If you’ve never been to Thailand or a Thai street food stall, you most likely have only had the Americanized version of Thai tea, which is sweetened tea with half and half. Don’t get me wrong, that’s absolutely delicious, but the Thai iced tea they sell in Thailand is a little different!

Authentic Thai iced tea is actually not even that authentic (more on that later), but in Thailand, Thai tea is made with condensed milk, evaporated milk, and sugar. It creates the most creamy, delicious, and smooth milk tea that’s so addictive.

So, here’s how to make authentic Thai tea at home!

What is in Thai Tea?

Traditional Thai iced tea is made from brewed black tea leaves, sometimes spices like star anise, condensed milk, evaporated milk, and ice. It’s a sweet and creamy tea that has a vanilla, spiced, and floral flavor profile. The addition of condensed milk and ice is a more modern invention, some claiming it from a Thai leader with Western taste!

And as for the orange color? Some say that it comes from Thai chefs in America coloring Thai tea with food coloring to make it more appealing, and that trend found its way back to Thailand! Now, Thai tea is synonymous with that creamy, orange color (Ironic, huh?)

However, because this milk tea is so popular and brewing tea takes a long time, many people (including street vendors) use Thai tea leaves with the flavoring and orange color already mixed in.

What is the Difference Between American Thai Tea and Authentic Thai Tea?

If you go to any Thai restaurant in America (or other Western country), you’ll likely get a tea that has a dark tea base and a lighter, orange to white milk floating on top. This is because Western Thai tea is made with a sweetened tea base and half and half to give it that creamy edge. It’s also notoriously sweet!

While that version is delicious, it’s different from the Thai tea served in Thailand, which is also mainly served from street stalls or cars in night markets. This creamy version is made with the same brewed tea, mixed with sugar, condensed milk, and evaporated milk, served over crushed ice and topped with more evaporated milk.

The Thai version is much creamier and refreshing, although it’s still pretty sweet, it tastes more balanced from the milks.

What Tea Do You Need?

Thai iced tea uses black Ceylon tea or a local Thai Assam black tea. However, the majority of Thai teas use a regular Ceylon tea. If you do a quick Google search, many people seem to use just any black tea they have, vanilla extract, milk, sugar, and food coloring.

While you can use any Ceylon tea to make this drink, the best tea to get is from the Cha Tra Mue brand, which is a Thai tea brand famous for its Thai tea leaves. They sell the actual tea leaves mixed in with the flavors and orange coloring, which is the same brand that all the street vendors use in Thailand.

You’ll also see that they sell a Thai tea powder mix, which is just tea powder, sugar, and the remaining flavors and coloring. I personally have never tried the powder and always use the tea leaves, but it’s a good option if you want convenience!

Where to Buy Thai Tea Leaves

You can buy the Cha Tra Mue tea leaves mix online on their website, Amazon, or through specialty Asian grocery stores. They should also be available in your local Asian grocery stores, but they may be hard to find since it’s a popular product.

If you live somewhere where there is a Cha Tra Mue outlet, even better! You can buy it directly from them.

But if you can’t find this brand, you can also try any other brand that sells Thai tea leaves or even just regular Ceylon black tea. You’ll be able to find these in any tea store, grocery store, or online.

Can I Use Milk Instead?

If you don’t have condensed or evaporated milk on you, you can always use regular milk in a pinch. However, it won’t have the same creamy texture since milk is more watery than evaporated milk. But, you can make evaporated milk from regular milk by simmering the milk on the stove until it reduces down into a thicker liquid!

But to save time, half and half is the better option since it’s fattier and creamier. Just use it sparingly if you’re not sure how much of it to add. If you add too much, it will overpower the tea flavor and you’ll feel like you’re drinking straight milk.

How to Make Thai Tea

Here’s what you’ll need to make a traditional Thai tea at home:

• 2 tbsp Thai tea leaves mix
• 1½ cup water
• 1½ tsp sugar
• ¼ cup evaporated milk
• 1 tbsp condensed milk
• 2 cups of ice (enough to fill the entire cup)

Thai Tea Recipe

1. Brew Thai Tea. Boil water. Add Thai tea leaves into a heatproof cup and add hot water. Steep the tea for 5-10 minutes until the tea steeps thoroughly (we want a strong brew). Strain the hot tea into another glass and remove the tea leaves.
2. Sweeten Thai Tea. To the hot tea, add sugar, condensed milk, and a little bit (about 1-2 teaspoons) of evaporated milk. Stir to dissolve until well-combined and there is no condensed milk left.
3. Assemble Drink. Fill your entire glass with crushed ice. Pour the hot, sweetened tea over the ice and top off with evaporated milk.
4. Mix and Enjoy!

Other Thai Tea Recipes to Try

After you try this Thai tea recipe, you’ll definitely want to make it again and again. However, you might want to change it up a bit or experiment with different flavors and textures. So, here are some Thai tea recipes you have to try next:

• Coconut Thai tea cloud
• Matcha Thai tea
• Sweet cream Thai tea (Must Try!)
• Thai tea latte
• Thai green tea
• Sweet cream Thai green tea

Tips:

Here are some tips for making traditional Thai tea at home, like how the Thai street vendors make it:

• Add a Little Salt: This recipe actually uses less sugar than what the default Thai tea has, but if you use more sugar, consider adding a small pinch of salt to your tea. It cuts the sweetness and makes it taste a little better because of the contrast. Trust me, there’s science behind it!
• Use Crushed Ice (and a LOT of it): In Thailand, street vendors use a lot of ice because it’s so hot and the drinks melt extremely fast. The Thai tea is meant to be a concentrated version of milk tea, which then gets diluted to creamy perfection once the ice melts. Plus, I think crushed ice always makes drinks taste better.