Thai Iced Tea ชาเย็น (cha yen)

Two easy ways to make the iconic Thai drink at home. You can make it Thai style to try it the way it's done in Thailand, or make the American style to replicate the tea from your local Thai restaurant.

Recipe by Pailin Chongchitnant on September 8, 2023

Prep time: PT5M

Cook time: PT10M

Rating

4.81 stars (21 reviews)

Ingredients

3/4 cup Thai tea leaves (buy Thai tea leaves online)
4 cups hot off-the-boil water
¼ cup sugar
⅛ teaspoon salt
3/4 cup Thai tea base (from above)
1½ Tablespoons sweetened condensed milk (or to taste)
A pint glass packed full of ice
2-3 Tablespoons evaporated milk
3/4 cup Thai tea base
1 Tablespoon sugar (see note 2 )
a pint glass packed full of ice
3-4 Tablespoons half and half ((~12% cream))

Cuisine

Thai

Steps

For the Thai Tea Base (4 glass)
- Steep the tea leaves in hot off-the-boil water for 5 minutes and then strain through a fine mesh strainer. If you have a french press, steep it in the french press and make the straining process easier!
- Add the sugar and salt and stir to dissolve. Allow to cool to room temp before making tea so it won't dissolve the ice too much. You can now store this base in the fridge it will last at least a couple of weeks.
For the Thai Style Thai Tea (1 glass)
- Pour the Thai tea base into a mixing glass and stir in the condensed milk until dissolved. If the tea base is chilled, it will help to microwave it briefly and bring it to room temp so the condensed milk will dissolve more easily.
- Pack a serving glass full of ice and then pour in the tea. Drizzle with the evaporated milk on top and enjoy!
For the American Style Thai Tea (1 glass)
- Pour the Thai tea base into a mixing glass and stir in more sugar to your taste, if needed. If the tea base is chilled, it will help to microwave it briefly and bring it to room temp so the sugar will dissolve more easily.
- Pack a serving glass full of ice and then pour in the tea. Drizzle with the half and half on top and enjoy!

Reviews

Fannie Métivier-Pinard on 2025-08-18 (5 stars):
Great recipe! Authentic!
Arlicia on 2025-06-04 (5 stars):
Thank you for walking me through this. This is very interesting to know how its made and very helpful. I actually am lactose intolerant so I substitute with coconut milk and it comes out delicious.
Kate on 2025-03-08 (5 stars):
Haven't tried the American style, but the Thai style recipe was so freaking good. I used monk fruit sugar to lower the calorie count a bit, and it still tasted perfect. 👍
Yan on 2025-02-28 (4 stars):
hi Pailin im hoping you can help answer this question for me. I found a giant can of this brand ChaTraMue in T&T supermarket but on the back the ingredients read: instant black tea powder. But it also says to add 2g of thai tea mix with boiling water , drain and then add sugar and milk.. so im not sure if the one that T&T sells has thai tea leaves or just instant powder where i add water and i can have it ready. Do you know if the 450 g bucket sold in T&T is the one you use from your video? Thanks!
Hamtaro on 2024-11-27 (5 stars):
My friends and family love it! I follow the recipe exactly every time. Thank you <3
Momo on 2024-11-05 (5 stars):
First, thank for this recipe. I love sweet drink, but I made the mistake of adding all the sugar right away to the base, thinking I would love it. So really follow her advise, when she said to allow room for adjustment, cause I don’t want to add less condense milk . Also, It was a bit too salty for me, (idk, maybe my taste buds are weird right now) but I‘ll just add a bit less next time, that’s why I made a smaller batch first.
HTMella on 2024-08-20 (5 stars):
This is incredibly useful and informative; thanks for the detailed info! Now I can make the *real* stuff! 😁
Kerry Lauder on 2024-07-15 (5 stars):
Hi Pailin, Years ago I found a Thai iced tea recipe that callee for Palm Sugar. Is that substituted by the white sugar in your recipe? Also, what is the best way to keep the tea from getting cloudy? Thanks!