Thai Iced Tea with Boba

Thai Tea with Boba is a sweet, creamy, and refreshing drink that makes a perfect ending to a spicy dinner. I’m adding Boba, which are chewy tapioca pearls for a fun drink!

Thai iced tea is a popular street vendor drink in Thailand. Typically the tea is very sweet, and personally I’m not a fan of when it’s too sweet. This is why I love making Thai Tea at home since I can control the sweetness and add boba to the drink. Check out this Thai Green Tea version.

The orange hue of Thai Tea comes from food coloring, so if you are sensitive to food coloring, try substituting black tea leaves. Keep in mind it will not have the orange color, but you can mimic the same taste with a splash of vanilla.

Ingredients

You’ll need just a few ingredients to make Thai Tea with Boba. I get most of these at my local Asian market, but I’ve linked them on Amazon as well:

• Thai Tea Mix
• Quick-cooking Tapioca Pearls
• Sweetened condensed milk
• Evaporated Milk or Half & Half
• Sugar
• Ice

How to Make Thai Tea with a French Press

Using a French Press is my preferred way to make Thai Tea since it’s easy and mess free. Traditionally the tea leaves are steeped in a cloth strainer, but the coloring from the tea will stain the cloth and anything else it comes in contact with. If you have white countertops like me, make sure you wipe up any spills immediately.

To make Thai Tea in a French Press, add the Thai tea leaves to the glass with 4 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.

Quick Cooking Tapioca Pearls

Quick cooking tapioca pearls, also called boba, are a fun addition to Thai Tea. These are so easy to make, simply boil a pot of water and add the tapioca pearls. Allow them to simmer for 5 minutes or until soft.

Once they are soft, drain the boba with a strainer and rinse under cold water for a few seconds. Place the boba in a bowl and add a little sugar or honey to sweeten them and prevent the pearls from sticking together.

The cooked boba should be consumed within an hour of making, simply leave it at room temperature. The boba will harden a bit when added to a cold drink, so add it right before serving.

How to Serve Thai 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 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.

Add a few spoons of boba to a glass and fill it up with ice. Pour in the sweetened Thai tea and leave a little room on top. The milk is what makes Thai Tea creamy and gives it a pretty orange 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)

You will also need to serve the tea using boba straws to slurp them up as you are dinking the tea.

Please leave a Rating and Review after making this recipe, I appreciate it!

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