How To Make Tai Tea

Making Quick Thai Iced Tea

Watch The Video For Making Thai Iced Tea:

Fast forward about 7 years later as Im sitting in Chicago eating Thai food and sipping my Thai iced tea. My brain light bulb pops on: We need to make Thai tea! Auntie told me how easy it was to make and why havent we made it before? Here you have it. All I can say is that if youre a fan of Thai iced tea at $3.25 a pop, then you must make this now.

Not only will you be saving a big wad of cash on a yearly basis, but youll also have a bottomless pitcher of Thai tea. This huge party pitcher will allow you to savor, sip and share with friends. This Thai iced tea recipe is so easy. Pretty much every YouTube video you see uses the same brand and shows the same steps. As far as the creamy layer goes, many people use different ingredients such as half and half or whole milk. Other options include coconut milk, sweetened condensed milk and even low-fat milk. Choose your creamy poison.

How to Make Easy Thai Iced Tea. More Photos in Recipe Box Below:

Thai Tea Leaves Vs Powder Mix

Powder mixes have some drawbacks, but they also have many clear advantages. For one, they are incredibly convenient and require only water to make. They also can be improved with spices and boba tea if you are strapped for time or cash but still want a quick fix for Thai tea. Our recommended blend is the Qbubble Tea Powder Mix.

On the other hand, these Thai tea mixes have several apparent drawbacks which one should be aware of before making a purchase.

First, you cannot customise powder mixes according to your tastes. For example, if you like your tea stronger or with fewer spices, you cannot make these changes to a powder mix .

Second, these mixes contain many preservatives and ingredients, which could be a potential allergen or health hazard for some. Dairy and orange food dye are a few examples.

Finally, the taste of these Thai tea powders is vastly inferior to that of a freshly prepared beverage – it lacks the textural brightness and unprocessed flavours which come from using your ingredients.

And finally, buying your ingredients and making this drink is more financially responsible in the long run since it costs less than purchasing ready-use packets multiple times. Thus, these mixes can be better in some situations, but making it fresh is often the best. Make your choice wisely!

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Whats In Thai Iced Tea

In general, Thai iced tea is made up of a tea mix thats steeped in hot water, then mixed traditionally with sweetened condensed milk and topped with crushed ice. However, you can also use regular white sugar or make your own simple syrup and add a milk of your choosing.

The Thai iced tea mix packets themselves have very limited labels from my experience. All of my test packets list some sort of tea , maybe sugar, and always some sort of food coloring.

Why Is Thai Iced Tea Orange

Thai Iced Tea as Americans know it is a product of a combination of cultures tea is relatively new to Thailand, and was imported from China. Iced tea was likely served first without flavorings along with street food. Eventually it was made popular in American Thai restaurants. Thai chefs started adding orange food coloring and spices to differentiate it from other types of iced tea and coffee.

The coloring is not needed, so if you prefer not to eat or drink dyes, you can purchase a Thai tea mix without dyes. I havent tried one yet, but next time I buy Thai tea it will be this kind.

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What Is Thai Tea Boba

Thai tea boba in its simplest formis cold black tea with evaporated milk that includes chewy tapioca flour balls known as boba.

Some recipes add exotic spices such as star anise and cloves for a bolder flavour to the drink. Some people also prefer to use sweetened condensed milk. In many restaurants, the trend has been to add bright orange food colouring to make the beverage look attractive for customers.

Homemade Evaporated Milk Instructions

Since this recipe only makes two drinks you wont need very much evaporated milk. You can store the remaining homemade milk in an air-tight container in the refrigerator for your next batch of tea.

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How To Make Thai Tea Boba

This section is a quick guide to making a refreshing cup of Thai tea boba. First, you put your instant powder, water and ice into a cup. Stir vigorously for a few minutes to blend ingredients together or shake them together if you use a shaker cup.

Then throw in your cooked tapioca pearls into a glass. Pour in milk , ice, and voila – you are ready to slurp up the drink!

Thai Iced Tea From Scratch

Published: by Aimee Mars · This post may contain affiliate links.

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This sweet and creamy Thai Iced Tea recipe from scratch is a decadent iced caffeinated drink using real spices, rich sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and real tea. Sip this beautiful bold ombré beverage to cool off or cool down with eating spicy Thai foods. Included are directions for making a quick version like you find in your favorite Thai restaurants or stores.

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How To Make Thai Tea Boba At Home

Brewing the perfect cup of tea depends on your personal preference as well as the specific type of tea that you are looking at. If you are interested in Thai tea boba then you will want to take a closer look at the steps we are going to outline below, so you can make the perfect cup each time and determine your own personal preferences along the way.

How To Make All

Using organic black tea bags instead of the Thai tea mix: We also tested another version with pekong black tea bags and the flavor was still great. Only thing missing was the brilliant orange color and the subtle hint of sweet vanilla. If you want an all Natural Thai tea blend, heres one weve found.

Either way, find your way into the kitchen to make yourself a batch of this restaurant style thai iced tea thats homemade. Make yourself a big batch asap. Were not joking. Make this now and let us know what you think. And remember, make it your own and play with the different levels of sweetness and creaminess.

Thanks Auntie Chung for the homemade Thai iced tea inspiration.

-diane

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History Of Thai Tea Boba

In Thailand, the locals call this drink Cha Yen. Traditionally, the base is just made of black tea and milk. The Thais likely invented this drink around the 15th to 19th century. This invention was probably when British and Chinese immigrants settled around Thai trading ports and brought their caffeine habits.

But the addition of ice and dairy milk is an idea from Thai military commanders who enjoyed the Western way of drinking tea. They popularised adding these ingredients to Thai tea boba, giving rise to the way it is drunk in many Western countries now.

Locals usually brew this drink from a homegrown version of the Assam plant, Bai Miang. The stall vendors will blend the plant with a mix of ingredients, including orange blossom water, star anise, and crushed tamarind seed. The beverage is then infused with red and yellow food colouring. As Thailand is warm all year round, you will see that the drink is always served with crushed ice.

Thai Milk Tea Pudding With Boba

Source: TikTok

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What Is Iced Thai Tea Made Of

• Thai Tea Bag made from black tea and spices, you can find Thai tea bags or loose Thai tea at Asian supermarkets or online. Make sure its not the pre-mixed Thai tea mix version that already contains powdered milk and sugar.
• Sweetener to keep this Thai iced tea recipe sugar-free we like to use monkfruit Erythritol Blend. You can also use sugar, condensed milk or a sweetener of choice. Adjust sweetness to preference.
• Half & Half if you choose to use an alternative milk substitute such as milk, evaporated milk or coconut milk. You can change the ratio by adding more milk and brewing with less water.

How To Make Thai Tea

The process of making this drink is a simple one.

• Brew the black tea together with the spices. This process can take around 5-10 minutes, and you can complete it beforehand.
• Top up with a mixture of milk. This mixture depends on personal taste but can also depend on what you have on hand. You can use only one milk instead of a mix of multiple.
• Serve and enjoy!

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How To Make Thai Pearl Milk Tea

This version kicks Thai tea up a notch. Thai Pearl Milk, called Cha Nom Khimuk, is chilled Thai tea poured over tapioca pearls.

Tapioca pearls are made from a starch extracted from the cassava root. They are gelatinous and chewy. You can easily make these pearls at home without needing to go to an expensive bubble tea joint.

You can purchase the dehydrated pearls from Amazon. To prepare them, bring water to boil in a large saucepan and gently add tapioca pearls. Turn down the heat, and let the pearls cook in simmering, hot water for 30 minutes, stirring often to keep the pearls from sticking to one another. Remove from heat, cover and let stand for another 30 minutes. Strain and rinse with cool water. Sprinkle with sugar and mix, and put the pearls in the fridge to absorb the sweet flavor.

Spoon pearls into the serving glasses, filling around 1/3 of the glass. Pour chilled Thai tea, and voila! Thai Pearl Milk Tea is ready to serve.

What Is Thai Tea Made Of

The modern-day version of Thai Tea is made from a commercial pre-blended tea mix. This mix is much more convenient and easy to use than measuring out spices, tea, etc., as done with the traditional way of preparing it.

A base of black tea is used. Spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, and star anise are added to the black tea, along with orange coloring and sugar. To make this tea a milk tea, condensed and evaporated milk are added.

The authentic Thai Tea served throughout Thailand in cafes, tea shops, and street vendors is made from a mix. This mix has the right blend of black tea, spices, coloring, and flavoring.

Is Black Tea The Same As Thai Tea?

The ingredients are what sets these two teas apart. Black tea is nothing more than a type of tea , whereas Thai Tea has black tea as an ingredient. The black tea ingredient in Thai Tea does not make it a black tea.

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What To Keep In Mind

When it comes to preparing Thai boba tea there are several things that you want to be prepared for. You will want to make sure that you are careful when preparing your tea, for example, as you want to be sure that you are getting the right flavor profile of a strong black tea with a milky, creaminess.

What Is Boba Made Of

Boba is simply black tapioca pearls that are at the bottom of the tea drink. The balls are formed from tapioca sweetened with black sugar and then boiled. For many, the flavorless aspect of the boba is the perfect compliment to the milk tea or Thai tea. For others, adding flavors to the boba adds to the flavor profile of the drink and helps create a unique contrast that is very good.

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Recipe Notes And Expert Tips

• Add plenty of sugar but adjust the sweetness to your liking. The best Thai iced tea is very sweet just like southern sweet tea. While its not the most healthy ingredient, adding enough sugar is key to getting that sweet milk taste. You can adjust the sugar to how sweet you want it though.
• Save time and cut out steps by using this teapot. Whenever I prepare tea using loose tea itself I use this teapot. It cuts down on having to use a strainer.
• Since this healthy thai tea recipe is made without using Thai tea mix you wont get the super orange color. The mix has food coloring, which you can add yourself using a dye-free food coloring. I did NOT use dye in the version you see here in the photos.
• To get the burnt orange color without food coloring make sure to use turmeric. Sprinkling the powder into your recipe will naturally dye the tea burnt orange without the potential health consequences. While turmeric does have a strong flavor it doesnt overpower this Thai tea mixture.

Thai Tea Boba Recipe: How To Make Thai Bubble Tea

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Thai tea boba is an iced, creamy drink that tastes refreshing on a hot day. You can always order it from a Thai restaurant, but sometimes you want to have that drink right within reach. The only way is to get that is to do it yourself!

We know it’s getting pretty warm outside, so we searched the web for the best recipes for you to brew this satisfying beverage. If youre ready, lets get started!

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How Can I Make Thai Iced Tea Sugar Free

Making Thai Tea at home means you can customize it to your hearts content. If you prefer no sugar, you can leave it out. You can replace it with your sweetener of choice. Or you can reduce the sugar for a drink that is still slightly sweet. If you prefer a very sweet iced tea, you can add more sugar, or use sweetened condensed milk instead of half and half.

Thai Iced Tea In Thailand Vs Western Cultures

Interestingly, the orange color and spices were added when Thai tea became more and more popular in Westernized cultures in order to set it apart from regular, plain black tea. In fact, during the early years of westernized Thai iced tea, chefs would add orange food coloring to really give it a bright orange hue.

Nowadays, youll find both versions in Thailand- the traditional and the westernized version.

The following recipe is a less traditional version of the original.

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Authentic Thai Iced Tea Drink Recipe