🧋 Thai iced tea (cha yen)
Thai iced tea is strong black tea brewed dark, sweetened with sugar and condensed milk, then poured over crushed ice. Its bold, slightly smoky tea flavour meets a creamy, caramel-like sweetness, and the drink is famous for its deep orange colour in street-stall versions. It is sold in tall glasses or plastic bags at markets and cafes across Thailand.
Diets
Allergens
Contains (in a typical recipe):
What it is made of
Recipe
Ingredients
- 4 tsp loose black tea (or Thai tea mix)
- 500 ml boiling water
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 4 tbsp sweetened condensed milk
- Crushed ice
Method
- Steep the tea in boiling water for 5 minutes, then strain.
- Stir in the sugar and condensed milk while the tea is hot.
- Cool slightly, pour over glasses filled with crushed ice and serve.
How to make it lighter
- Skip the added sugar; condensed milk already sweetens it.
- Halve the condensed milk and use more ice for a lighter glass.
- Order the small size and treat it as a dessert rather than a thirst-quencher.
History
Cha yen is a fixture of Thai street drink stalls, where tea is brewed through a cloth filter and sweetened to order. Its popularity has spread with Thai restaurants worldwide.
Count it in one photo
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Values are estimates per 100 g for a typical recipe; home and restaurant versions vary. Diets and allergens are worked out from the ingredients of a typical recipe — always check with whoever cooked the dish. Not medical advice. Nutrition data: Me Nutrition dish database v13. How we count →