What you need to know about your favorite Thai tea!

The world’s most popular beverage, after water, is tea. It is enjoyed in nearly every country. Tea is made from the leaves of the Camellia Sinensis plant, which originated in East Asia. The Chinese invented it. Today, tea is grown around the globe.

Our previous articles discussed the oxidation process used to turn tea leaves into tea powder. The tea varieties are determined by the length of time the leaves are oxidized.

The most popular and consumed tea type is black tea. It’s the darkest and sweetest tea, used in nearly all blended tea drinks, whether served hot or cold.

Spiced Tea

Masala tea is the national drink of India. It’s made with tea, Milk, and a mixture of spices commonly known as masala. Green cardamom and ginger are the main ingredients.

Even though savory tea’ might seem odd to some people, trying masala tea can be a rewarding experience. Masala tea is a delight for your taste buds thanks to its rich, spicy, and creamy flavor. If you have an Indian restaurant near you, they will most likely serve Masala Tea.

Thai Tea

Thailand also has its special spiced tea. Thai tea is made from tea, Milk, and spices. However, it differs significantly from its Indian counterpart regarding the tea and Milk types used. It also differs in the kind of spice mixture and the way the tea is served.

Thai tea is distinguished by its orange color, creamy taste, spicy aroma, and thick texture. Ceylon black tea, a tea grown and produced exclusively in Thailand, is used to make this tea.

Thai tea is made from Ceylon tea that has been brewed very strongly. The tea is then blended with Milk and sweetened with Sugar or Honey. This mixture is then combined with condensed cream to add sweetness. It’s also spiced with turmeric, cardamom, and tamarind to make it orange.

The Colour

It is interesting to note that in the past, chefs added turmeric to tea to make it orange. This would attract people to taste it. Many restaurants today use artificial colors to make tea even more orange.

Thai tea served in street tea stands and restaurants are very different. The condensed cream is usually added at the bottom and then topped off with the other ingredients’ orange mixture. The layers are stunning and create a beautiful effect.

Thai Herbal Tea

Thai tea is usually consumed hot in the morning. It can be served chilled, typically poured over ice cubes, making it the perfect summer treat. The two teas are best enjoyed after a spicy Thai meal.

In the West, the term herbal Tea is used to refer to herbs and spices infused in water but without tea. They are all still tea. Thai tea can also be used to describe other drinks.

Thai herbal teas are also called Thai tea if made by the traditional Thai medicine recipe, even if they don’t contain any milk. Thai oolong (oolong refers to a tea that is not fully oxidized) is often called Thai tea.

You need to order the traditional Thai orange tea.

Alternatives

It is often difficult to find specific ingredients in drinks or meals native to a particular country. Alternatives are created to make it possible for as many people to enjoy the glass or dish as possible but at the cost of being slightly different.

Thai tea can be adapted to suit all tea lovers. Let’s take a look at some alternative ingredients to Thai tea.

Tea

Thai tea requires Ceylon tea. This black tea is grown both in Thailand and Sri Lanka. Ceylon is the name of the Sri Lankan tea company that makes this type of tea. If unavailable, Ceylon tea from other brands, like Ahmed Tea, will also work.

Due to the popularity of Thai Tea, many tea companies offer three-in-one Thai tea sachets. These sachets contain tea and spices and only require water to be brewed. They can also be mixed with condensed dairy.

If you can’t find these teas, any black tea of good quality will do.

Milk

Original Thai tea recipes use dairy milk. People can still adjust the recipe to suit their tastes. Vegans can enjoy Thai tea if they substitute dairy milk for non-dairy, such as almond, coconut, soy, or oat.

How to make Thai Tea

It’s always been challenging to make Thai tea at your home. Checking your options is all you have to do before. Check if you can get Ceylon tea or if the spiced Thai powder is more readily available in a local supermarket or online.

If you use regular black tea, you will still need the spice mixture at home. You will need cinnamon, anise, and ground cardamom to make your tea orange.

It is possible to play around with the spice and swap some of them for others. Some people add cloves and nutmeg to their tea, giving it a more robust flavor.

This recipe is only possible with Condensed Milk. In this recipe, we’ll use black tea with some evaporated milk. Learn how to make both hot and cold Thai tea. Follow along.

Ingredients

Serving: 2

• Black tea, four tablespoons
• Cinnamon 1 teaspoon
• Cardamom powder, one teaspoon
• One teaspoon of turmeric
• One teaspoon of aniseed
• Condensed Milk, three tablespoons
• Two cups of water
• 1/4 cup milk
• Use two teaspoons of Sugar
• A glass full of ice cubes
• Two tablespoons of evaporated Milk

Recipe

Pour two cups of hot water into a pot and add four tablespoons of black tea or Ceylon. Bring the pot to a rolling boil on medium heat. Let the tea and spices sit for at least 10 minutes after turning off the heat. Add a little more black tea to your tea to make it stronger.

Let’s now move on to the preparation of Milk.

Add three tablespoons of condensed white Sugar and two tablespoons of condensed Milk to a large glass. A pinch of salt will help balance the sweetness. Mix all ingredients by stirring. Sugar can be increased or decreased to make the tea sweeter.

Using a strainer, pour the brewed tea and spices into the condensed cream milk. Stir until all ingredients are blended. Pour your Thai tea into a new cup, then add two tablespoons of evaporated Milk. Your tea is now ready.

The process of making iced Thai Tea is the same, but you add a quarter-cup of Milk instead of evaporated Milk.

You can steep them in cold (water) for two hours or more before making tea to get a strong flavor of tea and spices. It will also work well with iced Thai Tea.