What is Cheese Tea?
When you think of tea, you might associate it with fancy tea cups and scones. When you think of cheese, you might think of pizza or sandwiches. The thought of pairing tea and cheese probably seems really weird then, right? Well, cheese tea is actually much different (and much more delicious) than it sounds. Cheese tea is not, in fact, comprised of shreds of cheddar or mozzarella floating in a cup of tea. Instead, it consists of a layer of decadent, creamy cheese foam that is paired with refreshing, sweet tea underneath.
Jenny Zheng, founder of Little Fluffy Head Cafe, first came across cheese tea during a trip to China. At the time, she was still exploring her life choices and didn’t know which career path she wanted to take. She learned that cheese tea was a relatively new kind of dessert drink that was very popular in boba shops in Asia. It seamlessly balanced the intense, rich, and robust flavor of cheese and the light and subtle taste of tea. The drink reminded her of the harmony of life. Without a second thought, she decided to bring cheese tea back to the states and open her own shop.
Zheng experimented with countless recipe variations of cheese foam to finally arrive at the perfect balance of lightness and richness. Her final cheese cream, "Fluffy Cream,” is hand-whipped first thing in the morning every day to keep the freshness. She uses real whipping cream, locally sourced cheese, and high quality Himalayan pink salt to create the distinct flavor of the Fluffy Cream. Little Fluffy Head Cafe currently offers two flavors: mild white cheddar cheese or cream cheese. Cheddar cheese is on the heavier side, with a more pronounced flavor of cheese, whereas the cream cheese is lighter and sweeter.
Little Fluffy Head Cafe uses the highest quality tea leaves from Asian tea farms to ensure the flavors of the tea and cheese are presented in their purest form. Jenny Zheng, founder of Little Fluffy Head Cafe, went on a trip to China in order to source the finest teas for her boba shop. She met with a tea supplier there and sampled numerous teas until she found the exact flavors she was looking for. She worked with the tea supplier to carefully customize each tea, making small adjustments to perfect the fruity and floral undertones of the green, oolong, and black teas.
Not only is the quality of the tea reflected in the leaves themselves, but also in the special brewing techniques used to prepare the drinks. Little Fluffy Head Cafe brews all of their tea in small batches to ensure freshness. For certain drinks, tea is even brewed for that individual cup when the customer places their order.
There are several methods of drinking cheese tea. Each technique produces a slightly different taste. For instance, you can drink it exactly as it is prepared without stirring it. This method allows the distinct flavors of the cheese and tea to mix together in your mouth. Alternatively, you can stir the drink once most of the tea is gone to mix the cheese cream and remaining tea and achieve a milk-tea-like flavor. At Little Fluffy Head Cafe, each cup of cheese tea is made fresh to achieve the best possible taste. It’s recommended to enjoy the cheese tea within 15 minutes of preparation in order to fully enjoy the flavor of the rich cheese cream.
Cheese tea combines two unique textures and flavor profiles to deliver a satisfying drinking experience to those who are lucky enough to try it. Customers in Asia sometimes line up for over an hour to treat themselves to a cup of this popular new drink, but only time will tell if lines are equally as long in the United States. Little Fluffy Head Cafe is proud to offer a dozen different flavors of “Fluffy Tea” cheese tea drinks at their new Downtown Los Angeles location.
Keep up with the Little Fluffy Head Cafe journey at littlefluffyhead.com. Get your first taste of cheese tea at 203 W 7th St, Los Angeles, CA 90014.
Cheese Tea in the Press
http://blog.foodnetwork.com/fn-dish/2017/06/will-we-all-soon-be-drinking-cheese-tea/
http://www.foxnews.com/food-drink/2017/05/24/is-cheese-tea-next-unicorn-frappe.html
http://nypost.com/2017/05/22/is-this-weird-new-drink-the-next-unicorn-frapp/