Going Dutch: why taste of Hong Kong-style milk tea is Black and White

Black and White brand of full-cream evaporated milk was created for the Hong Kong market in the 1940s and has been a favourite ever since

A single canned ingredient imported from the Netherlands has quietly fuelled Hong Kong’s daily hustle for the past 85 years, evolving from a simple dairy product into the soul of local diner culture.

For decades, the Black and White brand of full-cream evaporated milk has been a crucial element in Hong Kong-style milk tea culture and craftsmanship, giving this popular drink in the city’s cha chaan teng – local cafes – its signature fragrance, thickness and smoothness.

“Everything starts from a cup of Hong Kong-style milk tea,” said Jayden Looi Ji-houng, consumer dairy commercial director at FrieslandCampina Hong Kong, whose parent company in the Netherlands created the brand exclusively for the local market back in the 1940s.

“Our vision is to position Black and White as the ‘true taste of Hong Kong experience’ and to play the role of promoting food culture in a wider range instead of just milk tea,” Looi said, noting that the product was also essential for making red bean ice, egg tarts and baked buns.

The distinctive white-and-red cans, featuring an illustration of a Dutch Friesian cow, are a ubiquitous sight stacked at local diners, a visual testament to a cross-continental identity that Looi described as “owned by the Dutch, born in Hong Kong”.