Description
A popular Thai drink is a creamy, luxurious, iced Thai tea made with black tea, spices, natural sweeteners, vanilla, and vegan condensed milk. This homemade version is made from scratch without food coloring and additives. Smooth, sweet, earthy, rich, and refreshing!
Ingredients
Scale
- 3 tsp black tea leaves or 3 black tea bags
- 3 whole star anise, lightly crushed
- 2 small or 1 large cinnamon stick
- 3 pods green cardamom, lightly crushed
- 3 cloves
- ¼ cup vegan sweetened condensed milk
- 4 tbsp barista oat milk
- 2 tbsp maple syrup
- 1 tbsp vanilla extract
- 4 cups ( 945 ml) water
- Ice cubes (or crushed ice) to fill each serving glass about half
Optional:
- 2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp tamarind powder
Instructions
- To a saucepan, add water and bring to a boil. Add the black tea bags or black tea leaves. Also, add the cloves, star anise, cinnamon, and cardamom. If using, you can also add turmeric and tamarind to the saucepan to brew.
- Gently boil for about 10 minutes. Boil for no longer than 30 minutes to avoid the tea becoming too bitter. The tea should be a deep dark colored brown, a bit like strong coffee. If you don’t mind a very dark and bitter tone to your tea, you can brew it for 30-60 minutes. See the FAQ and tips section above for more tips.
- Remove from the heat and let cool.
- Use a traditional tea sock to filter the tea twice. Alternatively (and just as effective) is a double strainer, such as a coffee filter combined with a tea filter. Filter the tea twice.
- To the filtered tea add vegan sweetened condensed milk, maple syrup, vanilla, and stir.
- Fill a glass with ice cubes (about halfway) and pour the tea over the ice cubes.
- Drizzle two tablespoons of barista oat milk per glass on top of the tea.
- Serve immediately cold.
Notes
- Sweetness
I like maple syrup for this drink, and overall, this recipe is less sweet than traditional Thai tea recipes. You can adjust the sweetness by using less maple syrup, or you can also use a different sweetener such as white sugar, coconut sugar, brown sugar, or date syrup. Remember that the sweet vegan condensed milk will also add sweetness to the tea. - Evaporated milk
The evaporated milk is optional, but I recommend it for extra creaminess without adding more sugar. For the dairy-free alternative to evaporated milk, I recommend using barista oat milk, coconut milk or any other plant-based barista milk. - Dilute
The more ice cubes you use, the more diluted the taste. - Creamier
To make the tea creamier, add more vegan sweetened condensed milk. - Filter
You will need a filter or fine mesh sieve for this recipe. To make this recipe you don’t need a traditional Thai-style tea filter sock to get the same results. You can use a coffee filter in combination with a a tea filter. - Make ahead
If you want to keep a pitcher in your fridge to make Thai tea in a few seconds, you can by making the tea in advance.