Cha Yen Iced Tea 🧋🧊

Description

Creamy cha yen style iced tea with a deep brewed black tea concentrate, warm spice notes, and a glossy condensed milk finish, the classic Thai iced tea taste, clean, premium, and cafe worthy at home. 🥛

Hook ✨

If you want the most searched Thai cafe drink experience in one glass, this cha yen hits the exact sweet creamy balance with a strong tea base that never tastes watery. ✨

Ingredients

• Tea concentrate
• 🍵 12 g black tea leaves, or 6 tea bags (2 tbsp / 0.42 oz)
• 💧 360 ml boiling water (1½ cups / 12 fl oz)
• 🌿 1 g star anise, optional (1)
• 🍂 1 g ground cardamom, optional (¼ tsp / 0.04 oz)
• 🟤 10 g brown sugar (2 tsp / 0.35 oz)
• 🧂 1 pinch fine salt (1 pinch)
• Milk layer
• 🥛 60 ml sweetened condensed milk (¼ cup / 2 fl oz)
• 🥛 60 ml evaporated milk, or half and half (¼ cup / 2 fl oz)
• To serve
• 🧊 260 g ice cubes (about 2 cups / 9.2 oz)
• 🍊 1 thin orange peel strip, optional (1)

Preparation

1. 1️⃣ Brew strong
2. Steep tea in boiling water 6 min for a bold concentrate, add star anise and cardamom if using. 🍵
3. 2️⃣ Sweeten clean
4. Stir in brown sugar and a pinch of salt until fully dissolved, then strain the tea. 🥄
5. 3️⃣ Chill fast
6. Cool the tea 10 min, then refrigerate 10 min so it pours cold and stays premium over ice. 🧊
7. 4️⃣ Build the glass
8. Fill a tall glass with ice, pour in the chilled tea until 2 cm (¾ in) from the top. 🧋
9. 5️⃣ Add the creamy finish
10. Whisk condensed milk and evaporated milk, then slowly pour over the back of a spoon to create a soft layered look. 🥛
11. 6️⃣ Serve
12. Serve with one gentle stir at the table, optional orange peel for aroma. 🍊

Total Time

⏱️ Prep: 4 min
🔥 Cook/Bake: 6 min
🛋️ Rest: 20 min
⏰ Total: 30 min

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