Thai Ice Tea Recipe

Brew the tea

Bring 1000 ml (1 L) water to a rolling boil in a saucepan or kettle. Remove from heat and add 6 tablespoons Thai black tea leaves (or Thai tea mix). Cover and steep for 5 to 7 minutes for robust flavor. Taste at 5 minutes and steep up to 7 minutes if you prefer stronger tea.

Strain

Strain the steeped tea through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a heatproof pitcher to remove leaves. Discard the used tea leaves.

Make simple syrup

Combine 200 g granulated sugar and 120 ml water in a small saucepan. Heat over medium, stirring constantly until the sugar is fully dissolved and the mixture comes to a gentle simmer. Remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. This creates a concentrated sweet syrup to sweeten the tea evenly.

Sweeten the tea

While the brewed tea is still warm but not boiling hot, stir in the cooled simple syrup to taste. Start by adding all the syrup for a traditionally sweet Thai tea (approximately 180–220 g sugar sweetness total). If you prefer less sweet, add 2/3 to 3/4 of the syrup and adjust after chilling.

Color and cool

If using orange food coloring or annatto extract, stir 1 teaspoon into the sweetened tea now until evenly distributed. Allow the sweetened tea to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate for at least 1 hour until well chilled.

Prepare serving glasses

Fill 4 tall glasses with about 1 cup of ice cubes each (roughly 4 cups total).

Assemble the drinks

Divide the chilled sweetened tea evenly among the 4 glasses, pouring to about 3/4 full. Gently pour 40 ml (about 1.5 oz) sweetened condensed milk over the top of each glass (160 ml total divided). Then drizzle 30 ml evaporated milk (or whole milk/half-and-half) over each (120 ml total divided). Do not stir if you want the classic layered look; stir before drinking to combine.