Yuenyeung


Yuenyeung, yuanyang, coffee with tea, also commonly known as Kopi Cham in Malaysia is a popular beverage in Hong Kong. Made of a mixture of three parts of coffee and seven parts of Hong Kong-style milk tea, it can be served hot or cold.
It was originally served at dai pai dongs and cha chaan tengs, but is now available in various types of restaurants.
Tea mixed with coffee is also consumed in Ethiopia, where it is known as spreeze.

Etymology

The name Yuenyeung, which refers to mandarin ducks, is a symbol of conjugal love in Chinese culture, as the birds usually appear in pairs and the male and female look very different. This same connotation of a "pair" of two unlike items is used to name this drink.

Origin

There is dispute over whether other coffee-and-tea mixtures have been independently invented in the Western world, with some claiming it originally was a Dutch serving method. Various individuals have combined coffee with tea, sometimes using the name CoffTea or Tea Espress.
A Hong Kong dai pai dong-style restaurant called Lan Fong Yuen claims both Yuenyeung and silk-stocking milk tea were invented in 1952 by its owner, a Mr. Lam. Its claim for the former is unverified, but that for the latter is on the record in the official minutes of a LegCo council meeting from 2007, lending it significant plausability.
The concept was later suggested on the Halfbakery in 2000, and singer Peter André claimed to have invented CoffTea in an interview in 2004. In an interview in 2006, Sandra Blund recommended combining Savarin with chamomile tea in a ratio of 2 to 1 or combining organic Bolivian coffee and White Rose tea in equal parts. Blund claimed to have met a Cistercian nun from Tennessee who began combining the drinks in 1936, about 16 years before Lan Fong Yuen claims to have invented it in Hong Kong.

Adoption

During the summer of 2010, Starbucks stores in Hong Kong and Macau promoted a frappuccino version of the drink. It was sold as the "Yuen Yeung Frappuccino Blended Cream".

Children Yuenyeung

There is a caffeine-free variant of Yuenyueng, called Children Yuenyeung. It is made of Horlicks and Ovaltine, both of which are common in cha chaan tengs in Hong Kong.