You can make it decadent or elegant. Low-cal or super-rich. Sweet or savory. Any way you whip it, cheese tea is delicious. 
Consumers in China, Japan and other Asian nations have been enjoying this frothy, fun drink for years — even waiting hours in line just to try it. Back in 2017, The Washington Post was calling it “the latest Instagram-worthy food trend.” While cheese tea hasn’t quite hit the mainstream in the United States, more tea shops are beginning to offer it. Let’s take a closer look at the cheese-tea trend.
What is cheese tea, anyway?
Brew and chill green or black tea. Top it with a layer of light, foamy milk and cream cheese. Sprinkle it with salt. Voilá: That’s cheese tea.
Of course, there are hundreds of unique twists on cheese tea. Its original incarnation, in the street stalls of Taiwan, used powdered cheese, whipping cream and milk. Then, tea shops in China and elsewhere upgraded the drink with real cream cheese.
Some cafés give it a healthful glow with matcha or smashed fresh fruit; others turn it into a rich dessert with whipped cream and flavors of tiramisu or hazelnut. It can be made vegan with coconut or other non-dairy milks. Some customers even ask for a triple layer of topping, making their drink more cheese than tea.
Why has cheese tea become so popular?
- The novelty factor. We know that the Instagram crowd is always looking for something fresh, fun and visually appealing (like the Unicorn Frappuccino and other limited-time-offerings). The layered look of cheese tea, along with its penchant for leaving the drinker with a white mustache, checks all the boxes.
- The scarcity factor. Cheese tea is typically made to order, sometimes requiring up to five minutes for the more complicated concoctions. This can result in long wait times — which, so far, have only served to heighten demand.
- It tastes good. Who knew that cream cheese and tea partner as perfectly as chocolate and coffee? “The cheese neutralizes the bitterness of the tea with its smooth and sweet flavor, and as you drink it you taste the returning sweetness of the tea,” explains Xiao Shuqin, publicist for Chinese chain HEYTEA.
Should you add cheese tea to the menu?
Cheese tea isn’t for everyone. To determine if it’ll succeed on your menu, analyze your customer base. Are they young? Here in Richmond, Va. (where Hamilton Beach Commercial is headquartered), we see cheese tea popping up at tea shops near Virginia Commonwealth University, a large, urban school. Trend-seeking college students are the perfect audience.
Also: Are your customers health-conscious? Cheese tea tastes like an indulgent treat, but it’s actually pretty sinless. The tea itself is calorie-free (excluding any added sugar or milk). A basic cream cheese topping adds only about 74 calories and four grams of saturated fat, according to Well+Good.
If you think your customers will love the flavor but balk at the name, you could describe it as “tea with a milk cap,” “tea with cheese mousse,” even “tea with a cheesecake topping” — whatever you think will resonate. Los Angeles’ Little Fluffy Head Café calls it “fluffy tea.”
From a restaurant operator’s perspective, there are some unique challenges associated with adding cheese tea as a menu offering. The big one is getting the texture of the cheese topping exactly right. It needs to be whipped and aerated so that it tastes light and frothy, with no unmixed globs of cheese. Some tea shops use a hand mixer to prep the topping in batches, but this method is labor-intensive and can be imprecise.
Here’s a cost-effective and efficient solution: the new AirWhip frothing jar from Hamilton Beach Commercial. Compatible with Quantum® and Eclipse™ high-performance blenders, the AirWhip has a unique, cone-shaped agitator that allows the operator to rapidly whip, froth, aerate and emulsify without moving to a separate piece of equipment. Not only can it make the perfect cheese-tea topping, but the AirWhip can froth skim milk into cold foam topping in less than 20 seconds.
Maybe now’s the time to put cheese tea on the menu! Or, you could skip ahead to the next hot trend: cheese coffee.
See all of Hamilton Beach Commercial’s innovative products for coffee and tea shops.
