Thai Iced Tea

Thai iced tea is a creamy drink with a distinct flavor, loved by many around the world. It’s a must when enjoying a spicy dish like tom kha gai or Thai red curry chicken. This drink is commonly served in Thai restaurants, but we’re going to show you how to make Thai iced tea at home when you want a cool pick-me-up!

What is Thai iced tea?

Thai iced tea is made from strongly brewed Ceylon black tea and is enlivened with spices such as star anise, clove, vanilla bean, crushed tamarind seed, orange blossom and cardamom. It has a deep amber hue, a creamy mouthfeel and vibrant flavor notes. It’s popular in Thailand and the U.S., and you’ll often find it in Thai restaurants, in bubble tea shops or at Asian grocery stores, where it’s sold in a can.

Thai Iced Tea Ingredients

• Black tea: Black tea is traditional for Thai iced tea and pairs the best with anise, cloves and cardamom pods.
• Sugar: Granulated sugar sweetens the Thai iced tea. Feel free to use brown sugar instead, as it creates a deeper caramel-molasses taste that would pair well with the whole spices.
• Whole spices: When making Thai iced tea from scratch—not from a pre-made mix—you’ll need to steep whole spices in the black tea to recreate the traditional Thai iced tea flavor. Anise, cloves and cardamom pods lend a warming, sweet-yet-spicy blend.
• Milk: Use your preferred milk, whether that’s whole, skim, half-and-half, coconut or sweetened condensed milk. Sweetened condensed milk is the most popular.

Directions

Step 1: Prepare the tea base

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Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Reduce the heat to medium, then add the tea bags, granulated sugar, star anise, cloves and cardamom pods. Simmer until the granulated sugar is dissolved, three to four minutes. Remove the saucepan from the heat.

Step 2: Steep the tea and spices

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Allow the tea and spices to steep for one to two hours at room temperature. Strain the tea into a pitcher, and discard the tea bags, star anise, cloves and cardamom pods.

Editor’s Tip: Feel free to steep the spices in a fine mesh strainer to catch any lingering debris or spice pieces.

Step 3: Assemble and serve!

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To serve, fill four glasses with ice, then pour 1 cup of tea into each glass.

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Top each serving with 2 tablespoons of sweetened condensed milk, whole milk, half-and-half cream or coconut milk.

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Recipe Variations

• Make it dairy-free: Just as you might enjoy coffee black, you can choose to enjoy Thai tea on its own without the added creaminess of condensed milk. However, if you’d like to recreate that creaminess of classic Thai tea without the dairy, try using coconut milk for that subtly sweet creaminess. If using oat, almond, soy or other non-dairy milk alternatives, you might want to add a sweetener.
• Adjust the sweetness: Thai tea is typically sweetened with condensed milk. If you want to reel it back, add unsweetened condensed milk or a less-sweet milk like half-and-half cream or whole milk. Then add small amounts of sugar to taste.

How to Store Thai Iced Tea

If you have any leftovers to save, either pour the tea into a jar with a tight-fitting lid or keep the drink in the glass cup, covered with storage wrap. With milk in the tea, the drink can last for up to two more days. If you haven’t yet put the milk in, the tea can last up to five days.

Can you make Thai iced tea ahead of time?

Yes, you can make Thai iced tea ahead of time, but we recommend you only make the tea base ahead of time and wait to add the milk. Make the tea up to four days in advance, allow it to cool, then cover the pitcher with storage wrap and place it in the fridge.

Thai Iced Tea Tips

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Why is my Thai iced tea so bitter?

Your Thai iced tea might have turned out bitter if you let the tea steep longer than recommend. To try and fix this, add a little more ice or milk to water down the drink so it’s less astringent. You could also pour in a bit of simple syrup to sweeten the drink. Just don’t add more granulated sugar to your iced tea; it won’t dissolve well, and the drink will become gritty and grainy.

Why is Thai iced tea orange? Why isn’t this Thai iced tea recipe orange?

Thai tea often gets its distinct orange hue from food dye. Most mixes include yellow dye to balance out the natural red hue of the tea. Then condensed milk gives the tea an opaque orange glow. We don’t use food dye in our Thai iced tea recipe, so your drink won’t have the same orange hue.

What is the difference between Thai iced tea and western iced tea?

Western iced tea is usually only served with sugar and a lemon slice, whereas Thai iced tea is steeped with warming spices and mixed with sweetened condensed milk.