I’m somewhat obsessed right now with making alcoholic versions of Asian tea beverages. Alcohol and caffeine in the same beverage- great idea, right? At risk of appearing like Sandra Lee by posting this, I will share this beautiful bastardization of a classic Thai drink. (In other news, watch Sandra Lee make a bizarre alcoholic version of a mango lassi here. I do accept laughter-only comments.)
Prior to this I had no idea how to make Thai Iced Tea. It seemed like some sort mystery beverage that only Thai grandmothers could ever hope to master. In actuality it’s extremely easy, but you do have to make sure you get the proper ingredients.
You will need to make a trip to the Asian store.
And at the Asian store you will inevitably need to purchase Pocky and/or Koala’s March and be extremely happy for weeks to come.
You’re welcome.
Brewing the Spiked Thai Iced tea. This is a handy iced tea brewer that I purchased a few years ago. You can easily use a pitcher to accomplish the same goal- just make sure to secure the loose-leaf tea in an infuser or disposable tea bag (or even probably a coffee filter would work fine).
I prepared my tea in batches. My iced-tea maker only made about 1.7 liters at a time, so I had to adjust accordingly.
The classic orange color doesn’t actually come from the tea leaves. There’s a food coloring that is added to the Thai tea mixture that creates a vibrant orange tea. If this freaks you out, using some combination of a regular black tea and vanilla flavoring will achieve a similar result to the mix.
Ingredients
- 2.5 liters of water (or about 10 1/2 cups)
- 3/4 cup loose-leaf Thai tea mix (available at most Asian markets), secured in an infuser or tea-bag
- 2/3 cups of sugar (or to taste)
- 1/4 cup of half and half (or to taste)
- 3/4 cup of light rum
Instructions
- Bring water to a boil in a large pot or in a kettle.
- Pour boiling water into pitcher. Submerge tea leaves to steep. Steep about 8-10 minutes, or until the tea appears very dark orange.
- Add sugar and stir well to dissolve.
- Allow to chill in the refrigerator- ideally overnight.
- Add 3/4 cup of light rum.
- Add half and half directly before serving.
- Pour over ice and enjoy!
- (Alternatively- you may pour tea into glasses with ice and pour half and half on top, for classic two-toned appearance.)
2 comments
It’s a very vibrant color! I must confess I’m having a hard time getting excited about anything “iced” right now due to our wind chills of -35 degrees.
Yeah.. that is unfortunate. But just think- you’re just a few weeks away from San Diego!