Three Layer Tea

I had some leftover palm sugar from making Sagu Gula Melaka so I decided to make a drink of out it - the Three Layer Tea. I had my first try of this Three Layer Tea a couple of years ago when it was commercialised by F&N in West Malaysia. For a while, every restaurant and mamak stall have this drink in their menu. Ever wondered what happened now?

Although esthetically rousing, this drink is nothing for than a teh C peng in palm sugar (iced tea in evaporated milk and palm sugar). Having said that, you might notice a difference between the homemade ones and the ones sold in kopitiam. This is because the kopitiam tea is thicker and darker. So don't fret if you can't get that same appearance with your sachets of Boh or Lipton tea. The good news is, your Boh or Lipton is of better quality than the kopitiam ones, and with less colouring too!

Although it is supposed to be tea, the whole drink leans more towards a palm sugar drink. So if you are a die-hard tea fan, this might not be such a suitable drink. But if you keep your options open, you would enjoy the uniqueness of the palm sugar taste infused into the tea. The evaporated milk blends well with the palm sugar to provide a smooth milky creaminess to the drink. All in all, this drink bears similarity to the local chendol .

Three Layer Tea

makes 2 glasses

Ingredients

2-3 teabags (depending on the size of your teabag)
160 ml boiling water
200 ml evaporate milk
80 ml palm sugar syrup (same recipe used here)
about 2 full glasses ice cubes

Method

1. Steep tea in boiling water, covered, for 15 minutes. Set aside to cool. Tea must be thick and dark.

2. Add 40 ml of palm sugar syrup into each glass.

3. Fill glass to the brim with ice.

4. Gently pour in 100 ml evaporated milk into each glass.

5. Lastly pour in 80 ml of tea on top of evaporated milk. Do it ever so gently so that the milk and tea do not mix too much. Serve immediately.


Note:
Use a tall slender glass for better presentation.