Spend a day at an Anime Cafe: Part three of four

Though the hushed chatter of a busy anime cafe, with it’s charming staff and tasty desserts, might be a treat most of the time, every once in a while it’s nice to escape to a more exclusive anime location. There are some anime cafes that only a select few know about, and even fewer get the chance to enjoy a tranquil cup of tea in. Perhaps at the top floor of a library in a tower, every wall lined with ancient books (sorry the elevator is only for a certain little girl) or could it be a cafe down a hidden side street that only a little girl, a teacher, and a student seem to know about (a lovely location, if you don’t mind cooking for yourself) maybe it’s in the contemplative parlor of a charming jewel appraiser, in this secret location you find a serine hide-away where time stands still. In the quiet lull of this private anime cafe, you could spend hours sipping rich tea, reading a good book (or manga) calmly watching the world drift by, or perhaps ponder the mysteries of an otherworldly jewel?

Milk Tea – The Case Files of Jeweler Richard

A quick reminder, the anime The Case Files of Jeweler Richard is about Seigi Nakata, a very honest and law abiding college student. One night he stops the mugging of a foreign gentleman and when he finds out that the gentleman (Richard) is a jewel appraiser he asks for more information on a ring his grandmother stole decades ago. During the investigation of his grandmother’s ring, Seigi becomes more interested in gems and the world of jewelry and even becomes an employee of Richard’s jewel appraisal service. Though the duo solve a lot of jewel related mysteries throughout the series, Seigi’s main job function is to bring Richard tasty treats (Richard has a bit of a sweet tooth) and make proper Royal Milk Tea.

I have to admit that the internets and myself have a disagreement on this recipe. So I’ll give you both and you can decide which one to follow.

The Internet’s Recipe for Royal Milk Tea

2 teaspoons Darjeeling loose tea leaves

1 cup water

1 cup whole milk

2 teaspoons gum syrup

In a small sauce pan heat water and tea leaves on medium heat. Once the tea has been steeped and is steaming, slowly add in the milk and syrup. Continue to heat and stir the tea until it is hot and steamy again. Warm the tea cups you will be serving the tea in by pouring boiling water into them, letting them sit for a moment with the hot water, and then pour the water out and the tea in. The tea will need to be poured into the tea cups through a fine strainer to catch all the tiny bits of tea leaves. Serves 2.

My Recipe for Royal Milk Tea (the right way)

2 cups of your favorite milk

1/4 cup sugar (or favorite natural sweetener)

3 tea bags of your favorite tea

First off is the milk. You’ll notice that other recipes call for both water and milk. In my opinion, if you add water to your Royal Milk Tea, it will be watery. RMT is supposed to be rich and flavorful, so why would you water it down? Like in my earlier recipes, you can use what ever milk you like, but avoid using artificial non dairy creamer. You also might want to avoid skim milk too. Skim milk tends to make the tea bland.

Next is the sweetener. Again, you’ll notice that I call for sugar while other recipes call for “gum syrup”. You could make gum syrup, but then you would have to make a recipe, just to make this recipe. In my opinion, why add an extra few steps to this easy recipe when there is a whole world of already made natural sweeteners that are just as good?

Lastly is the tea. Universally, the internets demands that Darjeeling loose leaf tea is needed. I say Poppycock! Black tea bags are a lot more accessible and budget friendly. So just use whatever is your favorite black tea. You could use green tea, but the end result might be a bit sweet, so you’ll have to cut back on the sugar.

To make this tea is super easy! In a small sauce pan, combine ingredients. Make sure you pull the paper tags off the tea bags and tie the strings together before throwing them in the pot. Heat the mixture on medium heat. Stir the tea carefully so you don’t break open the tea bags. Heat and slowly stir until the tea is steamy and hot. There’s no need to strain the tea because it’s not loose! There is also no need to heat the tea cups before serving, because milk is denser then water and the high milk ratio of my recipe will keep the tea hot longer without having to take extra steps. Pour into 2 tea cups and enjoy with a friend and your favorite episode of The Case Files of Jeweler Richard.