Everyone looks forward to a delicious Thai iced tea, whether at a Thai restaurant, at your favorite local boba shop, or in Thailand. It’s sweet, creamy, and flavorful, and this sweet cream Thai tea takes it to the next level.

This Thai tea drink is easy to make and puts a modern twist on the beloved drink. You have a fluffy, sweet cream on top of perfectly brewed tea that, when mixed, makes an insanely creamy drink. It’s easy to make at home and only needs 3 ingredients.

Here’s how to make a sweet cream Thai tea at home!

What is Thai Tea?

As the name suggests, Thai tea is a popular sweet and creamy iced tea from Thailand you can find in every store and street market. It’s so popular that you can buy a Thai tea leaf mix that already has the spices and flavors.

It’s made from black tea leaves and spices, including cardamom, cloves, and star anise. After brewing, vendors add condensed and evaporated milk into the tea, which is poured over crushed ice.

When brewed, Thai tea has a bright orange hue, partly from the tea and added food colorings, which give it that appealing color.

The sweet and creamy version of Thai tea that we know and love was actually adapted for Western palettes but got so popular that it’s now the default across Thailand stalls and stores.

What Does Thai Tea Taste Like?

Thai tea is sweet, almost vanilla, with mild spice flavors, including star anise, tamarind, and cardamom. The spices give Thai tea a unique mild floral taste and aroma; without milk or sugar, it has an earthy flavor.

However, it tastes best with condensed and evaporated milk, which makes it taste ultra creamy and sweet. Both milks have a creamy flavor and almost a caramel taste.

Thai tea is sweet, creamy, mildly spiced, and super refreshing on a hot day.

How to Make Thai Tea

To make Thai tea at home, you’ll need:

• Thai tea leaves
• Hot water
• Condensed milk
• Ice

Brewing Your Tea: Brew your Thai tea leaves for 3 to 5 minutes or until the brewed tea is dark orange. The longer you brew your tea, the stronger the flavor. However, it will also turn more bitter, which is okay since the cream removes that flavor.

You can brew loose-leaf tea directly into the cup, use a tea strainer, or use a tea bag. I prefer straining loose-leaf tea after it brews because it maximizes the flavor, but any way works!

If you want plain Thai tea, you can stop here. But I recommend adding a sweetener and milk. In Thailand, Thai tea has condensed milk and evaporated milk, and it will be the most creamy, delicious milk tea you’ve ever made. Some cafes also use half and half instead of milk to make it creamier, so that’s also an option!

But if you want a simpler version, you can sub out condensed and evaporated milk with sugar and regular milk. But keep reading to see how to make sweet cream to add on top!

For convenience, you can buy the Thai tea mix, which only needs hot water. Or, grab a cup from your local boba shop or cafe.

Where to Find Thai Tea

You can buy Thai tea leaves online or in stores.

The most famous brand for Thai tea leaves and mix is ChaTraMue. They sell all kinds of teas, from rose to oolong to black tea, but Thai tea is the most popular. You can get Thai tea leaves or a Thai tea mix that you can instantly dissolve in hot water.

You might be able to find Thai tea at your local Asian market, but it will most likely be instant powders or mixes.

You can also try visiting a local tea shop or boba shop and see if they sell the Thai tea they use.

What is Sweet Cream?

In cafe terms, sweet cream (cold foam) is a semi-whipped, sweetened heavy cream with a pourable consistency. It can also be just sweetened half and half used for coffee or tea, which is also a popular coffee creamer flavor.

It’s a popular drink topper at cafes and coffee shops like Starbucks, making any drink instantly sweet and creamy. It only takes two ingredients and is very easy to make at home.

You can also use any sweetener or flavoring for sweet cream, so the flavor possibilities are endless.

How to Make Sweet Cream

To make sweet cream cold foam at home, you’ll need:

• A handheld frother, whisk, or electric mix
• Condensed milk
• Heavy cream
• Milk

Making Sweet Cream: Whip together heavy cream, sweetener (condensed milk), and a little bit of milk. You can use a handheld frother, blender, electric mixer, or a whisk.

You want to whip it until it doubles in size and becomes the consistency of drinking yogurt. It should be pourable but thick. You can test this by letting the mixture drip off your whisk or frother. It should drip in a slow stream, like a thicker smoothie or loose yogurt.

If you accidentally overwhip your cream, which shouldn’t happen, you can add another splash of milk or cream.

Do Sweet Cream and Thai Tea Go Together?

Sweet cream and Thai tea are one of my favorite combos: sweet, creamy, and refreshing!

Thai tea can be very strong and sometimes astringent by itself, and the cream helps make it smooth and enjoyable to drink.

Sweet cream and condensed and evaporated milk have similar flavor profiles, so it’s no surprise that it works well with Thai tea.

You don’t need a lot of cream to make your Thai tea creamy; a little goes a long way.

Tips

Here are some tips on how to make a delicious sweet cream Thai tea at home:

• You can make a big batch of Thai tea in advance to have it readily available for 2-3 days. It’s easy to pour over ice and quickly make a sweet cream to add on top.
• Heavy cream and whipping cream are the same so you can use either for your sweet cream.
• For an ultra-smooth drink, make cold brew Thai tea! Leave your tea leaves at room temperature or cold water for at least 20 hours, then enjoy!
• If you’re using a blender to make sweet cream, watch it carefully and blend for 1-2 seconds at a time. Blenders incorporate air into cream very fast, so you can easily overwhip and make butter from your cream.