WHAT IS THAI ICED TEA?

Thai Iced Tea is known as "Cha Yen" in Thailand. "Cha" translates to "tea" and "Yen" means "cold" (or "iced" in this context). It is a blend of black tea leaves with various spices, such as star anise, vanilla, cloves, and cardamom. It has a characteristic color that comes from the addition of yellow dye. When brewed, the tea is a deep reddish brown and once milk is added it turns into a terracotta-like orange.

Thai Tea is emblematic of Thai food in the United States, and I have yet to find a Thai restaurant here that does not serve it. Thai Tea can be found all over Thailand as well, including in other forms such as black Thai tea, hot Thai tea or lime Thai tea.

There seem to be two common ways of making Thai Iced Tea. One is more often used in westernized Thai restaurants - we'll call this version "Restaurant-style Thai Iced Tea". The other version is more commonly found on the streets of Thailand, aka "Street Vendor-style Thai Iced Tea". They both start with the same base of boiling Thai tea mix (composed of black tea leaves, spices, and yellow dye) with water and sugar and letting it steep until it reaches a deep, dark reddish-brown color. The tea mix is strained out using a tea sock filter.

Street vendor-style Thai Iced Tea is more commonly mixed with sweetened condensed milk while it's still hot. This mixture is then poured into a plastic bag filled completely with crushed ice. It is topped off with evaporated milk before being given to you with a straw sticking out, ready to drink.