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Ingredients
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Tea Base
Sweetener
Dairy & Finish
Method
Tea Base
- 1
Boil water and spices
In a medium saucepan bring 4 cups of water to a rolling boil. Add star anise and crushed cardamom pods if using; simmer for 1 minute to bloom the spices.
- 2
Brew the tea
Add 6 teaspoons of strong black tea leaves (or Thai tea mix) to the boiling water. Reduce heat to low and simmer gently for 5 minutes for very strong flavor (up to 7 minutes if using regular black tea). Do not vigorously boil after adding tea to avoid bitterness.
- 3
Steep and strain
Remove the pan from heat and let the tea steep an additional 3–5 minutes off the heat for maximum color and flavor. Strain the tea through a fine mesh sieve or cheesecloth into a heatproof container to remove leaves and spices. You should have about 3 1/2–4 cups of concentrated tea.
- 4
Sweeten while hot
While the tea is still hot, stir in 6 tablespoons granulated sugar until fully dissolved, then add 4 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk and stir until incorporated. Tasting note: adjust sugar/condensed milk up or down by 1 tablespoon if you prefer sweeter or less sweet.
- 5
Cool the tea
Allow the sweetened tea to cool to room temperature (about 20–30 minutes) then chill in the refrigerator for at least 20 minutes until cold. Cooling ensures the ice won’t immediately dilute the drink.
Assembly
- 6
Prepare glasses
Fill 2 tall glasses with about 1 cup of ice cubes each (roughly 1 cup per serving).
- 7
- 8
- 9
