Malaysians drink a lot of tea. More than coffee in many homes. But teh doesn't get the same conversational airtime as kopi, partly because there isn't a single "Malaysian tea" the way there's a "Malaysian kopi". Tea here is at least four different drinks depending on who's making it and where you are. Here's what we've gathered.
Teh tarik
The famous one. "Pulled tea." Strong black tea brewed with sweetened condensed milk, then aerated by pouring the liquid back and forth between two long-handled cups from a height of about a foot.
The pulling does two things: it cools the tea slightly, and it builds a foam head that floats on top of the cup. Done well, the foam is thick and stable. The drink underneath is smoother and creamier than you'd expect from just mixing tea and milk.
You'll find teh tarik at mamak stalls everywhere. Quality varies by who's pulling. Beginners often pull from too low (no foam) or too high (a mess). A skilled puller can do it one-handed while looking the other way. Watching is half the experience.
Kopitiam teh (the ordering system)
The kopi vocabulary applies to tea too. If you've read our piece on how to order kopi, this will look familiar:
- Teh: tea (default: with condensed milk and sugar)
- Teh-O: tea, no milk (same "O" modifier as kopi-O)
- Teh-C: tea with evaporated milk
- Teh kosong: no sugar
- Teh peng: iced
Stack as needed. Teh-O peng is iced black tea with sugar. Teh-C kosong is hot tea with evaporated milk, no sugar.
The tea itself is usually a strong black, often Boh or a similar Malaysian-grown leaf, brewed long. It's not subtle. It's built to stand up to milk.
Chinese yum cha tea
Yum cha (literally "drink tea") is a completely different culture of tea. It's the meal-and-tea ritual you'll find at Cantonese dim sum restaurants. The tea is served alongside food, in small porcelain cups, refilled constantly. Common teas:
- Pu-erh: fermented, earthy, deeply traditional with dim sum. Cuts through fatty pork.
- Oolong: semi-oxidized, floral, lighter.
- Chrysanthemum: herbal, sweet, often served chilled in the heat.
- Jasmine green: perfumed, light.
When a yum cha server fills your cup, the unwritten gesture is to tap two fingers next to the cup as a "thank you". The folk story is that a Qing emperor incognito was served tea by a subject who couldn't kneel to thank him in public, and the finger-tap became a substitute bow. Probably apocryphal, definitely charming.
Tamil tea, Indian Malaysian tea
At Indian Malaysian stalls and homes, the tea is often a slightly different beast. Brewed strong, milky, sometimes spiced (cardamom, ginger), poured into glasses. Sweeter than teh tarik usually. Less foam, more density.
Some of the best tea we've had in Klang Valley has been at small Tamil-Malaysian shops where it's not even on a menu. You ask for tea, they bring you tea, it's incredible.
Boh tea (the Malaysian leaf)
Cameron Highlands grows tea. Boh Plantations is the biggest commercial producer; their black tea has been on Malaysian tables since 1929. It's the leaf inside most teh tarik we drink.
Boh black tea is a robust, slightly astringent black that holds its character through milk and sugar. It's not delicate. Used straight (teh-O), it has a strong, slightly bitter profile that some people love and some find heavy. We tend to drink it iced (teh-O peng) on hot days. It works.
If you ever visit Cameron Highlands, the Boh estate visit is worth it for the views alone. The factory tour is a bonus.
Iced tea variations worth knowing
- Teh ais (or teh peng): iced milky tea. The default afternoon drink.
- Teh-O ais limau: iced black tea with lime. Refreshing in heat.
- Teh-C peng: iced tea with evaporated milk and sugar. Smoother.
- Teh tarik ais: yes, iced teh tarik exists. The foam is less impressive iced, but the drink is good.
- Cincau teh: tea with grass jelly. Dark, sweet, slightly herbal.
A note on tea in cocktails
Tea makes a quiet, underused cocktail ingredient. A few applications we've found work:
- Black tea syrup (1:1 strong tea and sugar; great in an old fashioned)
- Earl Grey gin infusion (cold-infuse 4 to 5 hours; classic move)
- Jasmine tea syrup (delicate; pairs beautifully with floral spirits)
- Cold-brewed Boh as a long highball base (with lime and a touch of honey)
One thing we'd add
Most non-Malaysians who visit assume kopi is the national drink. It might be. But tea, in its many local forms, is the everyday companion drink. Worth ordering both on different days and noticing how different they make you feel. From what we've found, teh sits lighter, kopi sits forward.
If you have favourite tea spots in Klang Valley we should know about, tell us. We're always looking.