The Hong Kong variant uses a stronger blend of tea leaves, which traditionally is brewed using a unique technique that features a stocking-like cotton bag.

Amid the city's mass emigration wave in the early 2020s, this variant of milk tea can now also be found overseas in Hong Kong–style restaurants.

This prompted local diners, like bing sutts and dai pai dongs, to localise the British ingredients and create an affordable variant suited to Hongkongers' palates.

[3][6][7] A dai pai dong–style restaurant called Lan Fong Yuen (蘭芳園) claims that both "silk-stocking" milk tea and yuenyeung were invented in 1952 by its owner, Lum Muk-ho.

A few decades later in the 1960s, the drink became more widely available at cha chaan tengs and thus began to also appeal to office workers, who opted for a less intense tea.

The water is poured at a height of 60 cm (24 in) to apply sufficient pressure to the leaves, which results in an "even taste" and "fragrant aroma".

[3][6] Naturally sweet condensed milk may also be used,[3] giving rise to a variant named cha jau [zh] (茶走).

However, this results in the drink getting gradually diluted as the ice melts, leading to some restaurants preparing their cold milk tea via ice-less methods as a selling point.

Hot milk tea would be poured into a Vitasoy or Coca-Cola glass bottle for cooling, and then sold directly to customers.

[citation needed] Hong Kong–style milk tea may be combined with coffee to make yuenyeung (Chinese: 鴛鴦; Cantonese Yale: Yūnyēung).

During this period, Hongkongers sought to identify local heritage and to construct their own identity, aiming to differentiate themselves from both the British and the mainland Chinese.

[15] With this symbolic status, Hong Kong–style milk tea may be considered by some overseas Hongkongers as comfort amid homesickness, providing a reminder of their childhood and identity.