Thai iced tea is sweet, creamy, and incredibly refreshing on a hot summer day! The jolt from the caffeine and sugar is re-energizing and I love that it’s so easy to drink. It’s an iconic Southeast Asian tea that’s very easy to make at home and with just a handful of ingredients.
When I lived in Bangkok there were 2 drinks I always defaulted to – lime soda (soda water with fresh lime juice and sugar syrup) and Thai iced tea, which is called cha yen in Thai. While lime sodas were mostly enjoyed on a beach in Phuket, I sipped on Thai iced teas between auditions or while I did my shopping in crowded street markets. Thai tea is a creamy orange-colored beverage made with black tea, water or orange blossom water, coconut milk or whole milk, and sweetened with sugar and/or condensed milk. In Southeast Asia it’s served in small clear plastic bags with a straw in it, tied with a red string that you wrap around your wrist, so it’s easy to carry around.
I must have drank gallons and gallons of these sweet beverages during my time there! To me, cha yen is the street food drink version of pad thai – cheap, delicious, and best when it’s kept simple. My iced tea recipe is very basic, using ingredients that are easy to find. It can be enjoyed on its own or served with toppings such as tapioca pearls or grass jelly, just like with boba teas.
Table of contents
Ingredients
- Water: I use filtered water because that’s pretty much all I drink every day. I recommend using whatever you drink on a regular basis as the taste of the water will not impact the overall flavor of the drink.
- Black tea: Black tea such as assam or ceylon are excellent because they have a very strong taste. Either tea bags or loose tea leaves can be used to make cha yen. If you use loose tea leaves, I suggest putting them in a tea infuser or filter so the leaves are easy to remove once they are done steeping.
- Condensed milk: Condensed milk adds a creamy element and plenty of sweetness and milkiness to the tea.
- Mint leaves or cinnamon stick: This step is optional but I sometimes love adding some aromatics to my iced tea. A few mint leaves makes it extra refreshing and a hint of cinnamon gives the tea a slight smoky and woody taste.
Variations
- Make it vegan. Use sweetened condensed coconut milk or sweetened condensed oat milk.
- Add a pinch salt. This helps balance the sweetness of the drink, if you find it too cloying.
How to Make This Thai Iced Tea
- Boil the water in a pot over high heat.
- Add the tea bags and turn the heat down to a simmer. Cover and steep the tea for about 20 minutes, or until it tastes very strong.
- Remove the tea bags or strain your tea in a large bowl with a sieve to remove the leaves. Transfer the tea to a pitcher, stir in the condensed milk and refrigerate until chilled.
- Serve the tea in tall glasses with ice cubes and if you want to dress it up, a few mint leaves or a cinnamon stick.
Expert Tip
- If you cannot find assam or ceylon tea, look for other strong black teas such as lapsang souchong, earl grey, or English breakfast.
Storage
- Storing Thai milk tea is very easy! Simply leave the pitcher in the fridge so the tea stays cold and is ready to serve. It will last for up to 3 days.
What To Serve Thai Iced Tea With
It goes without saying that Thai iced tea pairs well with Thai dishes, just like an iced matcha pairs beautifully with Japanese food. Because of its sweet taste, cha yen can be served with any dish that’s savory, pungent, or spicy.
Some of my favorites are:
- Drunken noodles (pad kee mao)
- Stir fried glass noodles (pad woon sen)
- Thai basil chicken (pad kra pao gai)
- Thai green curry
- Panang curry
Frequently Asked Questions
1 cup of Thai milk tea roughly contains 20-60 mg of caffeine, compared to 95 mg for a cup of coffee. The reason why the answer is vague is because the tea is diluted in water, milk and ice cubes, so it’s difficult to gage exactly how much caffeine a cup contains. The more diluted it gets, the lower the amount of caffeine.
Condensed is milk that’s been evaporated and sweetened with sugar. It’s quite thick and sticky and is used to sweeten drinks and desserts, and is a popular spread for bread in Asia. Evaporated milk is milk that’s been boiled until 60% of the water has evaporated. It contains no sugar and is a little thicker than regular milk.
Technically yes, you can use honey, but keep in mind that the overall taste will be different. While using evaporated milk will give you a similar texture, honey could add a wildflower or lavender element that traditional Thai tea doesn’t have. I suggest using a sugar-free sweetener such as monk fruit sugar or stevia for a result closer to the original taste.
Did you like this recipe? Are there changes you made that you would like to share? Share your tips and recommendations in the comments section below!
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Thai Iced Tea
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 7 minutes
- Total Time: 27 minutes
- Yield: 5 cups 1x
- Category: Drinks
- Method: steeping
- Cuisine: Thai
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
This is a traditional summer Thai iced tea recipe you can make with only 3 ingredients! Sweet, cold and so refreshing!
Ingredients
- 5 cups water
- 8 black tea bags, or 8 teaspoons loose tea leaves (assam or ceylon tea), or 1 cup Pantai’s Thai Iced Tea Mix
- 1 cup condensed milk
- Ice cubes
- Mint leaves or cinnamon sticks, as garnish
Instructions
- Boil the water. Put the water in a pot and bring it to a boil.
- Steep the tea. Add the tea bags and lower heat to a bubbling simmer. Cover and steep the bags for 20 minutes, until the tea is very strong. For loose tea leaves, add them to the pot and and steep for the same amount of time. Using a tea infuser or filter is recommended.
- Pour the tea in a pitcher. Turn the heat off, remove the tea bags, and pour the tea into a pitcher or a glass bowl. For loose tea leaves, remove the infuser, or filter, or drain the tea through a strainer and into a pitcher or a glass bowl. Discard the leaves.
- Sweeten the tea. Add the condensed milk and stir until it’s combined with the tea.
- Chill the tea. Put the pitcher or bowl of tea in the fridge and leave until it’s cold.
- Drink. Serve the Thai iced tea with ice cubes and top with mint leaves or cinnamon stick (optional).
Notes
This Thai iced tea recipe will keep refrigerated in a pitcher for up to 3 days.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 cup
- Calories: 196
- Sugar: 33.3g
- Sodium: 87.2mg
- Fat: 5.3g
- Saturated Fat: 3.4g
- Unsaturated Fat: 0.2g
- Trans Fat: 0g
- Carbohydrates: 33g
- Fiber: 0g
- Protein: 4.8g
- Cholesterol: 20.8mg
Questions and Reviews
adding coconut milk would be a good alternative to condensed milk for me since I’m lactose intolerant.
Absolutely Lori, I almost made this iced tea recipe using coconut milk! 🙂
i love an iced tea! definitely recreating this recipe in my kitchen.. looks seriously delicious.
Thanks Thalia, it’s a great summer drink that taste like dessert hehe 🙂
This sounds delicious! I also love sweetened condensed milk.