Iced Tea (Cha Yen)

Both drinks rely on condensed milk and evaporated milk, but they use them in very different ways. Hong Kong Style Milk Tea begins with a strong five-minute brew of loose black tea, strained through cloth and pulled between pots to aerate it, then enriched with evaporated milk for body and condensed milk for silky sweetness, balancing bitterness against creaminess. Thai Iced Tea steeps a fragrant, vividly orange tea mix, sweetens it with sugar and pours it over a glass packed with ice, where condensed milk sinks and evaporated milk sits on top in layers until stirred.