How to Make Thai Iced Tea From Scratch (2024)

• 2 tablespoons loose-leaf black tea

• 1 pod star anise

• 2 podscardamom

• 1/2 cinnamon stick, optional

• 1/8 vanilla bean, optional

• Tamarindpowder, to taste, optional

• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract, optional

• 1 cup boiling water

• 1 tablespoon sugar

• 1 tablespoon sweetened condensed milk

• 2 teaspoons evaporated milk, or coconut milk, or whole milk

1. Gather the ingredients.

   

2. Steep the tea, star anise, cardamom, cinnamon stick, vanilla bean, tamarind powder, and almond extract (if using) in the boiling water for 5 minutes.

   

3. Strain the tea through a fine mesh sieve and discard the tea leaves and spices.

   

4. Stir in the sugar and sweetened condensed milk until both are completely dissolved.

   

5. Fill 2 tall glasses with ice. Pour the tea over the ice, leaving an inch or so of space at the top for the evaporated milk.

   

6. Top up with more ice if needed, and then drizzle with 1 teaspoon of evaporated milk on each glass of tea.

   

   Tips

   • Use strong tea such as Ceylon, Assam, or Keemun. Alternatively, you can use 4 tea bags of strong black tea, or you can make a caffeine-free Thai iced tea with 4 tablespoons ofrooibos tea.
   • You easily can make this recipe vegan by replacing thesweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk with cream of coconut and coconut milk.
   • You can adjust the sweetness of this Thai tea according to your tastes. This recipe is not as sickly sweet as some Thai ice tea mixes, but you can increase or decrease the sugar as desired.

   Recipe Variations

   • If you like this cha yen style of Thai iced tea, you also might enjoycha manao Thai iced tea, which replaces the sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk with lime juice and jasmine essence. It is especially refreshing in summer.
   • And if you're a coffee drinker, be sure to tryThai iced coffee, which has the same spiciness and creaminess with a coffee base instead of tea.

   What is the difference between Thai tea and milk tea?

   Milk tea is a popular drink iced or hot and is traditionally made using black tea. The "milk" can range from sweetened condensed milk to evaporated milk to whole milk to non-dairy milk. Thai tea is a type of milk tea that contains a more specific mixture of black tea, spices, sugar, and evaporated and/or condensed milk.

(Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.)

Recipe Tags:

• Tea
• thai
• spring
• beverage