Thai Iced Tea — 泰式冰奶茶

Thai Iced Tea — 泰式冰奶茶 is a lusciously creamy, dessert-like drink made entirely plant-based: richly spiced black tea swirled with velvet-smooth coconut condensed milk. 這杯香濃的泰式冰奶茶以純素食材打造，香料黑茶遇上絲滑椰奶煉乳，甜而不膩，一次沖好冰在冰箱，隨時都能喝到透心涼的滿足。

📹 Watch the Recipe

Recipe adapted from Yeung Man Cooking (Canadian plant-based chef). Watch the full video:

🥘 Why This Recipe Works

There’s something almost magical about Thai iced tea — that brilliant orange glow, the bold tannic black tea cut by a ribbon of sweet condensed milk, and just a whisper of warm spice lingering at the back of your throat. It’s the drink you order at a bustling noodle house and immediately wish you could have at home, by the pitcher. The good news? You absolutely can.

This version stays 100% plant-based by swapping dairy condensed milk for a homemade coconut condensed milk — just coconut cream and cane sugar simmered down into a syrupy, honey-sweet gold. The tea base gets its character from Assam black tea deepened with toasted cinnamon and star anise, exactly the spice profile that makes cha yen so unmistakable.

Two simple components, one batch, and about 25 minutes of effort — you’ll have enough for four to six glorious glasses, ready any time a craving hits.

🛒 Ingredients

👨‍🍳 Instructions

Step 1 — Make the condensed coconut milk

• Put 1 cup coconut cream and 1/3 cup cane sugar in a small saucepan.
• Stir and bring to a gentle boil.
• Lower the heat to medium-low and simmer 10–15 minutes, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t boil over.
• Cool completely before refrigerating; it thickens further as it cools and keeps for a few weeks.

Step 2 — Toast the spices

• Coarsely crush the cinnamon sticks and star anise with a pestle and mortar.
• Dry-toast them in a pan over medium heat for a few minutes to wake up their natural oils and aroma.
• Turn off the heat and tip them into a large heatproof bowl with the tea leaves.

Step 3 — Steep the Thai tea base

• Add the 1 cup of Assam tea leaves, a generous pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp vanilla, and 1/4 cup sugar to the bowl.
• Pour in 4 cups of just-boiled water and stir well.
• Let it steep 3–5 minutes, then strain through a sieve into another bowl to catch the solids.
• The base makes about 4 drinks and keeps refrigerated for up to two weeks.

Step 4 — Assemble the iced tea

• Stir 2 tablespoons of condensed coconut milk into each cup of Thai tea base.
• Watch it bloom into that beautiful burnt-orange caramel colour.
• Pour over a glass packed with ice, then float a splash of oat or coconut milk on top.
• Stir once and serve — rich, fragrant, refreshing, and ready to be enjoyed for days.

💡 Tips & Substitutions

📊 Nutrition

Per glass (about 1 cup tea base + 2 tbsp condensed milk + splash of oat milk): ~200 calories, 4 g protein, 8 g fat, 32 g carbohydrate. A decadent treat — most of the richness comes from the coconut, so a little goes a long way.

Dou Dou (豆豆)

Thai Iced Tea 泰式冰奶茶

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 30 minutes mins

Servings: 4 glasses

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Chinese

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 1 cup Coconut cream 椰漿 solid top of chilled full-fat coconut milk works
• 1/3 cup Cane sugar 蔗糖 for condensed coconut milk
• 1 cup Black tea leaves (Assam) 阿薩姆紅茶葉 bold malty Assam
• 2 sticks Cinnamon 肉桂棒 coarsely crushed, toasted
• 3 Star anise 八角 toasted
• pinch Sea salt 鹽
• 1/2 tsp Vanilla extract 雲呢拿香油
• 1/4 cup Cane sugar 蔗糖 for tea base
• 4 cups Hot water 熱水 just off the boil
• 1/4 cup Oat or coconut milk 燕麥奶／椰奶 to finish
• Ice 冰塊 plenty

Method

 

1. Put 1 cup coconut cream and 1/3 cup cane sugar in a small saucepan. Stir and bring to a gentle boil, then lower the heat to medium-low and simmer 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Cool completely and refrigerate; it thickens as it cools and keeps for a few weeks.
2. Coarsely crush the cinnamon sticks and star anise with a pestle and mortar, then dry-toast in a pan over medium heat for a few minutes. Turn off the heat and tip them into a large heatproof bowl with the tea leaves.
3. Add the Assam tea, a generous pinch of salt, vanilla, and 1/4 cup sugar to the bowl. Pour in 4 cups of just-boiled water, stir, and steep 3 to 5 minutes. Strain through a sieve. The base makes about 4 drinks and keeps refrigerated for up to two weeks.
4. Stir 2 tablespoons of condensed coconut milk into each cup of tea base and watch it bloom into a burnt-orange caramel colour. Pour over ice, float a splash of oat or coconut milk on top, stir once, and serve.

Notes

Make the tea base and condensed coconut milk ahead of time — both keep refrigerated for up to two weeks, so you can pour fresh Thai iced tea on demand all week long.

🌱 Why This Dish

Thai iced tea (cha yen, ชาเย็น) began life on Bangkok’s bustling street corners, where vendors brewed strong Ceylon or Assam black tea, sweetened and cooled it with sweetened condensed milk, and served it over rivers of ice. The star anise and cinnamon folded into the brew give it that unmistakable aromatic depth — a cup of golden comfort that has travelled from Thailand’s markets to dim sum carts and Asian cafés around the world. The Chinese name, 泰式冰奶茶 (tài shì bīng nǎi chá), simply means “Thai-style iced milk tea”.

In Buddhist-influenced vegetarian households across Southeast Asia, milk tea like this gets its velvet body from coconut rather than dairy — coconut cream as a stand-in for condensed milk is a beloved trick in plant-based dessert and drink traditions. Made at home, you keep all the nostalgia but none of the dairy, controlling the sweetness and spice exactly to your liking. It’s a celebration of how a humble street drink can become a little ritual — cool, golden, and unapologetically indulgent, poured over ice whenever you need a moment of pause.

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