It’s no secret how much I love milk tea. Although Kirin Gogo no Kocha is my favorite, sometimes I enjoy instant milk teas as well, including Nitto’s Royal Milk Tea. On a recent trip to the Japanese market, I picked up Nitto’s Amaou (strawberry) and Peach Royal Milk Teas to try.
I was excited to try them, because I typically love strawberry and peach milk teas. However, if you’ve ever had Japanese strawberry or peach flavored candies, you probably have some idea what these taste like. I found the fruit flavoring to be too sweet and overpowering. Not terrible, but not my favorite. Also, with how artificial they taste, I am disappointed they didn’t go ahead and make the drinks pink!
Note that one packet makes about a half cup serving of tea (about 4 oz). I usually make a full cup, which requires two packets. So I decided to do some experimenting! First I tried the strawberry and peach teas together. I think I may have liked that better than either one individually. The next thing I tried was mixing each flavor with a packet of the regular Royal Milk Tea. It didn’t dilute the flavor as much as I had hoped. That stuff is pretty powerful, I guess. Nitto also makes a matcha instant milk tea. I tried mixing that in, and I think that may have been the best combo. Even though I’m not a big matcha fan, I think the bitterness helped balance the flavor. By the way, there is also a honey flavored milk tea if you’re interested in trying that (I’m not a fan of honey, either).
I usually enjoy instant milk teas hot, but it occurs to me that these flavored milk teas might be a little better cold, with ice. You can also use hot milk instead of water for a creamier flavor. I guess I’ll try that next!