Thai iced tea, also known as Cha Yen is a sweet and creamy iced tea made with brewed Thai tea leaves, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk. This refreshing drink is famous for its vibrant orange colour and rich, smooth, sweet flavour.
Perfect for a hot summer day and can be easily prepared at home. This iced tea is a best thirst quencher.
Check out my Irani Dum Chai Recipe and Teh Tarik Recipe in this website.
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I have Thai iced milk tea recipe in my to do list for a long time but as always I get so many doubts when I try such popular, other cuisine recipes and postpone posting it! Bought this Thai tea powder from my trip to Koh Samui. The moment I saw the Cha Tra Mue brand, I recognized it as I have been seeing many recipes and Youtube videos. Did not want to miss it as I know I would never buy online and make the post. My mind voice told, this will make me do the post, haha. So even then, I took this long to shoot it.
In Singapore, Thai iced tea used to be very popular, it is still, for it’s vibrant color. I also crave very often though I have had only 2-3 times mostly as take away / delivery which makes it bit diluted. Finally time has come to me to post this recipe and I planned this for the month of April, again distracted by festivals and other stuffs. Happy that finally I could break the silence yet again. Do check out my FAQ for more info and doubts about this tea, if it is different from regular tea or what makes it unique.
Ingredients
Here are the ingredients you need to make Thai iced tea.
- Thai tea powder – Use brands like Cha Tra Mue for base which gives bold colour and sweet flavour.
- Condensed milk – Adds sweetness and creamy texture.
- Evaporated milk – Gives tea, a rich mouthfulfeel, balances the sharp tea taste.
- Sugar – For sweetness.
- Salt – To bring a balance without tasting flat.
See recipe card for exact quantities and measurements.
Step by step pictures
Let’s see how to make iced tea the Thai way at home, you will love the simple steps.
- Firstly bring 2 cups of water to boil.
- Then add 2 tablespoons of Thai tea powder.
- Mix well and let it steep for about 5 minutes minimum.
- After that, filter it by straining through a cloth tea strainer best or whatever strainer you have.
Hint: Use tongs or spoon like the above image to twist and squeeze the tea.
- Then mix condensed milk, sugar and salt to dissolve in it. Cool down completely.
- After it comes to room temperature, you can refrigerate it. This way it will not melt the ice too much when you pour over ice.
- If you want to taste test, do it now and adjust sugar or the strength now. It should be on sweeter side so that later when we serve it will be just right after pouring over ice.
- To serve, take a glass filled with ice. Pour the chilled tea that is distinctly Thai over it until almost full.
- Lastly add a dash of evaporated milk.
- Mix well and enjoy immediately.
Substitutions & Variations
- For vegan and light version, you can use almond or oat milk as substitutes for the Thai iced tea.
- You can use regular tea leaves too, use natural plant based food colours and a dash of pure vanilla extract if you do not have Thai tea powder and want to recreate similar to this.
Storage
You can refrigerate the brewed tea alone and use when needed. You can bring to room temperature when needed and dissolve condensed milk and sugar. After mixing condensed milk and evaporated milk, you can store that without mixing in ice for 24 hours.
Top Tip
Iced tea is originally sweet when prepared in the Thai style, so if you want to experience the original taste, follow the recipe. If you know what you are doing and want to reduce the sweetness, you can adjust the recipe accordingly.
Add condensed milk, sugar, salt to hot/ warm or room temperature tea. In cold tea, it won’t easily dissolve.
My Notes
Since it is high in sugar as well as have artificial food colour, do not consume more often. Indulging once a while is okay.
FAQ
Thai iced tea is made up of strongly brewed Black tea, sweetened condensed milk, sugar and evaporated milk for creaminess. Usually Thai tea brands include artificial food colour for bright iconic orange colour and artificial vanilla flavour which gives its distinct flavour.
No, unlike Indian chai, there is no spices in Thai tea.
Recipe card
Thai Iced Tea Recipe | Cha Yen
Thai iced tea, also known as Cha Yen is a sweet creamy iced tea made with brewed Thai tea leaves, sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk. This refreshing drink is famous for it’s vibrant orange colour and rich, smooth, sweet flavour.
Equipments (Amazon Affiliate links)
Cloth tea strainer Fine mesh or cloth filter
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon Thai tea powder Like Cha Tra Mue brand
- 2 cups water
- 2 tablespoon Sugar
- 1 pinch salt
- 4 tablespoon Condensed milk
- ¼ cup Evaporated milk
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Instructions
-
Firstly bring 2 cups of water to boil.
-
Then add 2 tablespoons of Thai tea powder.
-
Mix well and let it steep for about 5 minutes minimum.
-
After that, filter it by straining through a cloth tea strainer best or whatever strainer you have.
-
Hint: Use tongs or spoon like the above image to twist and squeeze the tea.
-
Then mix condensed milk, sugar and salt to dissolve in it. Cool down completely.
-
After it comes to room temperature, you can refrigerate it. This way it will not melt the ice too much when you pour over ice.
-
If you want to taste test, do it now and adjust sugar or the strength now. It should be on sweeter side so that later when we serve it will be just right after pouring over ice.
-
To serve, take a glass filled with ice. Pour the chilled thai tea over it until almost full.
-
Lastly add a dash of evaporated milk.
-
Mix well and enjoy immediately.
Video
Notes
- Thai iced tea is originally sweet, so if you want to experience the original taste, follow the recipe. If you know what you are doing and want to reduce the sweetness, you can adjust the recipe accordingly.
- Make sure tea brewed tea is extra strong to serve over ice so that it is balanced.