Exotic Beverage - Thai Tea

Thai tea originates from Thailand as per its name.  It is known as ‘cha-yen’ in the Thai language, which translates into “cold tea”. This strongly brewed tea is made from cut, black tea leaves, with red and yellow food colourants added to provide its distinctive orange colour. Quite often, star anise powder is also mixed into the blend, to exude a subtle, sweet liquorice flavour, while others add crushed tamarind seeds and orange blossoms for a slightly bitter yet citrusy taste.
The result is an unique spicy and floral flavoured tea, which is softened out and sweetened by adding condensed milk and sugar.  

Quite often, thai tea is served chilled in a tall glass, where the condensed milk and sugar are blended with the tea before it is poured over ice.  Thereafter, a few drops of evaporated milk is splashed over the iced tea to give it a creamier texture.  It is a very popular beverage that is found throughout Thailand and in many Thai restaurants throughout the world. On the other hand, many Thai people also drink this tea hot, called cha-ron, in the morning.  Usually the hot tea is consumed with ‘you tiao’  or chopstick cake, which is a golden-brown, deep-fried strip of dough. Similarly, Taiwanese people also eat ‘you tiao’ for breakfast, but generally it is with soya milk.

A word of caution though, due to the large amounts of sugar and condensed milk that are usually mixed with the tea, I find that Thai tea is often tooth-achingly sweet.  However, this can be adjusted if you ask them to reduce the sugar concentration. Despite this, it is a refreshing and flavourful tea that is growing in popularity all over Asia.