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EveryCow

Milk drinks

Teh tarik

Strong tea with condensed milk, pulled from cup to cup at arm's length until it wears a cap of froth.

Teh tarik means pulled tea in Malay. Strong black tea is mixed with sweetened condensed milk, then poured back and forth between two cups held far apart. The pulling cools the tea, blends the milk and raises a thick froth. It is the everyday drink of the mamak stalls of Malaysia and Singapore, open late into the night.

What goes in

Strong black tea: 60%60%Condensed milk: 30%30%Evaporated milk: 10%10%3parts
  • Strong black tea660%, Brewed through a cloth strainer.
  • Condensed milk330%, Sweet and thick.
  • Evaporated milk110%, Added by some stalls.

Rough parts by weight. The ring shows each input's share of the product.

Made step by step

Each drawing shows the operation for that step. Quantities and timings differ from house to house and herd to herd; this is one traditional way, in outline.

  1. Step 1: Strain Brew strong tea and strain it through a cloth sock.
  2. Step 2: Serve Stir it into condensed milk in a metal mug.
  3. Step 3: Cook Pour it back and forth between two mugs held far apart until frothy.
  4. Step 4: Serve Serve hot in a glass with its cap of froth.
  5. Strong black tea: 60%60%Condensed milk: 30%30%Evaporated milk: 10%10%
    Finished Teh tarik, by share.

Mamak stalls

Teh tarik is linked to the Indian Muslim community of the Malay peninsula, whose mamak stalls serve it with roti canai and nasi lemak. Tea came from plantations and milk from tins, since fresh milk was scarce in the tropical climate. The drink now belongs to everyone, and pulling competitions draw crowds with long, arcing pours.

Dairy in the tropics

Malaysia has long relied on imported milk, but it also bred its own dairy cow, the Mafriwal, by crossing Friesians with the heat-tolerant Sahiwal. The Mafriwal was bred to cope with heat and humidity that troubled pure Friesians. Local fresh milk goes into some cafés' teh tarik, while most stalls stay with condensed and evaporated milk.

Where it is used

With roti canaiLate-night stallsBreakfast

The breeds behind it

SahiwalCrossed with Friesians to make Malaysia's own dairy cow.Holstein FriesianThe other parent of the Mafriwal.

More on EveryCow

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Sources and further reading

About this page

Original text and drawings by the EveryCow desk, written with AI assistance and checked against the sources above. The shares are a rough, illustrative ratio, not a recipe: every family and dairy makes it differently. If we have something wrong, tell us.

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

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