Thai Tea Recipe {Make this Now}
Easy Thai tea recipe tips are below. Also, we’ve updated this Thai iced tea recipe with an organic tea bag option and with coconut milk!
Thai Tea in Restaurants
During one of the conference days in Chicago, we escaped out to lunch at a local Thai restaurant to explore more of the city’s culinary offerings. As always, we’ll try to order something new and different. When we’re at a Thai restaurant, it normally involves ordering our favorites. This includes a curry dish, one noodle dish and an appetizer. On top of that, we must always have Thai iced tea. Because how can we NOT have Thai iced tea when we eat Thai food? It’s one of those decant “dessert” drinks that helps soothe the burn when we overload on too much of Thai spice.
Authentic Thai Tea Recipe
Years ago, my Auntie Chung was telling me how easy it was to make Thai iced tea. She had worked in an Asian restaurant and one of the most popular items on the entire menu was Thai iced tea. She proceeded to tell me exactly how to make it and how profitable it was for restaurants to make. I didn’t care too much about the profitability of Thai iced tea. But rather, I’m more interested on how easily it was made and why we didn’t make it more often. The version we have is as authentic as what most Thai restaurants in America are making. Our version really does taste like what we have ordered at most Thai restaurants.
Watch the video for making Thai Iced Tea:
Fast forward about 7 years later as I’m 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 haven’t we made it before?” Here you have it. All I can say is that if you’re a fan of Thai iced tea at $3.25 a pop, then you must make this now.
Save Money by Making Thai Tea at Home
Not only will you be saving a big wad of cash on a yearly basis, but you’ll 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. Photos in Recipe Box Below:
How to make Restaurant Thai Iced Tea at Home
The only difference in our Thai tea recipe when compared to most restaurant versions is that we’re using a little less sugar. But really, once you get the basics down on making Thai iced tea you can customize the flavors and concentration the way you like. It’s one of those recipes that is great no matter how you make it because it’s just so decadent and satisfying.
One of the key factors in making it like the restaurants is using authentic Thai tea mixes. These Thai tea mixes are normally dyed with yellow food coloring (look on the package) and that’s what gives it it’s bright orange color. Also, Thai tea has a vanilla aroma to it. So if you want to have the brilliant orange color and flavors like most of the Thai restaurants, then this is one of the brands of Thai tea to buy: Cha Thai Tea Mix.
There’s other brands of Thai tea mixes to buy, some we’ve loved, and others seemed a bit flat. Because they are imported, and it seems like everyone is having supply issues, sometimes we have to switch between what’s available. We’ve tried as many as we can get our hands on to find you the best Thai tea mixes to buy, Here’s another great one we love: Cha Tra Mue Brand (Number One) Thai Tea Mix.
Best Cloth Tea Filter
Here’s a re-usable cloth tea filter that can also be helpful as well. We usually make large batches, so we just simmer the tea leaves in the hot water.
How to Make All-Natural or Organic Thai Iced Tea
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, here’s one we’ve found.
Either way, find your way into the kitchen to make yourself a batch of this restaurant style thai iced tea that’s homemade. Make yourself a big batch asap. We’re 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
What if Thai Tea is too Bitter?
Sometimes the thai tea mixture can be too bitter for some peoples taste. Everyone has a different level of taste sensitivity and thus, the astringency of the tea can be overwhelming. So how to make thai tea less bitter? It’s easy. Here’s a few suggestions:
- Perhaps you over-steeped it. This means that the leaves were soaking in the hot water for too long. We suggest steeping the leaves for about 30 minutes but not longer than 1 hour. Most of our readers have had lots of success with this recipe and timing!
- If you’ve already made the mix, then add a little more water to the mix until it tastes more balanced.
- Or if you’re going to brew the mixture, use about 30% of the tea leaves.
- You can add a little more of the half/half or cream to soften the astringency. You’ll have a creamier thai tea drink, but that’s still quite delicious.
- Add more ice to water down the drink.
Best Mixes & Tools
Number One Tea Mix. This is the mix we commonly find in Asian store around us. It is another delicious option.
Cha Thai Tea Mix. This is our current go-to Thai iced tea mix. Make you Thai tea just like the restaurants!
Reuse-able Cloth Filter. Go traditional with this Thai Tea Filter. Get a second one for coffee too!
Other Tea Favorites
We love a good chai. Steep a bag of this goodness, add some steam or warmed milk and you’ll be in Chai heaven.
Our absolute house favorite black tea. We found this French tea years ago at Dean & Deluca and have been hooked since.
Another Thai tea mix. These are individual bags. Quick & Simple.
Thai Iced Tea Recipe
Ingredients
option #1 – thai tea mix ingredients:
- 1 cup (80 g) Thai Tea Mix
- 4 cups (960 ml) water
- 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) half and half (approximately), (some folks also use coconut milk, whole milk, sweetened condensed milk)
- ice
option #2 – using organic tea bags ingredients:
- 4 cups (960 ml) water
- 4 organic black tea bags
- 3/4 cup (150 g) granulated sugar
- 2 anise stars
- 1 green cardamom pod , smashed
- 2 whole cloves
- 3/4 cup (180 ml) half and half (approximately), (some folks also use coconut milk, whole milk, sweetened condensed milk)
- ice
Equipment
Instructions
option #1 – thai tea mix directions:
- Bring water to boil and add the thai tea mix. Add sugar and gently stir to completely dissolve sugar. Gently boil tea for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Allow tea to steep for at least 30 minutes and allow it to cool. The more concentrated the tea flavor, the better the Thai tea tastes.
- If you are using the Thai tea mix, strain the tea leaves (we love using these reusable cloth filters). Set finished Thai tea aside to cool. You can make this ahead of time and have the Thai tea chilling in the fridge. We usually like to make this tea mix one day ahead.
- Fill glasses with ice and pour in Thai tea leaving enough room to fill in your half and half (or other creamer). For an 8 oz. glass we like to add about 2-3 tablespoons of half and half for a creamier flavor.
option #2 – using organic tea bags directions:
- Bring water to boil and add the tea bags, sugar, star anise, cardamom pod and cloves. Stir until all the sugar dissolves. Gently boil tea for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat.
- Allow tea to steep for at least 30 minutes and allow it to cool. The more concentrated the tea flavor, the better the Thai tea tastes. We prefer to allow the tea bags to seep for about 2 hours for maximum flavor. During this time, the thai tea can cool.
- Remove the tea bags and spoon out the star anise, cardamom pod and cloves (or strain to remove). If tea is still warm, we will refrigerate it so it can be chilled. You can make this ahead of time and have the organic Thai tea chilling in the fridge.
- Fill glasses with ice and pour in organic Thai tea leaving enough room to fill in your half and half (or other creamer). For an 8 oz. glass we like to add about 2-3 tablespoons of half and half for a creamier flavor.
Video
Nutrition Information per Serving
Update! Here’s a Vietnamese Iced Coffee Recipe for all you iced coffee fans!
How to Make Sugar Free Thai Iced Tea Keto?
If you’re on a sugar free or keto friendly diet, you can still enjoy thai tea without all the sugar. By using sugar substitutes you can still have a delicious batch of this drink without sacrificing flavor. Here’s a recipe that we have for sugar free thai tea at best recipe box.
More Easy Recipes:
- Love Boba Milk Tea? Here’s our popular homemade boba milk tea recipe here.
- Pistachio Olive Oil Mini Tea Cakes
- Low Carb Zucchini Noodle Pad Thai
- Sour Cream Dried Onion Dip
It was my first time ever making Thai Iced tea. I tried Option 2 with loose leaf Irish tea (Barry’s) and reduced the sugar to 1/4 cup, but otherwise followed the directions. It is delicious – though I might reduce the sugar even a little more next time. I am very excited that it turned out so well and I intend to always have a batch in the fridge.
Thanks for sharing your option #2! This sounds awesome with the Irish tea version.
I just found the tea mix, so I’m looking forward to making this myself. I wanted to suggest using vanilla infused sugar to get that hint of vanilla you were missing.
AMAZING. Love thai iced tea, and this is an amazing recipe!!! Just made it for the first time today and will be making it again 🙂 thank you!!
Thanks for sharing this recipe! Is there a way to make this decaf?
Hi Nicole! Not sure about decaf but we’ll research and see what we can come up with and let you know!
You can pick up black decaf teas just about anywhere- you just might have to be a little flexible about type. My local tea seller has told me just to steep regular tea once, then dump it (or save it for a person that drinks caffeine), then the next brew using the same leaves will have much less caffeine.
I love love love this Thai iced tea recipe! I’m a huge fan of the drink and always order it when I go to Thai restaurants or to get bubble tea, and this recipe really gets the job done! I used Option #2, and the only difference I might try next time is adding less sugar, as it was a little too sweet for my tastes. But I wanted to know, if I wanted to make the color an orange hue similar to in the restaurants, could I add yellow and/or red food coloring to the mix? Thanks for the great recipe!
Hi Christian, sure you can use a drop or two of food coloring. There’s some really great all natural food colorings out there.
I made mine a bit differently. Found number one Thai tea at a local store for about $5. I used 1 cup of tea mix which brewed 2 pots and used 11/4 cup of sugar which I added and dissolved while it was still hot followed by 3/4 can of condensed milk. A bit too sweet for my liking so I will probably use unsweetened milk or cut the sugar to only half a cup for 2 pots of tea. Just my personal preference. Now I have 2 pitchers made ready in the fridge. All I’m missing is the boba
so you mixed the sweetened condensed milk in ahead of time. I was thinking of doing it this way and skipping the extra sugar all together.
Hi could I use almond/skim milk instead of half and half? Would it be not as good?
It will be a little lighter, less rich. The almond milk will definitely give it a different flavor. Everyone’s taste varies, and if that is what you are used to drinking, you make like it even better.
Can I make a second batch with option 1 leaves? I didn’t know if anyone had tried and if it was that much weaker or not.
Hi Jennifer! We’ve tried it before and it’s definitely not as concentrated in flavor. But if you use half the water, you should be able to have a smaller second batch, but still quite flavorful.
I found this recipe a few years ago and it’s been a summer staple in or house ever since. We love getting Thai tea at our favourite restaurant, but we eat out very rarely, and realised we could make this at home too. I use option 1 with the premade mix. However, because we do all love it so much I will at some point soon give option 2 a try. My son has recently started liking it so I’ll be happy to try a version that doesn’t have the food dyes in it. And all the ingredients are in my kitchen already anyways!
I’ve been eyeballing this recipe forever and finally made it. Just curios does the end amount come out less than 4 cups? After I strained the water and tea leaves (option 1) I ended up with almost 3 cups. I’m just curious if that’s normal.
Hi Judy, glad you enjoyed the recipe. Yes, that can be normal depending on how long it boils and how much you let it strain. Thank you!
This recipe is EXCELLENT! The ratio of sugar to tea for me is PERFECT! I add barista blend califia farms almond milk and it’s superb! I always hate to order it at the restaurants because of how high the sugar content is. Thanks again for this recipe! ?
I absolutely love this recipe as I’ve been making it for years!! Thank you!!
Thanks Belle and that’s awesome you’ve been enjoying this recipe for that long. We shared it a long time ago and definitely have many readers love it.
I love love love Thai tea. Thank you for this easy to follow recipe! The first time I made it exactly as the recipe instructs and it was really good. However, after that I’ve added a 1/2 cinnamon stick, 1/2tsp almond flavoring, and 1 tsp vanilla flavoring to the tea and steep everything for 2hrs and it is so amazing! I literally make it every week!
Love the additions you did. So glad you live the Thai tea. We just made a new batch too!
Yes, I made this recipe w/Thai ice tea bags (option #2) and give it 5 stars. I followed the recipe to the drop and it came out perfectly. I make it every 2-3 days because you never know when company will drop in. The taste is soooo good and addicting too.
The downside is the cost of the spices. I paid about $16 for the spices (regular sizes). This does not include the Thai ice tea bags, sugar or half & half. I tell myself it’s worth it though. Mmmmmmmm
This tea is delicious! I made it from scratch (option 2). I made a few adjustments to the recipe and it came out incredible! I used decaffeinated black tea, since I wanted to be able to drink it any time of day without having any negative caffeine affects. I also could not find any cardamom pods at the grocery store, so I substituted an equal dash (literally I shook the container once into the pot) of both nutmeg and cinnamon. And to get the hit of vanilla flavor that the traditional Thai tea pre-made package has, I added 1 tsp of vanilla extract to the pot. I brewed it all together for 2 hours and all of the flavors came out so nicely! I’ve since made it two more times. The second time I wanted to be sure to have extra for the following day, so I doubled the recipe (also making sure to include the adjusted spices and vanilla extract aforementioned). Incredible! I’m glad I came along this– excellent recipe!
The Mariage Frères tea you have referenced is a green tea not a black tea. Thé à l’opéra, specifically, is one of their green blends. Are you able to check which of their teas was the black that you all like? They have many black teas, but I was wondering if it is the Black Orchid blend? Anyway, if you could check that again and let me know the correct name I would greatly appreciate it!
The weather is getting warmer and I was finally able to make this! It was so good!