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–+ servings
Two glasses of Thai tea, one with half and half being poured into it.

Thai Iced Tea ชาเย็น (cha yen)

By: Pailin Chongchitnant
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.
Servings 4 servings

Ingredients
 
 

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
  • 2-3 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
  • 3-4 Tablespoons half and half, (~12% cream)

Notes

  1. If you can't find Thai tea leaves, see my hacked trick in the blog post. 
  2. I don't add all the sugar to the tea base to allow room for people to adjust sweetness to their own taste. But if you are making it just for yourself, increase the amount of sugar in the Thai tea base to ½ cup (or however sweet you like it) and skip the sugar when making individual glasses.

Instructions
 

For the Thai Tea Base (4 glass)

  • Steep the tea leaves in hot off-the-boil water for 5 minutes and then strain through a fine mesh strainer. If you have a french press, steep it in the french press and make the straining process easier!
    ¾ cup Thai tea leaves (buy Thai tea leaves online), 4 cups hot off-the-boil water
  • Add the sugar and salt and stir to dissolve. Allow to cool to room temp before making tea so it won't dissolve the ice too much. You can now store this base in the fridge it will last at least a couple of weeks.
    ¼ cup sugar, ⅛ teaspoon salt

For the Thai Style Thai Tea (1 glass)

  • Pour the Thai tea base into a mixing glass and stir in the condensed milk until dissolved. If the tea base is chilled, it will help to microwave it briefly and bring it to room temp so the condensed milk will dissolve more easily.
    ¾ cup Thai tea base, 1½ Tablespoons sweetened condensed milk
  • Pack a serving glass full of ice and then pour in the tea. Drizzle with the evaporated milk on top and enjoy!
    A pint glass packed full of ice, 2-3 Tablespoons evaporated milk

For the American Style Thai Tea (1 glass)

  • Pour the Thai tea base into a mixing glass and stir in more sugar to your taste, if needed. If the tea base is chilled, it will help to microwave it briefly and bring it to room temp so the sugar will dissolve more easily.
    ¾ cup Thai tea base, 1 Tablespoon sugar
  • Pack a serving glass full of ice and then pour in the tea. Drizzle with the half and half on top and enjoy!
    a pint glass packed full of ice, 3-4 Tablespoons half and half
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