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Thai Tea Tea: Why Everyone’s Obsessed With This Bold, Creamy Drink

Iced glass of authentic thai tea tea with creamy swirls

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Two easy ways to make the iconic Thai drink at home. You can make it Thai style to try it the way it’s done in Thailand, or make the American style to replicate the tea from your local Thai restaurant.

Ingredients

Scale

Thai Tea Base:

  • ¾ cup Thai tea leaves (buy Thai tea leaves online), see note 1
  • 4 cups hot off-the-boil water
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • ⅛ teaspoon salt

Thai Iced Tea – Thai Style (for 1 glass):

  • ¾ cup Thai tea base, from above
  • 1½ Tablespoons sweetened condensed milk, or to taste
  • A pint glass packed full of ice
  • 23 Tablespoons evaporated milk

Thai Iced Tea – American Style (for 1 glass):

  • ¾ cup Thai tea base
  • 1 Tablespoon sugar, see note 2
  • a pint glass packed full of ice
  • 34 Tablespoons half and half, (~12% cream)

Instructions

For the Thai Tea Base (4 glass):

  1. Pour freshly boiled water over the Thai tea leaves and let them steep for 5 minutes. Strain the mixture using a fine mesh sieve or use a French press to simplify the process.
    Ingredients: ¾ cup Thai tea leaves, 4 cups just-boiled water
  2. Next, mix in the sugar and salt while the tea is still warm, stirring until fully dissolved. Let the mixture cool completely to avoid melting your ice later. Store the cooled tea concentrate in the fridge it will stay fresh for up to two weeks.
    Ingredients: ¼ cup sugar, ⅛ teaspoon salt

For the Thai Style Thai Tea (1 glass):

  1. In a mixing glass, combine the Thai tea base with sweetened condensed milk, stirring until fully blended. If the tea base is cold from the fridge, briefly warm it in the microwave to help the condensed milk mix in smoothly.
    Ingredients: ¾ cup Thai tea base, 1½ tablespoons sweetened condensed milk.
  2. Fill a tall glass to the brim with ice cubes. Pour the tea mixture over the ice, then finish with a generous drizzle of evaporated milk for that classic layered look. Sip and enjoy!
    Ingredients: Ice (fill a pint glass), 2–3 tablespoons evaporated milk.

For the American Style Thai Tea (1 glass):

  1. In a mixing glass, combine the Thai tea base with sugar, adjusting the sweetness to your liking. If the tea is cold, warming it slightly in the microwave will help the sugar dissolve more easily.
    Ingredients: ¾ cup Thai tea base, 1 tablespoon sugar.
  2. Fill a tall glass to the top with ice. Pour the sweetened tea over the ice, then finish it off with a creamy pour of half-and-half. Stir if desired, and enjoy chilled!
    Ingredients: Ice (fill a pint glass), 3–4 tablespoons half-and-half.

Notes

  • If Thai tea leaves aren’t available to you, don’t worry  I’ve shared a creative workaround in the blog post that gives a similar flavor.
  • I purposely keep the base lightly sweetened so everyone can fine-tune the sweetness to their liking. But if you’re prepping it for yourself and know your preferred level, go ahead and sweeten the tea base with ½ cup of sugar (or more), and skip adding extra sugar when assembling each glass.

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