Thai Iced Tea

Learn how to make restaurant-style sweet and creamy Thai iced tea with detailed step-wise pictures!

Making restaurant-style Thai iced tea is not difficult as you think! With the right ingredients, it’s easy to make creamy and delicious Thai iced tea.

You all know that Thai is one of my favorite cuisines and how much I love to develop recipes from scratch. (Make sure to check my vegetarian Thai recipes) Even though I have recipes that use store-bought Thai curry pastes, I have homemade vegan Thai red curry, green curry, and yellow curry paste. Do check them out. But now let’s talk about this tea.

So what’s so special about the Thai tea mix?

I tried to prepare Thai tea mix from scratch but couldn’t replicate it 100% and then went with the store-bought Thai tea mix, and that made a huge difference.

So what makes Thai tea unique? It is a strongly brewed black tea but spiced up with star anise, orange blossom, and the key ingredient tamarind seed powder or crushed tamarind seed. (That’s what I was missing.) Interesting right? 

While there are so many different brands, we love the brand “Number One The Original Thai Iced Tea Mix,” and I have been using it for years. 

Ok, let’s talk about all the ingredients required now.

Ingredients required

Thai tea mix: I highly recommend getting Thai tea mix, and it makes the tea-making process so easy. As I have discussed in the previous section, let’s move on to the other ingredients.

Sweeteners: I used a combination of sugar and condensed milk. Condensed milk makes the tea creamy and rich. You can use either one or opt for sweeteners of your choice.

Milk: I have used evaporated milk for a creamy tea. I always have a can of evaporated milk at home, and I use it for kheer and other recipes like thandai, jigarthanda, etc. But you can use half and half milk or reduced-fat milk.

Coconut milk: This is an optional ingredient, but I love the flavor of coconut milk in this tea. So I use about 1 tbsp for each serving. If you want to keep the tea vegan, you can skip the other milk and use light coconut milk. 

Preparation

Usually, the Thai tea is brewed first and then sweetened, and just before serving, we mix the sweet tea, ice cubes, and milk. You can brew the tea well ahead and add the sweeteners and store it. Just before serving, you can add ice cubes and milk as required. The below measure works well for us. But adjust the measure to your taste. 

Typically they use a cloth strainer to strain the Thai tea to filter the fine particles. But I used a regular tea strainer but strained it twice.

Dietary specifications

I have used dairy-based milk for this recipe, but you can make it vegan. Skip the condensed milk and add vegan sweeteners of your choice. And I would recommend coconut milk or a combination of coconut and almond milk for the vegan version. 

Now without any further ado, let’s see how to make this tea.

How to make Thai iced tea

• In a saucepan, add 2 cups of water and 2 tbsps of Thai tea mix and bring it to a boil.

• When it starts to boil, reduce the heat to low (on a number scale of 2) and let it simmer for 5 minutes. 

• Turn off the heat and strain the tea using a cloth tea bag or strain it twice. Add the sugar and condensed milk. Make sure the sugar dissolves and the condensed milk is incorporated well. Let it cool. 

• To Serve:
• Take two tall glasses, 12 to 16oz ones, and add the crushed ice. (Atleast ½ of the cup). First, add the brewed and sweetened tea equally into both glasses. Then add ¼ cup of evaporated milk equally in both glasses. Finally, top it up with 1 tbsp of coconut milk in each glass. Mix and enjoy!

Recipe Notes

• If you don’t have evaporated milk, use half and half or reduced-fat milk. For the vegan version, use coconut milk or almond coconut milk combination. 
• You can skip the sugar and add more condensed milk and vice versa. Condensed milk and evaporated milk helps in a rich and creamy texture.
• We like strong tea, so I went with 2 tbsp of tea mix. Adjust as per your preference. Also, this measure and the tea brewing time work well for us. But customize the sweetness and milk mix to your taste preference.

Explore other summer beverages

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5 from 3 votes

Thai Iced Tea

Learn how to make restaurant-style sweet and creamy Thai iced tea with detailed step-wise pictures!

Prep Time2 minutes mins

Cook Time10 minutes mins

Cooling Time1 hour hr

Total Time1 hour hr 12 minutes mins

Course: Beverages

Cuisine: Thai

Servings: 2 (serves 2, approx 12.3 oz each)

Calories: 196kcal

Author: Srividhya G

Ingredients

Measurement Details: 1 cup = 240ml; 1 tbsp = 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml;

• ▢ 2 tbsp Thai tea mix
• ▢ 2 cups water
• ▢ 2 tbsp sweet condensed milk
• ▢ 2 tsp sugar
• ▢ ½ cup evaporated milk divided
• ▢ 2 tbsp coconut milk divided
• ▢ crushed or cubed ice as required

Instructions

• In a saucepan, add 2 cups of water and 2 tbsps of Thai tea mix and bring it to a boil.
  
• When it starts to boil, reduce the heat to low (on a number scale of 2) and let it simmer for 5 minutes.
  
• Turn off the heat and strain the tea using a cloth tea bag or strain it twice. Add the sugar and condensed milk. Make sure the sugar dissolves and the condensed milk is incorporated well. Let it cool.
  

To Serve:

• Take two tall glasses, 12 to 16oz ones, and add the crushed ice. (Atleast ½ of the cup). First, add the brewed and sweetened tea equally into both glasses. Then add ¼ cup of evaporated milk equally in both glasses. Finally, top it up with 1 tbsp of coconut milk in each glass. Mix and enjoy!
  

Notes

• If you don’t have evaporated milk, use half and half or reduced-fat milk. For the vegan version, use coconut milk or almond coconut milk combination. 
• You can skip the sugar and add more condensed milk and vice versa. Condensed milk and evaporated milk helps in a rich and creamy texture.
• We like strong tea, so I went with 2 tbsp of tea mix. Adjust as per your preference. Also, this measure and the tea brewing time work well for us. But customize the sweetness and milk mix to your taste preference.

Nutrition

Calories: 196kcal | Carbohydrates: 22g | Protein: 6g | Fat: 10g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Cholesterol: 25mg | Sodium: 108mg | Potassium: 307mg | Sugar: 21g | Vitamin A: 206IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 234mg | Iron: 1mg

I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.

Tried this recipe?Mention @vidhyasvegetariankitchen or tag #vidhyasvegkitchen

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Update Notes: Earlier posted on 2016, now updated with new pics and more details about the ingredients.