Summer: Vintage 2008
I wrote this dairy-free Thai Iced Tea recipe way back in 2008! During that time we were in the middle of our little league baseball tournament (quarterfinals), playing to see if we could advance to the semis. My older son was playing first base, while the little one was bat boy.
Little League Baseball Tournament
Things were getting quite competitive and the team we faced next, the Nationals, was known as the meanest in the league. We’d played them twice and lost so this was our last chance to make a comeback.
Fast Forward, They’re All Grown Up!
Now, 11 years later, the boys are 19 and 20, and just finished their freshman and sophomore years in college respectively.
Thai Iced Tea Recipe
It doesn’t matter how old you are! Summer is the perfect time for baseball and healthy, sugar-free, iced tea. While I generally salivate at the thought of Thai iced tea, I haven’t ever had the privilege of consuming one. This sweet, thick gooey drink usually consists of black tea, sugar, and condensed milk (more sugar). I like caffeine-free drinks, and don’t consume sugar or much dairy, so this drink hasn’t been an option for me. Until I created this ultra-healthy Thai Iced Tea recipe!
Thai Iced Tea
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons loose rooibos
- 2 cups boiling water
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
- 12 drops stevia
- 20 ice cubes
- ½ cup full fat coconut milk
Instructions
- Place loose tea in a 2 cup measuring cup
- Pour hot water over tea, add almond extract, stevia and steep for 15 minutes
- Place ice cubes in 2 large glasses
- Strain tea into glasses
- Pour in coconut milk
- Serve
Caffeine-Free Homemade Iced Tea Recipe
Thai Iced Tea makes an ideal dessert drink for summer as it’s cool and satiating. Back in the day the boys and I made a lot of these after dinner. My little one used heavy cream in place of the coconut milk, while the older one and I made ours using the recipe above. It’s been a bit, but I think it’s time to make another round!
EsJayKay says
Once again, the loose rooibos tea (linked in recipe) is out of stock, with no availability date. Do you have an alternate favorite?
Coconut milk makes everything delish, doesn’t it?
Elana says
EsJay, thanks so much for your comment, we’ve updated that link.
Melanie says
I’ve made your coconut ice cream and add a scoop of it to my glass of herbal ice tea. Instant creaminess!
Elana says
Melanie, that sounds absolutely amazing!
Donna says
I am so thrilled to see this recipe, especially since it’s Paleo. However, when I clicked the link to the loose Rooibos, amazon.com says it’s unavailable and they don’t know if/when it will ever be available. So I Googled the exact product title (in your link), and the search yielded 84 different products. Some say “bourbon-vanilla” or “anise” or “berry bloom” – the variations go on and on. So I’m confused. Do you possibly have a link to an alternate Rooibos tea?
Elana says
Donna, thanks for your comment! We’ve updated that link to the rooibos product we use in this recipe :-)
Angela says
I just got diagnosed with Celiac disease. It says to use loose roobios tea leaves so they will be gluten free. Yet, I am not sure where to buy it. Is it on amazon.com please? Gluten makes me very sick.
Elana says
Angela, if you click on the green text that says “loose rooibos” you will be given that information :-)
Jack says
Sounds great, can’t wait to try it! Glad to hear it’s made with a decaf tea. Just a few questions though: how much heavy cream does your son substitute for coconut milk? More than just a little bit of heavy cream would surely overload it!
Also curious about how much stevia I should use if I’m using the powdered form.
Thanks!
Elana says
Hi Jack, for the heavy cream we just use a splash. I haven’t used powdered stevia so not sure about that. If you do experiment please let us know how it goes.
Jack says
Hey Elana,
Thanks for this recipe, I’ve searched tirelessly for thai iced tea recipes without food colouring. I’ve even emailed thai producers to see what gives it its unique flavour but couldn’t get a straight answer out of them. It’s certainly a tough one to crack.
I’m just wondering, if the agave nectar and the stevia are both used to sweeten – why do you use both and not one or the other?
Kind regards,
Jack
Suzanne says
Agave nectar is more processed than high fructose corn syrup. Elena didn’t use agave in this recipe. She used almond extract.
Thai Iced Tea says
You also may want to try Thai iced tea with unsweetened condensed milk. Just gently pour it on the top and enjoy of the beautiful mix.