When people in the West think about Thai coffee, most of the time they are thinking about one thing: Thai iced coffee. Sweet, milky, dark iced coffee that is served in many Thai restaurants. But in Thailand people actually drink Thai coffee in 5 different ways, and in this post I'll go through them all and introduce you to the other 4, and maybe you'll find something you like even better!
Jump to:
- Watch The Full Video Tutorial!
- What is Thai Coffee Exactly?
- Do Thai People Drink "Regular" Coffee?
- How to Brew Thai Coffee
- 1. Thai Iced Coffee - Gafae Yen
- 2. Thai Hot Coffee - Gafae Ron
- 3. Thai Black Hot Coffee - O Yua
- 4. Thai Black Iced Coffee - O liang
- 5. Thai Iced Coffee with Milk - Oliang Yok Law
- Thai Coffee 5 Ways
Watch The Full Video Tutorial!
The best way to learn about all of these coffees is to see them all in action, so watch this video below! Note that the video includes only the 4 lesser-known coffees, check out this post for the classic Thai iced coffee tutorial and how to brew the coffee.
What is Thai Coffee Exactly?
What makes Thai coffee taste unique is that the coffee is not actually pure coffee. Yes, that dark, chocolatey flavour comes from other roasted ingredients. I've seen corn and soybeans as added ingredients, but I've heard that tamarind seeds used to also be added.
It probably started out as a way to cut cost, but then it became the reason for its unique flavour. Beyond that, Thai coffee is extra dark roasted (that's euphemism for burnt), which is why we never drink Thai coffee without sugar because ...that would not be very good.
In theory you can use other dark roast coffee beans to make any of the Thai coffee recipes below, and you may end up with "better" coffee, but to get the authentic taste, you should visit your Asian grocery store and get that adulterated burnt Thai coffee mix! (I sound sarcastic, but I am serious!)
Do Thai People Drink "Regular" Coffee?
Yes! Nowadays Western coffee culture in Thailand is booming and you can find Starbucks everywhere, along with hundreds of hipster cafes serving all the fancy lattes and macchiatos.
The "Thai coffee" we're talking about in this post refers to the traditional coffee that we drank before Western coffee culture took off. In Thailand, this coffee is now called gafae boran, which means something along the lines of "vintage coffee." You can find gafae boran sold by street carts and old school coffee houses in older parts of town.
How to Brew Thai Coffee
You need to brew a basic Thai coffee to make all of the different coffees below. Brewing Thai coffee isn't complicated. You do not need to be a barista to make a good brew, because as I mentioned, this isn't fancy coffee!
You simply need to steep the coffee mix in hot-off-the-boil water for 4-5 minutes. The ratio I use is 3 tablespoons of Thai coffee beans and 180 ml (¾ cup) of hot water.
You can brew it in a French press, or brew it in any cup and then strain out the beans through a coffee filter. In Thailand we use a cloth filter, but it is not necessary to make authentic Thai coffee.
For a video tutorial on brewing Thai coffee, see my post for Thai Iced Coffee.
1. Thai Iced Coffee - Gafae Yen
This Thai iced coffee is the most common way Thai people drink coffee, because Thai people love sweet creamy things, and it's always hot in Thailand so iced drinks are king. (Gafae means coffee, and yen means cold)
BUT the Thai iced coffee that your restaurant serves may not be this one! Many restaurants actually serve coffee #5 on this list, oliang yok law, because it's simpler to make. But if you're looking for the way it's done in Thailand, this is it.
Here's what you need (amounts are in the recipe card below)
- Brewed Thai coffee
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Evaporated milk
- Sugar
- A pinch of salt
- A lot of ice to completely fill the serving glass
How to Make Thai Iced Coffee:
Brew the coffee (instructions in the recipe card below), then add sweetened condensed milk, sugar and salt; stir to dissolve. Pour it over ice and drizzle with evaporated milk on top.
2. Thai Hot Coffee - Gafae Ron
Gafae ron is basically the hot version of the iced coffee above (ron means hot, and yen means cold). But apart from the fact that there's no ice, there's a slight difference in how you serve it.
Here's what you'll need (amounts are in the recipe card below)
- Brewed Thai coffee
- Sugar
- A pinch of salt
- Condensed milk
How to Make Thai Hot Coffee:
Start with the basic brewed hot coffee and add the sugar and salt and stir to dissolve. Add the condensed milk and let it sit at the bottom for the classic layered black-and-white presentation. Serve it like this and let your guest do the fun job of stirring!
3. Thai Black Hot Coffee - O Yua
O Yua is not as popular amongst the younger generation but it's quite popular with my dad's generation. O yua meang "black hot" in Chinese Teochew dialect, which is the dominant dialect amongst the Chinese Thai population. So this tells you a bit about where this coffee came from :).
Here's what you need (amounts are in the recipe card below)
- Brewed Thai coffee
- Sugar
- A pinch of salt
How to Make Thai Hot Black Coffee:
Simply mix and serve! You may notice that even though it's "black" we still add sugar. In Thailand, all coffee is sweetened no matter how you order it, because as mentioned, Thai coffee beans aren't the pure gourmet stuff and you really need the sugar to make it palatable.
The salt is optional, as in all the other coffees, but in this case the coffee is the strongest and I find the salt helps mellow out the bitterness.
4. Thai Black Iced Coffee - O liang
Oliang is perhaps the second most popular coffee in Thailand, especially for people who are lactose intolerant or who don't like milky drinks. O liang means "black cold" in Teochew Chinese, and it's simply the iced version of O yua.
Here's what you need (amounts are in the recipe card below)
- Brewed Thai coffee
- Sugar
- A pinch of salt
- A lot of ice to completely fill the serving glass
How to Make Thai Black Iced Coffee:
Mix the coffee, sugar and salt and stir to dissolve. Pack a serving glass with ice and pour the coffee over it. Enjoy!
5. Thai Iced Coffee with Milk - Oliang Yok Law
O liang is black iced coffee, and yok law means doing a wheelie...yes, like on a bike. I have no idea what is the reason behind this strange name, but it's basically it's o liang with milk (o liang on a wheelie?).
This is what many Thai restaurants in N. America serves as their "Thai iced coffee" because it's simpler to not have t condensed milk.
Here's what you'll need (amounts are in the recipe card below)
- Brewed Thai coffee
- Sugar
- A pinch of salt
- A lot of ice to completely fill the serving glass
- Evaporated milk (in N. American Thai restaurants they would use half and half)
How to Make Thai Iced Coffee with Milk:
Combine the coffee, sugar and salt and stir to dissolve. Fill the glass wth ice, then pour the coffee over it. Drizzle the evaporated milk on top for that cascade effect. Stir before drinking.
Recipe Card
Print
Thai Coffee 5 Ways
- Prep Time: 5 mins
- Cook Time: 3 mins
- Total Time: 8 minutes
- Yield: 1 serving
- Category: Drink
Description
Here's all the ways Thai people drink Thai coffee that you didn't know about before. Hot, iced, black, milky, there is something for everyone!
Ingredients
IMPORTANT: All measurements of sugar and condensed milk are just suggestions, so feel free to adjust them to suit your preference. You can also replace the sugar with another sweetener of your choice.
Basic Brewed Thai Coffee
- 3 Tbsp Thai coffee mix
- 180 ml (¾ cup) hot off the boil water
Thai Iced Coffee: Gafae Yen
- 5.5 oz (160 ml) brewed Thai coffee (from above recipe, it's okay if you end up with a little more or less)
- 2 Tbsp (30 ml) sweetened condensed milk
- 2 tsp (10 ml) sugar, or to taste
- Pinch of salt
- Enough ice to fill a 16-0z (480 ml) glass
- 2-3 (30-45 ml) evaporated milk
Thai Hot Coffee: Gafae Ron
- 5.5 oz (160 ml) brewed Thai coffee (from above recipe, it's okay if you end up with a little more or less)
- 2 tsp (10 ml) sugar, or to taste
- Pinch of salt
- 1-2 tablespoon (15-30 ml) condensed milk, to taste
Thai Hot Black Coffee: O-Yua
- 5.5 oz (160 ml) brewed Thai coffee (from above recipe, it's okay if you end up with a little more or less)
- 2-3 teaspoon (10-15 ml) sugar, to taste
- Pinch of salt
Thai Black Iced Coffee: O-liang
- 5.5 oz (160 ml) brewed Thai coffee (from above recipe, it's okay if you end up with a little more or less)
- 2-3 teaspoon sugar, to taste
- Pinch of salt
- Enough ice to fill a 16-oz (480 ml) glass
Thai Iced Coffee with Milk: O-liang Yok Law
- 5.5 oz (160 ml) brewed Thai coffee (from above recipe, it's okay if you end up with a little more or less)
- 2-3 teaspoon sugar, to taste
- Pinch of salt
- Enough ice to fill a 16-oz (480 ml) glass
- 2-3 tablespoon evaporated milk (unsweetened)
Instructions
Thai Iced Coffee: Gafae Yen
In a mixing glass, combine the brewed coffee with the sugar, condensed milk and salt; stir until dissolved. Fill the glass with ice and pour the coffee over it. Drizzle the top with evaporated milk and serve, letting the drinker stir to mix the milk with the coffee before drinking.
Thai Hot Coffee: Gafae Ron
Combine the hot coffee with sugar and salt and stir to dissolve. Add the condensed milk without stirring, allowing it to settle to the bottom so you get a layered effect. Serve and let the drinker stir the coffee!
Thai Hot Black Coffee: O-Yua
Combine the hot coffee with sugar and a pinch of salt and serve while hot.
Thai Black Iced Coffee: O-liang
Combine the brewed coffee with sugar and salt and stir until dissolved. Pack a serving glass with ice and pour the coffee over it and serve. You can top it up with a little more water if it is too strong.
Thai Iced Coffee with Milk: O-liang Yok Law
Combine the brewed coffee with sugar and salt and stir until dissolved. Pack a serving glass with ice and pour the coffee over the ice. Drizzle the evaporated milk on top for a beautiful cascade effect and serve. Let the drinker stir to mix the milk before drinking.
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