10. Recreating Franchise & Café Tea Menus
Writer: Tea Sommelier Lim Eun-hye (Brand Manager, TeaGrace)
Editor: ONDA Manager Somora
About the Writer Lim Eun-hye
- Tea Sommelier Institute Gold Course Graduate
- Beverage Menu Consultant (café franchises & independent shops)
- Tea Product Development Consultant
- Milk Tea & Tea Ade Workshop Instructor + Corporate Lecturer
- Online Store Operator, Columnist (blog & MAGAZINE ON)
Photo by Anda Ambrosini on Unsplash
Hello, MAGAZINE ON readers. Tea Sommelier TeaGrace here. We're halfway through 2019 — July already. Time flies. The tea market used to go dormant from sweltering June through September (before Chuseok), but this year feels different. High season, low season — the lines are blurring. Why? Tea ades and iced milk teas.
That's a sign Korea's tea market is maturing. This month, we're spotlighting the summer tea drinks driving that growth — specifically, franchise hits you can recreate. Franchise menus rotate seasonally. New drinks come and go based on customer feedback. So choosing which recipes to feature took some thought. After deliberation, I landed on two black tea variations: Starbucks and Café Jinjeongseong (Café Authentic).
Here's why. First: Café Jinjeongseong's Earl Grey Milk Tea — the drink that sparked Korea's milk tea boom. Second: Starbucks' Black Tea Lemonade — a year-round favorite that doesn't care about seasons.
Let's recreate these franchise black tea variations — the TeaGrace way.
Café Jinjeongseong Earl Grey Milk Tea
Starbucks Black Tea Lemonade
1. Café Jinjeongseong Earl Grey Milk Tea — Recreated
Ingredients
TeaGrace Earl Grey Classic tea bags × 2 (5g), hot water 70mL, sugar 20g, milk 150g, ice
Recipe
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Steep 2 TeaGrace Earl Grey Classic tea bags (5g) in 70mL hot water for 3 minutes.
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Add 20g sugar while steeping. Stir well.
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Add 150g milk. Stir until fully combined.
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Pour over a glass full of ice. Done.
Recipe: Café Jinjeongseong Earl Grey Milk Tea
TeaGrace Earl Grey Classic uses smaller-cut tea leaves than standard loose-leaf. There's a reason. Smaller leaves steep stronger and faster — perfect for double-duty applications like baking, beverages, and milk tea bases (not just pot brewing).
TeaGrace Earl Grey Classic
Online you'll see claims like "smaller leaves = low-quality tea" or "budget tea." Not true. Leaf size is about purpose — not quality. Different cuts serve different functions.
TeaGrace Earl Grey Classic blends Sri Lankan black tea with natural bergamot oil. Bergamot tastes like bright citrus — orange, lemon, lime. Some men find it perfume-y or overwhelming. Most women love the zesty freshness. Either way, it's a mass-appeal tea. And it's caffeinated — great for focus. Black tea has about 1/7th the caffeine of coffee, so the kick takes longer to hit. But it lasts much longer. Keep that in mind.
Small-cut leaves make TeaGrace Earl Grey Classic perfect for both brewing and culinary applications (beverages, baking, milk tea)
2. Starbucks Black Tea Lemonade — Recreated
Ingredients
TeaGrace Gold Breakfast Blend tea bag × 1 (2.5g), lemon syrup 20g, hot water 80mL, plain sparkling water 150mL, ice
Recipe
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Steep 1 TeaGrace Gold Breakfast Blend tea bag (2.5g) in 80mL hot water for 2 minutes.
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Add 20g lemon syrup while steeping. Stir well.
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Add 150mL plain sparkling water. Stir until combined.
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Pour over a glass full of ice. Done.
Try Black Tea Lemonade with TeaGrace Gold Breakfast Blend — a peak-season blend + lemon syrup.
Quick reminder from last issue: Remove the tea bag after 3 minutes. Steep longer and you'll get the most astringent, tongue-shriveling tea of your life. (If you're curious, go ahead and try it. You'll never forget the experience.)
Black tea also fights bad breath. Japan — where female smoking rates rose earlier than in Korea — has long embraced black tea, partly for this reason. Yes, Japan is a tea-producing country with early adoption. But the anti-odor benefit matters, too.
TeaGrace Gold Breakfast Blend combines peak-season teas from Sri Lanka's Ruhuna, Kandy, and Dimbula regions. Perfect for people who find scented teas (like Earl Grey) too intense. Tea is an agricultural product — seasonal harvests taste best. Gold Breakfast Blend selects only peak-season leaves, which is why many tea sommeliers (myself included) love it.
Today we've shared recipes for Starbucks Black Tea Lemonade Fizzio and Café Jinjeongseong Earl Grey Milk Tea — yours to make at home.
Summer heat cranks up stress. When that happens, pause. Coffee or tea — doesn't matter. Just take a break.
That's it for this issue. Thank you.
Series Archive
2018.09 Understanding Tea & Property Differentiation
2018.10 Blended Teas & Why You Should Drink Tea
2019.03 On Break
2019.04 Black Tea Stories (4) – 2
2019.05 Black Tea Stories (4) – 3
2019.07 Black Tea Stories (6)
2019.08~ Green Tea Stories
