Thai Iced Tea Recipe (Easy Homemade Thai Tea) - Hungry Huy (2024)

Huy Vu Updated 4/13/21 Jump to Recipe

I almost always NEED to order Thai iced tea when we eat Thai food. If you’ve ever had the chance to try Thai iced tea, you know this orange-colored, sweet concoction is best served cold with lots and lots of ice.

Ordering this refreshing drink goes hand in hand with all the spicy and delicious entrees we order at Thai restaurants. Think about it, what better combination for your scorching Thai basil fried rice, Panang curry, pad see ew, or papaya salad than a cooling sip of milky sweet tea?

Thai Iced Tea Recipe (Easy Homemade Thai Tea) - Hungry Huy (1)

Thai tea origins

Originally a popular street food drink in Thailand, you can now find it at many Thai restaurants or even bubble tea/boba cafes in the US. After questioning many of my Thai friends about their best Thai tea recipes, I was amazed to find out that they actually use tea mix instead of making it from scratch!To learn more about tea, visit my post on green tea vs. black tea.

What’s in Thai iced tea?

In general, Thai iced tea is made up of a tea mix that’s steeped in hot water, then mixed traditionally with sweetened condensed milk and topped with crushed ice. However, you can also use regular white sugar or make your own simple syrup and add a milk of your choosing.

The Thai iced tea mix packets themselves have very limited labels from my experience. All of my test packets list some sort of tea (black, green, or even “tea powder”), maybe sugar, and always some sort of food coloring.

Why is Thai iced tea orange?

Almost all of the tea mixes include yellow food coloring #6–this is where Thai tea gets its famous orange coloring. So if you are hesitant about consuming food coloring in your diet, please note that many (if not all) of these Thai tea mixes include food coloring.

The best Thai tea brands

Thai Iced Tea Recipe (Easy Homemade Thai Tea) - Hungry Huy (2)

After consulting with some of my friends, I found a few types of Thai tea mixed packages online. I tried three popular Thai tea mixes for this recipe:

Pantai Thai Tea Mix was hands down my favorite among the three because of its bold flavor. Since you will be adding ice to this Thai milk tea, you want to make sure your tea is strong enough that it won’t be diluted by the crushed ice.

How to make Thai tea at home

Thai Iced Tea Recipe (Easy Homemade Thai Tea) - Hungry Huy (3)

Brewing the tea mix is as easy as making any other tea at home. In a pot over the stove, add 4 cups of water on medium-high heat. Once the water begins to boil, add the tea mix and stir the tea mix thoroughly.

Allow the tea to boil for 3 minutes. Carefully watch the boiling tea to prevent the water from over boiling and potentially ruining your stove with yellow food dye. After 3 minutes, remove the pot off the heat and let the mixture cool for 20 minutes.

Thai Iced Tea Recipe (Easy Homemade Thai Tea) - Hungry Huy (4)

After 20 minutes, strain the tea over a mesh strainer and a bowl, or a fancy tea sock. Make sure the tea is nice and clean of any tea leaves. Since Thai tea is best served cold, I like to make this recipe ahead of time and leave it to chill in the refrigerator for 2 hours.

Thai Iced Tea Recipe (Easy Homemade Thai Tea) - Hungry Huy (5)

To assemble, fill a glass with lots of ice and add half of the cooled Thai tea into a glass. Mix in your preferred sweetener (we prefer adding three tablespoons of condensed milk to get the right amount of sweetness and authentic flavor, but you are free to use any type of sugar). Now sit and watch the amazing-ness of the orange ombre about to take effect. This is my favorite part!

Thai Iced Tea Recipe (Easy Homemade Thai Tea) - Hungry Huy (6)

The ice will help dilute some of the sweetness so we want a strong and sweet base. Top it off with more ice if you prefer. Enjoy!

Thai Iced Tea Recipe (Easy Homemade Thai Tea) - Hungry Huy (7)

Thai Iced Tea Recipe (Easy Homemade Thai Tea) - Hungry Huy (8)

Thai Iced Tea

5 from 8 votes

A super easy and convenient way to make Thai iced tea with the best brand mix. If you’ve ever had the chance to try Thai iced tea, you know this bright orange, sweet concoction is best served cold with lots and lots of ice.

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BY: Huy Vu

Prep: 5 minutes mins

Cook: 25 minutes mins

Cooling: 2 hours hrs

Total: 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

SERVINGS: 2

Ingredients

  • 4 c filtered water
  • 1 c Pantai Thai tea mix
  • ice crushed if available
  • condensed milk

Instructions

Thai Tea Instructions

  • In a pot over the stove, add 4 cups of water and bring to a boil.

  • Carefully add 1 cup of Pantai Thai Tea mix to the pot and stir thoroughly. Let the tea boil for 3 minutes, watching over the pot religiously in case it over boils (this happens quickly).

  • Remove the pot off the stove and let the mixture steep for 20 minutes.

  • Using a mesh strainer (or tea sock), strain the tea leaves (this should leave with you a little over 2 cups of liquid left).

  • Let the tea chill for at least 2 hours before assembly. I like to make this a day ahead of time and allow the tea to chill in the refrigerator.

Assembly Instructions

  • In two 8 oz glasses, add crushed (much preferred!) ice to each cup and divide the Thai tea liquid into each glass.

  • Add desired amount of condensed milk. I like to start with 2 tbsp of condensed milk and adjust by adding 1 tbsp. (I found that 3 tbsp was the perfect sweetness level to get the authentic Thai tea flavor). Remember, the ice will also help dilute this flavor so we want a strong and sweet base.

  • Top off with more crushed ice and enjoy!

Nutrition Facts (1 serving)

Calories: 40kcal (2%) | Sodium: 23.66mg (1%) | Calcium: 14.2mg (1%)

Nutrition Facts

Thai Iced Tea

Amount per Serving

Calories

40

% Daily Value*

Sodium

23.66

mg

1

%

Calcium

14.2

mg

1

%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Course: Beverage

Cuisine: Thai

Keyword: beverage, tea, Thai

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Thai Iced Tea Recipe (Easy Homemade Thai Tea) - Hungry Huy (9)

Thai Iced Tea Recipe (Easy Homemade Thai Tea) - Hungry Huy (2024)

FAQs

What gives Thai Iced Tea its flavor? ›

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 sweetened condensed milk, and served over ice.

What makes Thai Iced Tea so orange? ›

The iconic orange colour is nothing but orange food colouring. I know...it's not the exotic tea made from secret Thai ingredients that you might have thought. But this is not a gourmet tea, it's supposed to be the cheap and cheerful tea for the average Thai!

What is the difference between Thai Iced Tea and regular iced tea? ›

Thai iced tea is a real treat. While regular iced tea can be somewhat mild, and served with the option of sweetened or unsweetened, Thai iced tea is more concentrated and flavorful. This special drink is infused with star anise and cloves, which add a warm, spiced aroma.

How long should you brew Thai tea? ›

Add the Thai tea mix, water, and sugar to a large pot. Heat until the sugar is completely dissolved, approximately 3-5 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the Thai tea steep for 30 minutes, until it's very dark reddish-orange in color. Use your Thai tea sock filter to strain the tea mix from the tea.

How do you get Thai flavor? ›

The 6 Essential Ingredients That Make Thai Food Taste Amazing
  1. Soy Sauce. Soy sauce has that umami flavor you crave in Asian cuisine. ...
  2. Chilies. Chilies add spice to Thai dishes and come in a few different forms. ...
  3. Jasmine Rice. Jasmine rice is a type of rice that is long-grain and aromatic. ...
  4. Coconut Milk. ...
  5. Curry Paste. ...
  6. Palm Sugar.
Nov 24, 2021

Is Thai tea high in caffeine? ›

Thai tea has a medium amount of caffeine. A typical Thai tea made with black tea will contain 47 mg of caffeine per serving (if it's made with 8oz of black tea). Decaf Thai tea and other tea types can be used instead, however, which will alter the caffeine levels.

Is Thai tea healthy? ›

Like many forms of herbal tea, Thai tea is rich in antioxidants that can help you maintain a healthy immune system. Studies have shown that Thai tea has similar levels of antioxidants as green tea and other herbal teas popularized specifically for their anti-inflammatory benefits.

How to make tea from scratch? ›

When making herbal tea, use two to three teaspoonfuls of fresh or dried herbs for one cup of water. Bring the water to a boil and allow the herbs to steep for 10 to 15 minutes and then strain the herbs out of the tea before serving. Use a tea strainer or tea ball to contain the herbs if desired.

Why is my Thai tea bitter? ›

Causes for Bitter Tea:

Steeped too long: Be sure to follow steeping instructions for your tea. If you leave your first infusion in too long, it can become very bitter. Water too hot: Each tea needs a certain temperature water. In general, no teas should be prepared with water at a rolling boil.

Is there any downside to Thai tea? ›

Thai tea contains considerable amounts of added sugar — about six teaspoons — which may be harmful to your health if consumed regularly.

Does Thai tea have turmeric? ›

In addition to the tea itself, you add whole spices like star anise, cloves, cardamom, and cinnamon for extra complexity, as well as vanilla for creaminess and optionally, turmeric for a little added color.

Do you stir Thai iced tea? ›

The brewed tea is poured into the glass, then sweetened condensed milk, then Ice. That's it stir and drink! If you mean the 2 layers means the milk at the bottom, of course you should mix them. All traditional teas and coffees with milk served in South East Asia started by the Chinese are done this way.

Why is my Thai tea weak? ›

If your tea tastes too weak, make it stronger by adding 1 to 2 tablespoons more tea mix to each cup of boiling water. It's easier to weaken strong tea than to make weak tea stronger later - so add less water during steeping and if the resulting tea tastes too strong, add water to dilute to the strength you desire.

Does brewed Thai tea go bad? ›

Just be sure to store it properly so that it doesn't go bad. Always keep in mind that brewed tea is best when enjoyed within five days of being brewed. After that, it will start to lose flavor and develop a sour taste.

Can you reuse Thai tea leaves? ›

The short answer is YES, you can reuse tea leaves, especially loose leaf tea! Reuse, in tea's context, is re-steep. Resteeping tea leaves is a common practice in China. By using the gaiwan with gong fu approach of brewing tea (the one with gaiwan!), teas can be steeped multiple times — from 6 to 8 times, or even more.

Why is Thai tea so delicious? ›

Thai tea is cooked with condensed milk, heavy in milk solid and sugar. Therefore it has rich caramelized notes, sweet and high sugar.

What is the difference between Thai iced tea and Thai iced coffee? ›

The Thai Iced Tea is brewed from organic Assam tea that is naturally grown and sourced from northern Thailand, while the Thai Iced Coffee is prepared in the traditional Oliang style, meaning it's prepared from a mixture of coffee, sweetener (monk fruit in this case), and various grains and seeds like cardamom, corn, ...

What is the flavor Taro? ›

What does taro root taste like? Taro root has a light, slightly sweet, and nutty flavor that goes well with the milk, sugar, and black tea used to make milk tea. The taste is comparable to sweet potato but with a lighter flavor profile and subtle vanilla undertones.

Why is Thai tea so fragrant? ›

Star anise powder, orange blossom water, crushed tamarind seed, cinnamon, vanilla and rose tea leaves are some of the ingredients that give Thai black tea its unique aroma and flavor.

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