I could suck down Thai tea by the gallon if given the opportunity, but my takeout place doesn’t sell it by the gallon and I probably can’t afford that anyway. So I’ve started making it at home to satisfy those sweet and lightly spiced tea cravings.

Making Thai tea might seem mysterious but it’s really not. It consists of two major steps. 1. Brewing the tea (which is just like brewing any other tea) and 2. Sweetening it and adding dairy. Sure, there are endless combinations of sweeteners and dairy additions — but this recipe provides you the simplest recipe to get from craving to drinking Thai tea at home in the quickest amount of time.

If you’ve got an international or Asian market nearby, they may have a Thai tea mix on hand. If not you’ll have to look for it on the internet, which is easy enough to find. Of course, everyone has their own brand preference, so try out a few different ones.

Some are sold in single-serving bags, but I buy them by the pound — typically in the bags that have very little English and a good deal of Thai on them. That’s what the restaurants are buying, and that’s absolutely what we’re shooting for here. If you can’t get enough of this glorious tea (or you have a friend you can split it with), I’d suggest you do the same.

Recipe Notes

Depending on how much or little tea you intend to drink over a few days, you can scale this recipe up or down easily. When you’re ready to step your game up, think about whipping your milk for a thick foamy topping or turning your tea into a Thai tea frappuccino.

I’ve never had warm Thai tea, but I’m sure it’s also delicious. When the temperatures start to drop I’ll be making Thai tea lattes and dreaming about the summer heat.

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