How to Make Thai Tea (aka “Thai Iced Tea”): A Thai Tea Recipe from Arbor Teas
Thai Tea (also known as Thai Iced Tea) is a popular iced drink hailing from Thailand, commonly found in Thai restaurants across the US. The deep amber color of the tea and its milk-tinted upper layer make this beverage really stand out on your table, and the combination of strongly-brewed tea, dairy and sugar make it a perfect complement to hot weather and spicy food.
Thai Tea is is made from strongly-brewed black tea, often spiced with ingredients such as star anise, crushed tamarind, cardamom, and occasionally others as well (often making this beverage a favorite among masala chai tea fans). This brew is then sweetened with sugar and condensed milk, and served over iced. For the sake of flavor, consistency and visual appeal, glasses of Thai Tea are usually topped with additional dairy, such as evaporated milk, whole milk, half and half, or coconut milk (this last one, of course, is not actually dairy, but you get the picture).
The best thai iced tea starts with a strong infusion of high-quality black tea – I encourage our readers to try our organic Keemun black tea. It’s a classic among East Asian black teas, and works nicely with Thai Tea’s unique combination of flavors. –Jeremy, Arbor Teas co-founder
Sound good? Well, here’s a thai iced tea recipe to help you get started!
Ingredients
- 3/4 C black tea leaves (approximately 3 oz.)
- star anise, ground tamarind, cardamom and/or other spices, to taste (optional)
- 6 C boiling water
- 1/2 C sugar
- 1/2 C sweetened condensed milk
- 1 C evaporated milk (most traditional), whole milk, half and half, or coconut milk
Directions:
- Steep the tea leaves (and any optional spices) in the water for 5 minutes, then remove the tea leaves from the water (either by removing the infuser you’re using, or by straining the water to remove the leaves if loose).
- While the tea is still hot, stir in sugar until dissolved, then stir in condensed milk.
- Allow tea mixture to cool to room temperature or colder.
- Fill tall iced tea glasses with ice, and pour in tea mixture until glasses are roughly 3/4 full.
- Slowly top off glasses with evaporated milk, whole milk or coconut milk, but do not stir (final dairy should remain primarily as its own layer at the top of the glass).
Notes:
It’s important to make the tea very strong, since it is ultimately diluted with milk and ice. Also, you can make a large batch of the sweetened tea in advance and keep it in the refrigerator, then you can just pour it over ice and top it with the evaporated/whole/coconut milk at the time of serving. For a caffeine-free version of this iced treat, try our organic rooibos.
Makes 6 glasses of Thai Tea.
June 30 2009 07:45 pm | Iced Tea and Tea Preparation
Dunrie on 07 Jul 2009 at 7:44 am #
Thanks!
Would I grind the star anise and or cardamom first? Or should I put them in whole? To make homemade chai, I’ve ground them in a “retired” coffee grinder…
-D.
Jeremy on 07 Jul 2009 at 1:16 pm #
I would just bash them a little bit with a mortar and pestle. Grinding them would give you a pretty strong spice flavor, I think. Worth a try, though!
Cynthia Ivison on 26 Dec 2009 at 2:02 pm #
Do you sell the spices necessary to make the THAI Iced Tea, already to mix with the black tea. Or what amount of spice does one need to add to a batch of tea( 6 cups) ?
Timothy Collinson on 02 Jan 2010 at 2:24 am #
A mortar is the best way to kick up the flavor but
you probably will get some of the leftover grounded star anise. Hope it helps!
Restaurant Review: Kaffir Lime in Omotesando — Tokyo Terrace :: An American Foodie in Tokyo on 21 Feb 2010 at 9:43 am #
[...] milk) and sugary syrup. There is a recipe in case you are interested in making this yourself at Sustainabilitea. Thai Iced Tea gets this great orange color when the cream is added. Here is what the process [...]
honychile on 20 Apr 2010 at 5:01 pm #
Does thai tea contain a lot of caffeine?
Aubrey on 21 Apr 2010 at 9:20 am #
Because Thai tea uses a concentrate of black tea, it does contain a fair amount of caffeine. However, the caffeine levels will vary depending on how you make your Thai tea (ie do you use our recipe or a purchased mix). An average cup of black tea contains about 40-60 mg of caffeine, compared to an average cup of coffee which contains 80 -100 mg.
Joanie on 16 May 2010 at 8:53 pm #
One does not need to grind the star anise, it is easier to remove after steeping if it is kept whole. Brew the tea for a longer period of time (Giada deLaurentis suggests 1 hour), to take full advantage of the spice. This recipe is a great one! I highly recommend it..super yum!
Dia on 03 Jun 2010 at 2:05 am #
This looks lovely! I was surprised when a galfriend & I got Thai Iced Tea ‘to go’ & our server put in half & half – I always assumed they used coconut milk (which I would) . . . love the addition of cardamom & star anise, which I keep on hand for making Chai. Making this with rooibos or honeybush (& perhaps a bit of black tea) appeals to me. Thanks for the suggestion
AJ on 13 Jul 2010 at 3:49 pm #
Hello. I just made the “tea mixture” part of the recipe and something doesn’t look right. I put the condensed milk and sugar while the tea was hot, but the mixture turned into a white/beige color. I followed the recipe to the exact measurement. What happened here? I am so confused. Help me!!
Aubrey on 14 Jul 2010 at 11:32 am #
Hmmm, it sounds like you might not have used enough tea or brewed it long enough. I just want to double check, did you use a full 3 ounces of dry tea leaves (this could be more than three quarters cup depending on the density of the tea) and did you brew it for a full five minutes with boiling water? If not, try again and you will get a stronger brew that will retain more of its color when you add the sugar and condensed milk. If you did do all these things, you might need to brew the tea for a longer length of time. Try brewing for 10 minutes and see if that helps. Also, what type of tea are you using?
Annie the Tea Maven on 05 Aug 2010 at 12:28 pm #
I like mine with smoky undertones, so I use lapsang souchong, and then I add in spices. If you like it sweet, add the sugar to the boiling water before steeping your tea…. this is how they do it in Thai restaurants. To get the milk to sit on top it’s a little like making a black & tan- all about the relative temp & densities of the two liquids. You want your iced tea to be really cold and poured over ice, and then add room-temp sweetened milk to the top.
You can also make any tea “decaf” by brewing it as usual for 30 seconds, removing the tea, and then re-brewing with the same bags. Most of the caffeine will leach out and get poured away in the first pot.
@ AJ: thai iced tea is often orange because restaurants use a mix that has food coloring in it. If you’re doing a loose-leaf from scratch version you probably won’t get that same vivid color…. beige is okay as long as it tastes awesome
leah on 26 Aug 2010 at 7:37 pm #
is the condensed milk a must i just got coconut milk could it still work?
Aubrey on 27 Aug 2010 at 9:55 am #
HI Leah! I would recommend using the condensed milk as it adds sweetness and thickness to the drink. The coconut milk will work (and probably make a delicious drink!), but it will result in a very different beverage that will not be as close to the traditional Thai Tea.
chocomania on 09 Sep 2010 at 11:44 am #
actually thai tea as you see in orange because the different of tea, some leaf tea can’t give an orange so that why sometimes you get a white instead but the taste is same.
Anyway, I also like orange in my thai tea because this is the traditional thai tea.