If you’re from California, specifically SoCal, you’ll be well aware of the famous Seaside Bakery and its infamous green Thai tea. Rich, creamy, sweet, floral, and fragrant, green Thai tea is so different from its orange counterpart, Thai tea. But while the names are similar, the two teas could not be more different.

So, if you’re curious about Green Thai tea and how to make it, continue reading!

What is Thai Green Tea?

I remember distinctly getting green Thai tea leaves as a gift, but not ever trying it before. After brewing and preparing the green tea, you get this amazing pandan, minty, and vanilla aroma! It was unlike anything I’ve ever had, and I fell in love.

Green Thai Tea is Jasmine green tea infused with herbs and spices. Although it’s not clear what spices are actually in green Thai tea. I’ve found that most brands that make green Thai tea don’t disclose specific ingredients. For example, ChaTraMue, Thailand’s famous tea brand, says its green Thai tea has natural flavorings, tea, sugar, and food coloring.

However, after tasting the tea, several flavor notes stand out. While the tea spices vary from brand to brand, you’ll usually get pandan, jasmine, vanilla, and mint.

What Does Green Thai Tea Taste Like?

Green Thai tea has a very floral and herbal taste. It is very aromatic and, when mixed with condensed milk, is very pleasant and creamy. To me, it’s like if pandan and jasmine milk tea had a baby, with a little bit of mint mixed in.

The flavor notes include vanilla, pandan, mint, and star anise, and it’s incredibly refreshing. People often describe green Thai tea as fruity, but I think it is more floral and herbal and sometimes spicy (like in the ginger way).

What’s the Difference Between Green Thai Tea and Thai Tea?

The biggest (and most visible) difference between green Thai tea and Thai tea is color. Thai tea is a vibrant orange, while Green Thai tea is a bright green.

However, aside from color, green Thai tea and regular Thai tea have wildly different tastes.

Thai tea is a spiced black tea with hints of cardamom, star anise, and other herbs. With condensed milk, Thai tea is sweet and creamy with a well-rounded and balanced tea flavor and mild spices.

Green Thai tea is an infused jasmine green tea with hints of pandan, ginger, mint, star anise, and cardamom. It’s incredibly floral and fresh, with a nice herb flavor. Green Thai tea is also sweet and creamy with condensed milk, but has a more vibrant flavor.

TLDR: Thai tea has a heavier body and creamier taste, while green Thai tea is more refreshing and herbaceous and has a lighter body. It’s hard to choose between the two sometimes because they’re just that good!

Green Thai Tea vs. Matcha

People often confuse matcha and green Thai tea and think they are the same thing (don’t worry, I did, too). Although in appearance, Green Thai tea looks like matcha, it is not matcha.

Green Thai tea is made from whole jasmine green tea leaves, while matcha is finely ground young green tea leaves.

However, you can find green Thai tea mix rather than tea leaves, but it is a dehydrated tea concentrate that is made to dissolve in water instantly. But that is still different from matcha powder, which is tea itself.

Flavor-wise, green Thai tea leaves are infused with natural flavors like pandan and mint, which give them a floral and fresh taste. It’s incredibly aromatic and requires brewing before use.

Matcha gets its flavor from the young green tea leaves, which are cultivated, grown, and processed in specific ways to achieve different flavors. Generally, it has an earthy, nutty, and umami taste with a slightly bitter aftertaste. It’s finely ground and whisked with water before drinking by itself or with milk.

Where to Buy Green Thai Tea

The best place to get green Thai tea is online. My favorite brand is ChaTraMue, which is a famous tea brand from Thailand that sells all sorts of teas, but they’re best known for their Thai tea.

They carry green Thai tea mix, which is $5 for a bag, but not the tea leaves. I get my green Thai tea leaves from Oakland Tea Co., a local small business in the Bay Area (where I live). Their green Thai tea is the best; it’s so fragrant!

You can help support them (and me) by buying their green Thai tea leaves.

How to Make Traditional Green Thai Tea

Traditionally, Thai tea is bought from a small street stand or cart, often from $1-2 a cup. Restaurants and cafes also serve Thai teas, but the best is from the street!

You’ll see Thai street vendors brew dozens of cups one after the other and aerate the tea using a giant tea sock. The tea brewing process takes a lot of skill and patience. The result is an ultra-creamy milk tea that is to die for.

To make traditional Green Thai tea, brew the leaves in hot water for 3-5 minutes until well steeped. Then, like Thai Tea, dissolve condensed milk into the tea while it’s hot.

While still hot, pour the tea mixture onto a full cup of crushed ice and top with evaporated milk for extra creaminess. This gives it that characteristic creamy flavor that is so distinct in Thai teas!

Aerate the brewed tea using a tea sock or ladle for extra points.

Easy Green Thai Tea

While it’s possible to recreate traditional Thai tea at home, acquiring different tools and ingredients to make a drink is cumbersome.

You definitely do not need special tools to make a great green Thai tea at home, and you can substitute ingredients with those you already have.

If you already have condensed and evaporated milk on hand, use those! If not, you can make a great cup with just sugar, milk, and the green Thai tea mix or leaves. Check out my video tutorial above!

Accordingly, replace condensed milk with sugar and evaporated milk with regular milk. The taste will alter slightly, and it won’t be nearly as creamy; it’s still a delicious drink.

Other Thai Tea Drinks to Try

If you love this Thai green tea, then you have to try all the other variations of Thai tea! From sweet cream cold foam to traditional Thai tea, here’s some inspiration for your next drink to make:

• Creamy coconut Thai tea cloud
• Matcha Thai tea (Must Try!)
• Sweet cream Thai tea
• Thai tea latte
• Sweet cream cold foam Thai green tea

Tips

Here are some tips on making green Thai tea at home:

• Change Sugar Amount: If you’re not sure how sweet you want your tea, always add less sugar first. You can always add more sugar, but you can’t take it out once you put it in. You can start with 1 tsp, taste, add 1/2 a tsp, then taste until you like it.
• Creamy Milk Tea: Use half and half instead of 2% or whole milk as creamer for your tea. It will make it deliciously creamy with less milk.
• Manually Crush Ice: The traditional way to drink Thai green tea is with crushed ice! If your fridge doesn’t automatically do it, you can crush cubed ice yourself until you get small pieces. This will cool the drink fast and make a satisfying ice stirring sound.