With warm weather on the horizon, there’s no better time to cool down with a refreshing glass of Thai Iced Tea. Whether you’ve sipped this sweet, creamy drink in the bustling streets of Thailand or discovered it at a local Thai restaurant, one thing is clear – this isn’t your average iced tea. It starts with strong black tea, a touch of vanilla for depth, and finishes with a luscious swirl of sweetened condensed and evaporated milk over ice. Best of all, it’s easier to make than you might think—and you probably have everything you need right in your pantry.
The first time I tried Thai Iced Tea was during my teenage years, while working at a Thai restaurant – and I instantly fell in love with it (along with all the amazing food!). I assumed it must be made with exotic spices or hard-to-find ingredients, but it turns out to be surprisingly simple. This version uses regular tea bags and still delivers all the bold flavor and comfort you’d expect from this iconic drink. No frills, just a smooth, sweet, and deeply refreshing treat that’s easy to make and impossible to resist
Why You Will Love This Thai Iced Tea
Easy to make – If you can brew tea, you can make Thai Iced Tea
Simple Ingredients – Tea bags, water, sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, vanilla extract and sugar (optional). I have substitutions if you need.
Deeply refreshing – Served over ice, this iced tea is cool and delicious. Packs a caffeine punch too if you need a little pick me up. Or use decaf tea for a kid-friendly version.
Bold smooth flavor – The strong tea brings big flavor, but the tannins are smoothed out by way of the sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and optional sugar.
You can control the sweetness – If you like your Thai Iced Tea sweeter (as it is traditionally served), you can stir in some extra sugar to your liking, otherwise just go with the sweetness found in the condensed and evaporated milks.
Equipment Needed
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- A French press is nice for brewing the tea, especially if you use loose leaves. But you can also get by with a large teapot, saucepan or heat resistant bowl.
Ingredients and Substitutions
Black Tea – If you were to make this drink in Thailand you would use Thai Tea mix. This is essentially ceylon black tea, vanilla extract, and orange food coloring. You can buy Thai Tea mix online, but its not totally necessary. I use Orange Pekoe tea bags – like from Tetley or Lipton which you probably already have in your cupboard.
Vanilla Extract – adds a subtle depth of flavor that makes this drink extra special. If you don’t have any on hand, no worries, you can still make a Milky Iced Tea that’s absolutely delicious and sure to knock your socks off.
Sweetened Condensed Milk and Evaporated Milk – Adds sweetness and creaminess. They are the traditional milks used in Thai Iced Tea. If you don’t have them on hand, some people also make this with half and half. The half and half has more fat content and less protein than the canned milks I suggest so the flavor is a bit different, but still good. One of the advantages of using the half and half is you can get more pronounced swirling when you drizzle it on top – makes for good presentation.
Sugar (Optional)- Traditionally this is a fairly sweet tea, so you can stir in a teaspoon or two to your liking. I prefer not adding extra sugar myself.
Orange Food Coloring (Optional) – To give that deep orange/brown color. I don’t bother to add it, as I am fine without the color, but feel free to add a couple of drops.
How To Make Thai Iced Tea
First thing to do is to brew a very strong tea. Add 4 ½ cups boiling water to a large teapot, French press, or large heat proof pot. Add 12 tea bags. Brew for 7 minutes then remove the tea bags.
Let the tea cool to room temperature, about 2-3 hours.
Once cool, stir in the vanilla extract and set aside.
If Using Condensed and Evaporated Milk
In a small jug or cup mix together the condensed and evaporated milks, set aside.
Fill four large glasses with ice. Evenly distribute the tea into the four glasses. Drizzle the condensed and evaporated milk mixture over the ice in each glass (approximately 4 tablespoons in each glass). Add a straw and serve with sugar. Your guests can stir the drink to distribute the milks evenly and can add sugar to their liking.
If Using Half and Half
Add 3 tablespoons of sugar to the tea/vanilla mixture and stir to dissolve.
Fill four large glasses with ice. Evenly distribute the tea into the four glasses. Drizzle the half and half over the ice of each glass (approximately 3-4 tablespoons in each glass). Add a straw and serve with sugar. Your guests can stir the drink to distribute the half and half evenly and can add more sugar to their liking.
Notes
- I use about 1 cup of the strong brew tea per glass of Thai Iced Tea. I add 4 ½ cups boiling water to the teapot because when you remove the tea bags water comes out with them.
- If you want to avoid caffeine, you can use decaffeinated tea bags.
FAQs
- What is in Thai Tea Mix? If you buy Thai tea or Thai tea mix It is usually a Ceylon black tea with vanilla extract added and orange food coloring.
- Should I squeeze the tea bags out when I remove them from the tea? To squeeze or not to squeeze? The short answer is, either way is fine. The long answer is, when you squeeze the tea bags you release more tannins into the tea which adds more flavor as well as more bitterness. I feel like this is mellowed out by the sugar and condensed and evaporated milks – so I don’t mind it. It will also increase the cloudiness of the tea
- How do you get the beautiful swirls in the Thai Iced Tea? The swirls form when you gently drizzle the milk over the the cold tea. They only last while the milk is being poured in, it quickly mixes in.
- How come my brewed tea is cloudy? When brewing really strong tea you get a lot of polyphenols like tannins and they can precipitate out increasing the cloudiness.
- Can I cool the tea faster in the fridge? yes, you can put the tea in the fridge to cool faster. I have found that the tea becomes cloudier in the fridge. Most likely due to the fast temperature change causing the tannins to precipitate out. But it tastes the same.
- How come my Thai Iced Tea looks like dark milky tea and not orange-milky tea? This is due to the fact that we haven’t added any orange food coloring.
Thai Iced Tea
Ingredients
- 4 ½ cups Boiling Water
- 12 Tea Bags (Orange Pekoe or other plain black tea)
- 2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract
- 6 tablespoons Sweetened Condensed Milk
- ¾ cup Evaporated Milk
- Sugar (optional)
- Orange Food Coloring (optional)
Instructions
- Brew a very strong tea by adding 4 ½ cups boiling water to a large teapot, French press, or large heat proof pot. Add 12 tea bags. Brew for 7 minutes then remove the tea bags.
- Let the tea cool to room temperature, about 2-3 hours.
- Once cool, stir in the vanilla extract and set aside.
If using Evaporated and Condensed Milk
- In a small jug or cup mix together the condensed and evaporated milks, set aside.
- Fill four large glasses with ice. Evenly distribute the tea into the four glasses. Drizzle the condensed and evaporated milk mixture over the ice in each glass (approximately 4 tablespoons in each glass). Add a straw and serve with sugar. Your guests can stir the drink to distribute the milks evenly and can add sugar to their liking.
If Using Half and Half
- Add 3 tablespoons of sugar to the tea/vanilla mixture and stir to dissolve.
- Fill four large glasses with ice. Evenly distribute the tea into the four glasses. Drizzle the half and half over the ice of each glass (approximately 3-4 tablespoons in each glass). Add a straw and serve with sugar. Your guests can stir the drink to distribute the half and half evenly and can add more sugar to their liking.
- Enjoy!
Notes
- I use about 1 cup of the strong brew tea per glass of Thai Iced Tea. I add 4 ½ cups boiling water to the teapot because when you remove the tea bags water comes out with them.
- If you want to avoid caffeine, you can use decaffeinated tea bags.
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