Thai Tea Mystery

[changoo]

My friend introduced me to Thai food a couple years ago and Thai Iced Tea became my favorite drink. I've been seeking out Thai restaurants for my Thai Iced Tea "fix" on a pretty regular basis ever since. Eventually I discovered a place nearby that makes the best Thai tea I've ever had, hands down. That only worsened my "addiction" and I'm living on a weak income so I decided that maybe I'd better learn how to make it myself.

 

I imported some Thai tea leaves and made the tea according to a recipe that came with it, which corresponded to other recipes I'd seen online. It involved steeping the tea in boiled water and then adding sugar and evaporated milk. The result tasted a lot like the Thai tea I get at most Thai restaurants, but not anywhere near as good as the tea I get at my favorite restaurant.

 

I'm dying to ask them what their secret is but I don't want to be rude. So I've been trying to figure out what could make the difference. I could immediately tell that their recipe had a different sweetness and consistency. It didn't taste like plain sugary tea even though it was very sweet, and it had a creaminess about it.

 

Looking online, I read that some people use Sweetened Condensed milk to sweeten the tea so I thought for sure this was the secret. Sure enough, that gave it the right quality of taste and creaminess to compare with my favorite restaurant.

 

But the mystery persists, because my method is clearly still different from theirs. When I order the tea from them they bring it to the counter in a container and it is a deep red color. They pour it over ice and top it off with what looks like ordinary half and half. The h&h slowly sinks to the bottom creating a sort of sunset effect. The end result is a red drink with white on the bottom. Once I start drinking it the two separate liquids mix and the drink loses the distinct colors and becomes orange.

 

In my own recipe, when I add the Sweetened Condensed Milk it is very thick and settles immediately to the bottom and remains there even if I take a sip. I have to stir thoroughly to get them to mix and the tea turns orange, so I can't duplicate the effect that they create at the restaurant. It's not as if the aesthetic is essential, but it proves to me that I'm doing it different and I still want to know the "proper" way they use to achieve the perfect Thai Tea.

[Lyly L]

Thanks you for the post.

[Sam Hill]

You can buy instant Thai tea powder. Maybe not as good as the original but tolerable. Buy some and see what you can learn from the contents and percentages. Outside of Thailand look for it in Asian food shops and groceries.

[Vitali]

Are you sure you use C-lon tea? I'm not sure how it's spelled. But, they are using this tea in Thailand. Different tea of course makes different taste. If your tea is not in red color, it would probably be not the C-lon tea.

[Vortex]

My friend introduced me to Thai food a couple years ago and Thai Iced Tea became my favorite drink. I've been seeking out Thai restaurants for my Thai Iced Tea "fix" on a pretty regular basis ever since. Eventually I discovered a place nearby that makes the best Thai tea I've ever had, hands down. That only worsened my "addiction" and I'm living on a weak income so I decided that maybe I'd better learn how to make it myself.

 

I imported some Thai tea leaves and made the tea according to a recipe that came with it, which corresponded to other recipes I'd seen online. It involved steeping the tea in boiled water and then adding sugar and evaporated milk. The result tasted a lot like the Thai tea I get at most Thai restaurants, but not anywhere near as good as the tea I get at my favorite restaurant.

 

I'm dying to ask them what their secret is but I don't want to be rude. So I've been trying to figure out what could make the difference. I could immediately tell that their recipe had a different sweetness and consistency. It didn't taste like plain sugary tea even though it was very sweet, and it had a creaminess about it.

 

Looking online, I read that some people use Sweetened Condensed milk to sweeten the tea so I thought for sure this was the secret. Sure enough, that gave it the right quality of taste and creaminess to compare with my favorite restaurant.

 

But the mystery persists, because my method is clearly still different from theirs. When I order the tea from them they bring it to the counter in a container and it is a deep red color. They pour it over ice and top it off with what looks like ordinary half and half. The h&h slowly sinks to the bottom creating a sort of sunset effect. The end result is a red drink with white on the bottom. Once I start drinking it the two separate liquids mix and the drink loses the distinct colors and becomes orange.

 

In my own recipe, when I add the Sweetened Condensed Milk it is very thick and settles immediately to the bottom and remains there even if I take a sip. I have to stir thoroughly to get them to mix and the tea turns orange, so I can't duplicate the effect that they create at the restaurant. It's not as if the aesthetic is essential, but it proves to me that I'm doing it different and I still want to know the "proper" way they use to achieve the perfect Thai Tea.

 

 

Try using evaporated milk and not Sweetened Condensed Milk, as Sweetened Condensed Milk contains a lot of sugar and that is what makes it thicker

[Bam_Bam]

Try using evaporated milk and not Sweetened Condensed Milk, as Sweetened Condensed Milk contains a lot of sugar and that is what makes it thicker

 

Perhaps the sweetness is coming from a Liquid Palm Sugar instead of cane sugar, I have a liking for an Indonesian Sweet Soy sauce called Ketsup Manis, there is a Thai version of it available here and they have a very different sweetness about them, the Thai one is made with Cane Sugar in it and the Indonesian one Palm Sugar.

 

Just a guess, but maybe worth a try

 

 

Bam Bam