Hong Kong-style milk tea is a tea drink made from Ceylon black tea and milk (usually evaporated milk and condensed milk). It is usually part of lunch in Hong Kong tea culture. Hongkongers consume approximately a total of 900 million glasses/cups per year. Although originating from Hong Kong, it can also be found overseas in restaurants serving Hong Kong cuisine and Hong Kong-style western cuisine. In the show Top Eat 100, which aired on 4 February 2012, Hong Kong-style milk tea was listed as the 4th most popular food/drink in Hong Kong. The unique tea making technique is listed on the representative list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Hong Kong. History Hong Kong-style milk tea originates from British colonial rule over Hong Kong. The British practice of afternoon tea, where black tea is served with milk and sugar, grew popular in Hong Kong. Milk tea is the same except with evaporated or condensed milk substituted for traditional milk. A dai pai dong-style restaurant called Lan Fong Yuen (蘭芳園) claims both silk-stocking milk tea and Yuenyeung were invented in 1952 by its owner Mr. Lam. Its claim for the latter is unverified, but that for the former is on the record in the official minutes of a Legislative Council of Hong Kong meeting from 2007, lending it significant plausibility. It is called "milk tea" () to distinguish it from "Chinese tea" (), which is served plain. Outside of Hong Kong it is referred to as "Hong Kong-style milk tea". It has another name, "silk stocking milk tea" which originates from the appearance of the sackcloth tea leaf filter bag. In the 1950s and 1960s, the main customers of Hong Kong style milk tea were workers and labourers, who thought that the sackcloth looked like pantyhose. Cultural heritage In 2017, the Leisure and Cultural Services Department of Hong Kong declared "Hong Kong-style milk tea making technique" as one of the intangible cultural heritages (ICH) of Hong Kong, under the domain "traditional craftsmanship" as specified by UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the ICH. Preparation Hong Kong-style milk tea is made of a mix of several types of black tea (in the Western sense, often Ceylon tea), possibly pu'er tea, evaporated milk, and sugar, the last of which is added by the customer unless in the case of take-away. The proportion of each tea type is treated as a commercial secret by