Cheese Tea or cheese foam with boba is a sweet and savoury drink. The topping for cheese tea known as cheese foam is well-liked in Asian nations and is spreading across the globe.
If you can’t find it locally, you can make this delicious topping at home with ease. Here are what it is and the ingredients and steps.
What is Cheese Foam Made Of?
Cream cheese, whipping cream, milk, salt, and sugar go into the making of cheese foam, also known as cheese mousse.
There are variations, though, just like with any recipe. Some people use powdered cheese, others sour cream, others evaporated milk and condensed milk, as examples.
Calories
While a serving of boba drink has about 300 calories, a serving of this decadent cheese foam topping only adds about 160. Consequently, each serving of the cheese tea beverage contains about 460 calories.
Taste
A lovely, energizing flavor characterizes cheese tea. Most frequently made with black, green, or oolong tea, bubble tea typically has the foam on top. However, the foam will be sweet. The flavor of the tea will vary depending on the leaves you use. Additionally, it shares a flavor profile with cheesecake.
Simply by hearing the name, one can infer that the beverage will taste cheesy. It has a savoury undertone despite being primarily sweet.
Ingredients
This trendy drink only requires a few ingredients, the majority of which can be found at your neighborhood grocery store.
Traditional Ingredients
- Cream cheese: It has a very mild flavor and a soft texture. It is crucial to the texture of the foam and provides the cheese notes.
- Whipping cream: Whipping cream is frequently used by chefs as a liquid cream in baking recipes. It maintains its form when whipped, which makes it ideal for adding fluff to baked goods. It is important to the texture of cheese tea foam. You can make your own whipping cream with butter and milk if you’re out.
- Milk: The most popular milk to use in baking is whole milk. But you can use any milk you have on hand. The flavor will change if you use milk substitutes like almond or oat.
- Salt: Use your preferred salt because it is only there for taste in this recipe.
- Sugar: Use regular sugar, not powdered, at all costs. The foam’s consistency will change when powdered sugar is added.
Common Substitute Ingredients
- Evaporated milk: A lot of the water has been removed from milk to produce evaporated milk, which is what some recipes call for. If you don’t like the flavor of whipped cream, this is a great substitute.
- Condensed milk: Similar to evaporated milk, condensed milk also contains added sugar. You don’t have to use sugar when using condensed milk. A different recipe must be used when using evaporated and condensed milk.
- Sour cream: Instead of using cream cheese, you can substitute sour cream, which is fermented cream. Keep in mind that the flavor will change.
- Powdered cheese: The mousse can be made without cream cheese, despite the fact that it is occasionally referred to as cream cheese foam. In reality, the original recipes, which were created at Taiwanese night market stands, use a powdered form. The best white powder is made from a mild variety, like cheddar. This product might not be available at your neighborhood grocery store, but you can order it online. Type “cheese foam powder” or “cheese tea powder” into the search bar to find it online.’
Ingredients for My Recipe
- 2 oz cream cheese
- 3 tablespoon whipping cream
- 2 tablespoon milk
- 1 tablespoon sugar
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- In a medium bowl, stir the cream cheese, milk, and sugar until well combined.
- Whip the cream until medium peaks form in a different bowl.
- Whip the cream and cream cheese mixture together until foamy and well-combined.
- Taste and add salt as needed.
Make It VEGAN
However, there is a straightforward way to convert the rich mousse to veganism. You can make a delicious mousse that adheres to your dietary needs with only a few minor adjustments.
Dairy products include whipping cream, milk, and cream cheese. Therefore, each of these ingredients needs to be switched. For each, substitutes or plant-based options are available.
- Cream cheese: You can buy silken tofu or make your own. Making vegan cream cheese at home is simple.
- Whipping cream: There are a few alternatives to whipping cream. Use soy milk and olive oil or coconut milk.
- Milk: You can use any vegan milk you like. To avoid a significant change in flavor, make sure it is unsweetened.
Make vegan cheese tea by substituting dairy ingredients if you’re using a different recipe.
- Evaporated milk: Some grocery stores offer options for evaporated milk made from plants. But you can also create your own at home.
- Condensed milk: You can use plant-based evaporated milk and sugar to make your own vegan condensed milk or buy it already made.
- Powdered cheese: Online retailers offer a wide variety of vegan powdered cheese options.
Cooking Tips
To have the best Chinese cheese tea possible, follow these tips for both tea and foam:
Tea Tips
Your base drink must be just as delicious as your foam for this beverage to be at its most delicious.
- Use fresh water: Tea should be steeped in freshwater. The difference in flavor will be significant.
- Use the correct temperature: By leaf type, water temperature varies. When steeping your leaves, be sure to use the appropriate temperature.
- Use correct measurements: A stronger brew results from using more tea leaves. Use more leaves if you prefer a sturdy base. Use fewer ingredients if you prefer a milder flavor.
Foam Tips
Making foam can be daunting, but with the right tips, it’s effortless.
- Don’t over whip: Be careful not to overwhip the cream. Stop making cream once medium peaks have formed. Overwhipping can result in stiff peaks, which will significantly alter the foam’s texture.
- Don’t overmix: The effects of overwhipping and overmixing are similar. If you want to know how the foam should appear at each stage, carefully follow the recipe. You can avoid overmixing by doing this.
- Use the correct tools: It can be a laborious process to make foam, especially if you’re not used to whipping and whisking. Use a stand mixer to whisk and beat for convenience. The procedure will go much more quickly and easily if you use a stand mixer. Additionally, whip using a hand mixer or frother. You can exert a lot of control while preventing arm fatigue by using a hand-held tool.
How to Enjoy
Both making and drinking cheese tea are simple processes. The tasty, adaptable foam can be used to create many different beverages, including cheese tea boba. For instance, you can add it to your tea to create a creamy, rich beverage. Alternatively, you could just leave it atop your main beverage and savor the frothy texture while sipping.
The rich beverage can be consumed alone or with a variety of sweets. It tastes good when paired with a sweet bun, croissant, or even shortbread. However, to be completely honest, we believe that any pastry you enjoy having with tea is the ideal match for tea with a mousse topping!
How to Store
You can make cheese foam in advance and use it later. Make a big batch and keep it in the fridge in an airtight container. The duration is up to five days. However, fresh food will taste best.
If you do decide to prepare a large quantity, do so in stages. This is so that the texture wouldn’t change if the recipe was doubled or tripled. For a larger batch, it is therefore best to adhere to the recipe exactly and repeat the process.
Variations
The rich, sweet mousse can be consumed in a variety of ways. Here are some of our favourite ways to elevate this delicious foam:
- Add flavouring: Tea can be made even better with the addition of your preferred syrup. It can have a deeper flavor when combined with a sweet substance like caramel or a fruity syrup like mango or berries.
- Use it on coffee: It’s not just tea that the dense mousse can be placed on. Try the frothy delight of cheese foam coffee for a completely new experience.
- Switch up the salt: You can test out new concepts in the kitchen. Use a variety of salts to make your foam. To try it will always be exciting because it will slightly alter the flavor.
- Put it on different tea flavours: Several different teas taste great with the mousse. Try different leaf types to experience various flavors. We recommend giving homemade bubble tea, honeydew milk tea, or jasmine green milk tea a try.
