Strawberry and Earl Grey tea are a surprisingly delicious combination! Together, they’re incredibly refreshing, with a delicate tartness and fruity flavor that makes it addicting. Pair that with homemade strawberry syrup, and this strawberry Earl Grey milk tea might just blow you away.

You have to try this flavor combination, especially if you want to elevate your Earl Grey game. Luckily, you can easily make it at home with just 5 ingredients in less than 15 minutes.

So, here’s how to make a strawberry Earl Grey milk tea at home!

What is a Strawberry Earl Grey Milk Tea?

A strawberry Earl Grey milk tea is just that! A steeped Earl Grey tea with homemade strawberry syrup and a creamy splash of milk. You can make it with fresh, powdered, or evaporated milk, or substitute it with your favorite vegan milk.

It’s a drink I see pop up around Valentine’s Day for its beautiful pink beige color which is so romantic and soft. You can drink it as is or add your favorite toppings, like boba or grass jelly.

What Does a Strawberry Earl Grey Milk Tea Taste Like?

Strawberry Earl Grey tea tastes citrusy, fruity, and a little tart.

You would think that Earl Grey’s aromatic bergamot would overpower the strawberry, but it doesn’t! The strawberry adds a nice refreshing and juicy flavor to the tea and acts as a supporting flavor rather than taking the show.

With milk, the tea becomes a lot more creamy and would pair well with a splash of vanilla for a softer flavor.

Does Strawberry Go Well With Earl Grey?

Yes! As mentioned, the strawberry complements the Earl Grey tea nicely and it also doesn’t overpower the bergamot. The best description I have is that it tastes like a juicy Earl Grey tea.

Strawberry and Earl Grey are both fragrant and aromatic and together make a very flavorful drink. The tartness from the strawberry cuts some of the bitterness away and makes it nicely balanced and smooth.

I think this combo would be super refreshing on its own on a hot day, and comforting hot on a cold day.

How to Steep Earl Grey Tea

Steeping this tea is easy, especially for milk tea! The secret is that you want to brew a more concentrated tea so the drink is still flavorful after you add milk.

You can either use more tea leaves or brew the tea for longer for more flavor, but I recommend using more leaves as brewing the tea for longer can give you more astringency in your cup.

First, boil your water and make sure it’s not immediately boiling as that could burn your tea. You ideally want to use a teapot or wide mug for brewing so there’s room for the leaves to contact more water contact. But use whatever you have! For every tablespoon of tea you use, use 1/4 cup of water.

Pour your hot water on your tea and let the leaves steep unperturbed for 3-5 minutes. Taste the tea if you’re unsure when to remove the leaves–the tea should become a dark orange color. Remove or strain the leaves and let cool before use.

Tea Bag vs. Looseleaf Tea

You might be wondering which Earl Grey tea to use for this recipe. Well, looseleaf is always better in tea quality, freshness, and taste.

Tea bags usually have low-quality leaves, called tea dust, that don’t have much flavor in them. Plus, the leaves have inconsistent sizes so you most likely will over-brew some of it as the smaller pieces finish brewing first.

However, tea bags are still a great option if you don’t have looseleaf tea and they are convenient since there’s minimal clean-up.

But for the brightest flavor, loose leaf is the way to go (it’s what boba shops use!)

Best Milk to Use

Now, I’m a dairy girl through and through and I will always choose a full-fat milk if possible, but depending on your tastes you may opt for something different!

2% milk is good for a refreshing milk tea taste that is thinner and not as creamy.

To emulate boba shops, use something with more fat, like half and half, or whole milk, or you can even use coffee creamer powder (hack: some tea shops use Coffeemate powdered coffee creamer, isn’t that wild?)

For my lactose or vegan friends, the best vegan milk is oat milk in my opinion, it’s the creamiest option! But you can’t go wrong with other alternative milks, either.

How to Make Strawberry Syrup

This is what will take your Earl Grey milk tea to the next level: homemade strawberry syrup! There are multiple ways you can make strawberry syrup, but the easiest is to macerate fresh strawberries.

Macerate literally means “to cause to become soft or separated into constituent elements by or as if by steeping in fluid”, usually in the context of food. The most common maceration is through making fruit syrup!

I like using macerated strawberry sauce because the chunks give a nice texture and it has a nice, juicy flavor.

To make macerated strawberries, cut your strawberries into small half-inch pieces, then add them and sugar to a sealable container or jar.

Let the mixture sit for an hour or until the juices pull out, then it’s ready to use! For a more traditional method, you can reduce the strawberries with water and sugar until thickened.

How to Make A Strawberry Earl Grey Milk Tea

Here’s what you’ll need to make a strawberry Earl Grey milk tea:

• Strawberry Syrup
  • 1 pound of strawberries (1 box)
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 tsp lemon juice (optional)
• Strawberry Earl Grey Milk Tea
  • 1/2 cup milk
  • 1 cup ice
  • 2 tbsp Earl Grey tea leaves
  • 1/2 cup water

Strawberry Earl Grey Milk Tea Recipe

1. Make Strawberry Syrup. Chop your strawberries into half-inch pieces, then add them to a sealable container or jar. Add sugar and stir to combine. Let the syrup sit for at least an hour or until the juices pull out into the jar before using.
2. Brew Tea. Add your tea to a teapot or mug, then add hot water and brew for 3-5 minutes or until strong in taste. Strain or remove tea leaves after and let cool before use.
3. Assemble Drink. Add ice, strawberry syrup, and brewed Earl Grey tea, then top with milk.
4. Mix and Enjoy!

Other Flavors That Go Well With Earl Grey

Earl Grey is a great tea that goes well with so many other flavors. After you make this strawberry Earl Grey milk tea, try some of these combinations:

• Lavender Earl Grey
• Earl Grey matcha latte (Must TRY!)
• Earl Grey hot chocolate
• London Fog (vanilla + Earl Grey + milk)
• Orange Earl Grey
• Brown sugar Earl Grey milk tea

Tips:

Here are some tips for making a dreamy strawberry Earl Grey milk tea at home!

• Make a Tea Latte: You can make this into a fresh tea latte by making an Earl Grey tea concentrate and adding it to more milk!
• Use Strawberry Milk: You can use store-bought strawberry milk instead of making homemade syrup for convenience. Make a tea concentrate and add it straight to the milk or steep the tea in the milk itself!
• Add Vanilla: A few drops of vanilla would taste so good with this combination…
• Oversteeped Tea?: Oversteep your tea and now it tastes bitter and dry? You can fix it by diluting it with some water or adding a little more sweetener and milk. The sugar and milk will cover it right up.