Thai Tea (Cha Yen)
Thai tea, or cha yen, is strong spiced black tea sweetened with condensed milk and sugar and served over ice, recognizable by its bright orange color from added coloring.
Definition
Thai tea (ชาเย็น, cha yen, "cold tea") is the iced, milky tea sold by street vendors and restaurants across Thailand. The base is a strong black tea mix sold for the purpose, often containing ground tea, spices such as star anise and sometimes tamarind seed, vanilla or cardamom flavors, and food coloring that gives the finished drink its bright orange tone. Brands such as ChaTraMue (Number One brand) are widely used. Its exact origin is not well documented. Thailand grows tea in the northern provinces of Chiang Rai and Chiang Mai, but the drink is built around canned dairy: sweetened condensed and evaporated milk keep without refrigeration, which made a milky iced tea practical for street vendors in a hot climate. Vendors brew the tea mix strong, strain it through a cloth filter bag, stir in sugar and sweetened condensed milk while hot, pour it over crushed ice, and top it with evaporated milk or cream so it swirls into the orange tea. Variants include cha dam yen, iced black tea with sugar and no milk, and cha manao, iced tea with lime.
In Depth
Home method: steep 20-25 g of Thai tea mix in 500 ml of boiling water for 5 minutes, or simmer it for 3 minutes, then strain through a fine cloth. Stir in 2-3 tablespoons sugar and 3-4 tablespoons sweetened condensed milk while hot. Pour over a full glass of crushed ice and top with 2-3 tablespoons evaporated milk.
Without coloring: a strong Assam or Ceylon black tea with one star anise and a pinch of cardamom per 500 ml gives a similar flavor, but the drink will be tan, not orange. The color in commercial mixes comes from added dyes, not from the leaf.
Sweetness: a vendor serving can contain 40 g of sugar or more. Ask for less sweet (wan noi) if you want the tea to come through.
See Also
- Thai Street Drinks
- Milk Tea
- Iced Tea