Thai iced tea

Name: Thai iced tea
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 5 min
Total time: 30 min
Ingredients: 500 ml water; 10 g black tea leaves; 1 star anise / anise; 2 cardamom, lightly crushed; 30 g sugar; 60 ml sweetened condensed milk; 100 ml evaporated milk; 300 g ice

Vegetarian

ชาเย็น · cha yen

Strong black tea brewed with star anise and cardamom, sweetened, poured over ice and topped with evaporated and condensed milk.

Thai iced tea is a Thai cold drink from Thailand, ready in about 30 minutes and made with black tea leaves and sweetened condensed milk. It serves 2 and is rated beginner to cook.

Start cooking

Glass of iced Thai tea with black straws against a lush green background. Perfect for summer vibes. — Photo: 🇻🇳🇻🇳Nguyễn Tiến Thịnh 🇻🇳🇻🇳 / Pexels · Pexels License

Prep: 5 min
Cook: 5 min
Rest: 20 min
Total: 30 min
Serves: 2
Level: Beginner
Calories: 254

Ingredients

2 servings

500 ml Water (opens in a new tab)
10 g Black tea leaves (opens in a new tab)About 2 tbsp leaves or 5 tea bags, for a very strong brew. Thai tea mix gives the famous orange colour; plain strong black tea tastes similar.
1 (0.5 g) Star anise / anise (opens in a new tab)
2 (0.5 g) Cardamom (opens in a new tab), lightly crushed
30 g Sugar (opens in a new tab)
60 ml Sweetened condensed milk (opens in a new tab)Contains milk
100 ml Evaporated milk (opens in a new tab)Swap: Milk; Coconut milk (For a dairy-free drink, with extra sugar instead of condensed milk.)Contains milk
300 g Ice (opens in a new tab)

Equipment

Method

1
Step 1
Bring 500 ml water to the boil with the star anise (opens in a new tab) and cardamom (opens in a new tab), take off the heat, add the tea and steep for 5 minutes.
- 8 min
- high heat
- Saucepan (opens in a new tab)
2
Step 2
Strain, stir in the sugar (opens in a new tab) and condensed milk (opens in a new tab) until dissolved, and let cool.
- 20 min
- Sieve / strainer (opens in a new tab)
How it looks · Photo: Katerina Holmes on Pexels
3
Step 3
Fill tall glasses with ice, pour in the tea and top each with evaporated milk (opens in a new tab) so it swirls down.
- 1 min

About this dish

Origin: Thailand · Well documentedAlso popular in United StatesMore food from Thailand
Dish: Snack · Cold drinks
Cooking method: Boiled
Taste: sweet, creamy, aromatic / warmly spiced, refreshing
Diet: Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No gluten ingredients · No nut ingredients
All labels
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · No gluten ingredients · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-fat · Low-sodium
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for: Make-ahead
Cook more with: Black tea leaves · Sweetened condensed milk · Star anise / anise · Cardamom · Sugar · Evaporated milk
Techniques: Boiling

Allergens

Contains: Milkfrom sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

254 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 507 g · recipe makes 2

Where the energy comes from

Protein 10%
Carbohydrate 64%
Fat 26%

Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
Nutrient	Per serving	Per 100 g*
Energy	254 kcal	50 kcal
Protein	6.7 g	1.3 g
Carbohydrate	41.5 g	8.2 g
Net carbohydrate	41.4 g	8.2 g
Sugars	41.2 g	8.1 g
Added sugars	—	—
Fibre	0.1 g	0 g
Fat	7.4 g	1.5 g
Saturated fat	4.6 g	0.9 g
Trans fat	—	—
Cholesterol	29 mg	6 mg
Sodium	114 mg	22 mg
Salt equivalent	0.3 g	0.1 g

Vitamins & minerals per serving

Potassium: 311 mg
Calcium: 291 mg
Iron: 0.3 mg
Magnesium: 32 mg
Vitamin A (RAE): 63 µg
Vitamin C: 2 mg
Vitamin D: 1.1 µg
Vitamin B12: 0.3 µg
Folate (DFE): 9 µg

How these numbers were made

Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
*Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
Not counted (tiny amounts or “to taste”): black tea leaves.
Star anise / anise: Anise seed (FDC 171316) used as a stand-in for star anise.
Ice: Frozen water; same composition as water.
“—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

Brew the tea stronger than you would drink it hot — the ice dilutes it.

Common mistakes

Steeping the tea too long or boiling it — it turns bitter rather than strong. Five minutes off the boil is enough.
Pouring hot tea over the ice, which dilutes it; let it cool first.

Serve with

A cooling partner to spicy salads and grilled meats.

Storage

The sweetened tea keeps for 3 days in the fridge.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added 26 Oct 2026 · Updated 8 Nov 2026

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Customise in Sip & BlendCompare with

Grouped by each ingredient’s role in the dish. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

Sweetened condensed milk60 ml · 77 g
Evaporated milk100 ml · 107 g

Used in steps 2, 3

Less sweet, dairy-free, caffeine-free or for more people — the original stays as it is.

Customise in Sip & Blend

Reviews & corrections

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