Thai Green Tea
Thai Iced Green Tea is a sweet and refreshing drink that can be made using a French Press and a Thai Green Tea blend. Top the tea with your choice of milk for a creamy drink.
It wasn’t until recently my mom introduced me to Thai Green Tea. I’ve only had and known of Thai Tea, which is a popular drink in Thailand. But now I’m learning that this Green Tea version is popular as well.
What is Thai Green Tea?
Thai Green Tea in Thailand is served similar to Thai Tea with sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, and lots of ice. The iced green tea is commonly served very sweet, therefore making it at home is better to control the sugar and sweetness to your liking.
The Green Tea mix I’m using is the brand, Cha Tra Mue Green Tea. This tea mix consists of assam green tea leaves, sugar, jasmine, and Pandan flavor. There is also artificial food coloring in this mix, which gives the tea a bright green hue.
If you are sensitive to food coloring, then I would not recommend using this tea mix. Alternatively, you can make your own with Assam green tea leaves, matcha powder, pandan leaves, and dried jasmine flowers.
Ingredients
You’ll need just a few ingredients to make Thai Green Tea. I get the tea mix at my local Asian market, but I’ve linked it on Amazon as well.
- Thai Green Tea Mix
- Sweetened condensed milk
- Evaporated Milk or Half & Half
- Sugar
- Ice
How to Make Thai Green Tea
Using a French Press is my preferred way to make Thai green tea since it’s easy. But you can use a tea pot with filter, or combine the tea leaves with hot water and strain it out.
To make Thai Green Tea in a French Press, add the green tea leaves to the glass with 2 cups of hot water (just boiled). Stir the tea and allow it to steep for 5 minutes. You can steep it for longer, just keep in mind that it may taste bitter if it’s steeped for too long.
After 5 minutes, press down the lever until you reach the tea leaves. Pour the brewed tea into individual glasses or a large glass to cool. While the tea is still warm, sweeten it with sugar and stir until it dissolves. Brewed Thai tea can be stored in the refrigerator for up to a week.
If you plan on drinking the tea the same day, then you can use sweetened condensed milk. Add it to each individual glass with the warm Thai tea. This will make it easier to mix, then allow to cool for 15 minutes before adding ice. Otherwise all the ice will melt from the warm tea.
How to Serve Thai Green Tea
Thai Tea is typically a sweet drink and I would classify it as a dessert. But the benefit of making it at home is that you can control the sweetness and milk level to your liking. Whether you are using sugar or sweetened condensed milk as the sweetener, taste the Thai tea first before adding ice.
I love the color you get when using sweetened condensed milk, here is what it looks like brewed then with the milk added.
Pour the cooled sweetened Thai tea over ice and leave a little room on top. The milk is what makes Tea creamy and gives it a pale green color.
You can customize the milk with your preference, here are some suggestions:
- Evaporated Milk (common in Thailand)
- Half and Half (common at restaurants in the US)
- Heavy Cream (makes it extra rich and creamy)
- Coconut Cream (creamy and plant-based)
This drink is so refreshing, especially on a hot day. You can even add tapioca pearls for a fun chewy treat!
Please leave a Rating and Review after making this recipe, I appreciate it!
More Thai Desserts
Thai Green Tea Recipe
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cups Boiling Water
- ⅓ cup Thai Green Tea Mix
- 4 tablespoons Sugar or Sweetened condensed milk adjusted to taste
- 2 tablespoons Evaporated Milk or Half and Half adjusted to taste
- Ice to fill each glass
Instructions
- Add green Thai tea leaves to a French Press along with water that was just boiling. Stir and allow to steep for 5 minutes. Steeping for too long may cause it to taste bitter. After 5 minutes, press down the lever until it reaches the tea leaves.
- Pour tea into a large jar to cool down. At this point, you can add sugar and stir to combine. Keep the tea in the fridge until you are ready to serve.
- Another option is to divide the tea into individual glasses, then sweeten with sugar or sweetened condensed milk. Start with 1-2 tablespoons then taste the tea to see if more sugar is needed. Mixing the sugar or sweetened condensed milk when the tea is warm will be easier.
- Allow the tea to cool for at least 15 minutes. Fill each glass with ice, the sweetened green tea, and top with evaporated milk or half and half.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is provided as an estimate only and depends on ingredients and amounts used. Thai Caliente makes no guarantees to the accuracy of this information.
