Okay, so I’ve been on this huge milk tea kick lately. Like, I need it every afternoon. But I got tired of spending so much money at the cafe, so I decided to figure out how to make the perfect cup at home. The biggest question: which black tea is the best?

I started with what I had on hand – some basic Lipton tea bags. You know, the ones everyone has in their pantry.

• First Try: Lipton– Brewed it strong, added my usual milk and sugar. It was…okay. Drinkable, but nothing special. Kind of weak, even when I used two tea bags.

Next, I hit up the grocery store. Grabbed a box of English Breakfast – seemed like a safe bet, right?

• Second Try: English Breakfast– Definitely an improvement! The flavor was bolder, more robust. It held up to the milk better, didn’t get completely lost. I thought, “We’re getting somewhere!”

But I wasn’t satisfied. I knew there was something better out there. So I went down a rabbit hole online, reading all these forums and blog posts about the “best” black tea for milk tea.

My little experiment continued:

• Third Try: Assam– That’s when, I read about Assam tea. Everyone was raving about its strong, malty flavor. I found some loose leaf Assam at a specialty tea shop. Steeped it for a good five minutes, added my milk and sugar…BAM! This was it. This was the flavor I was looking for. Rich, deep, and it actually tasted like tea, even with all the milk.

• Fourth Try: Ceylon – Then I found that someone was saying Ceylon. I bought a box of it. The taste is a bit different with Assam, it gave the milk tea a slightly brighter, almost citrusy note.

So, after all this trial and error (and a lot of milk tea), I’ve crowned Assam as my personal champion. At the end, I still love Ceylon. It’s all depend on your perference.

If you’re just starting out, English Breakfast is a solid choice. But if you’re ready to level up your milk tea game, I suggest go with Assam.