Cheese foam: what it is and how to make it

The short answer

Cheese foam is a salty-sweet whipped topping that floats as a thick, creamy cap on top of a cold drink. Poured over tea, it makes what tea shops call cheese tea. With a foam powder, a café makes it by whisking the powder with a little hot water and pouring it gently over the cup.

What cheese foam is

Cheese tea began in Taiwanese tea shops and spread across Asia. The drink is a cold tea with a layer of cheese foam on top. You sip the tea through the foam, so each mouthful is part cool tea and part rich, salty-sweet cream. In a café kitchen the foam is often whipped from cream cheese, cream and milk. A foam powder gives the same kind of cap with only hot water and a whisk.

Our cheese foam toppings are crema powders made with real cheese powder and milk. The ingredient list of our Classic Cheese Foam Topping includes cheese powder, whey protein concentrate, milk powder and pink salt. Our cheese foam powder contains cheese powder and milk derivatives, so it is not dairy-free. It is processed in a facility that also handles milk solids, nuts and soy. The flavoured versions also contain cheese powder, with permitted flavour for the chocolate, caramel, coffee or vanilla taste.

How to make cheese foam

This is the method printed for our Classic Cheese Foam Topping:

1. Whisk the crema. Dissolve 10–12 g of foam powder in 30–40 ml of hot water at 80–90°C.
2. Froth it smooth. Whisk or froth until smooth, creamy and thick enough to hold a stable foam.
3. Pour the cap. Pour gently over the cold drink so the foam floats on top.
4. Adjust to taste. Use more powder for a richer crema and less for a lighter foam cap.

In short, whisk 10–12 g of foam powder into 30–40 ml of hot water until thick, then pour it gently over a cold drink so it floats. Pour slowly over the back of a spoon so the foam sits on the drink and does not sink. No special equipment is needed. Hot water, a whisk and a gentle pour are enough.

Cheese foam powder price in India

Our cheese foam toppings are ₹899 for a 1 KG pouch (MRP, including GST). Businesses buying by the case of 12 pouches get 10% off MRP with a GSTIN, and orders of ₹19,999 and above get 20% off with free ground shipping within India. A case can mix flavours. They ship across India from Hyderabad within 7 days.

What a café charges for a cup of cheese tea depends on its tea, cup size and toppings, so menu prices vary from shop to shop.

Cheese foam flavours

We make cheese foam in Classic, Thick Chocolate, Salted Caramel, Coffee and Vanilla Cream. The product pages describe them like this:

• Classic. The original salty-sweet cheese crema cap for milk teas and cold brews.
• Thick Chocolate. Cocoa-rich, glossy chocolate crema for mochas and chocolate milk teas.
• Salted Caramel. Buttery salted-caramel foam with a sweet-salty edge.
• Coffee. Aromatic coffee crema, made for cold brews and iced lattes.
• Vanilla Cream. Soft, aromatic vanilla-cream foam for any cold drink.

Ways to serve it

• Cheese foam milk tea. A classic crema over cold milk tea, the drink that built the trend.
• Fruit tea with cheese foam. A classic or vanilla crema over a tart fruit tea.
• Cold brew and iced lattes. A coffee or salted caramel crema over cold coffee.
• Bubble tea and desserts. Tapioca pearls or popping boba at the bottom and the foam on top. For dessert cups, see our boba desserts guide. New to the drink? Read what bubble tea is.

Buying cheese foam powder

Our cheese foam toppings come in 1 KG pouches, 12 to a case, made at our FSSC 22000 certified plant in Hyderabad. Our cheese foam toppings are vegetarian and Halal. They keep 12 months sealed. Store them in a cool, dry place away from direct sunlight, and reseal tightly after opening to keep the powder dry. For retail there is no minimum, so you can order a single pouch.