We are in the middle of our little league baseball tourney (presently in quarterfinals) and play tonight to see if we can advance to the semis. My older son has been playing first base while the little one is bat boy.
We have had much fun, though it is getting quite competitive and the team we are playing tonight (the Nationals) is known as the meanest in the league. We have played them twice and lost both times so this is our chance to make a comeback. If you are hanging on the edge of your seat with baited breath, then sign up for my twitter –I generally leave tweets of our scores over there.
Summer is not only perfect for baseball, it is a great time for iced tea. While I generally salivate at the thought of Thai iced tea, I have not actually had the privilege of consuming one. This sweet, thick gooey drink usually consists of black tea, sugar and condensed milk (more sugar). Since I don’t do caffeine, sugar or dairy, it hasn’t been my drink of choice.
Now though, after seeing friends drink this sweet treat and reading all about it, I think what I have come up with is a decent approximation of this delightful drink.
- 2 tablespoons loose rooibos
- 2 cups boiling water
- ⅛ teaspoon almond extract
- 12 drops stevia
- 20 ice cubes
- ½ cup full fat coconut milk
- 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
Thai iced tea makes an ideal dessert drink for summer as it is both cool and satiating. The boys and I have been making a lot of these lately after dinner. My little one uses heavy cream in place of the coconut milk, though the older one and I make ours using the recipe above. Either way, enjoy!
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
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.
Thai Tea Set says
Love this drink! Thanks for detailed recipe.
Patirkc says
Hi Elena!
As a big fan of Thai Tea and an employee of a Tea chain, I can’t tell you how excited I am to try your recipe. I do have one concern though:
Your recipe calls for Agave syrup which I know has been a big hit for Vegan/Veggie diets but since I’ve become aware of the even bigger risk of health problems Agave poses, I was wondering if I am able to substitute Agave with something such as honey or raw sugar, or even just upping the amount of Stevia?
Thank you!
Barbara Robbins says
Hi, I just purchased your book on almond flour. I thought it was going to be good for diabetics, but I found a problem.Although the recipes are low in carbs and high in fiber, they are very high in calories and fat.For example: “Pecan-Raisin Bread” per slice there are 282 cals, 21g fat, 17 carbs, 6 fiber, and 8 prtn. The agave nector and the grapeseed oil seem high in calories. Do you have any suggestions on how I can lower the fat and calories? Substitues, ect.. I would appreciate any help you can give me. I’ve purchased all the ingredients, baking pan, and book. I’d love to be able to use them.
Thank you.
jessica says
Barbara, you might have better luck asking these questions over at Elana’s forums…
Good luck!
RachelH says
You can eat/burn carbs or fat, Elena’s recipes tend toward fat burning. Look into a keto diet, and you can eat all the calories you want.
Mystique says
The ingredients seems like it would taste great, but how it looks…If I don’t like how something looks then I will not taste it. But I’ll give this one a try.
Kari says
This was delicious! I so enjoy your site! I feel less and less like I have to be in a “food prison” in order to feel good. Thank you so much!
elana says
Thanks Kari! I love that term, “food prison,” glad you are on your way out.
elana says
Janet,
I purchase my nuts at the health food store in town. It’s called Vitamin Cottage.
I think my spices are mostly Frontier and Simply Organic brands.
Sorry to hear about the nut allergies.
Elana
Janet Freidberg says
Elena,
Where do you buy your cashews and other nuts? I have had reactions to walnuts and other nuts (I get extremely tired). Sometimes they cause cold sores if I eat too man. I always wonder if there could be a trace of gluten on them. Also, what brand of chili powder and mustard powder do you recommend?
Thanks so much.
Pat Sribhud says
Thank you so much for your commend and your effort.
Thai tea is the main ingredient for making Thai iced tea. The tea has very distinctive aroma, mild and it does not contain star anise or cardamon and other spices as many claimed.
We are the only tea maker that produce premium Thai tea leaf without adding food color. My new shipment will arrive in NY toward the end of October, I will send you sample of our organic tea to try. Best regards,
elana says
Pat -That does sound old fashioned, I love it. Although I don’t drink black tea, your product smells amazing. I will give some samples out to friends who do caffeine and let you know how they like it.
Pat Sribhud says
Your are welcome.
Please try it, see if you like it. This tea bag is made from tea plant that grown in Thailand and hand processed. My factory is still small. We do everything manually. Kind of old fashion, isn’t it?
elana says
Pat,
Thanks so much for the wonderful sample! It arrived today. I really appreciate it.
Elana
elana says
Dear Pat,
Not yet.
Thanks,
Elana
Pat Sribhud says
Elana
Have you received the sample I sent you?
elana says
Pat,
Glad you found me again! I will look forward to getting that sample.
Elana
Pat Sribhud says
HiElana
I could not find your blog after I left. Luckly, I found you again, I will send you some sample tomorrow.
elana says
Hi Pat,
Thanks so much for your kind offer; I would love to sample your Thai Tea Leaf. Here is my shipping address:
Elana’s Pantry
PO Box 7389
Boulder, CO 80306
Thanks,
Elana
Pat Sribhud says
Hi Elana
We are Thai tea manufacturer in New York but I love to try other people’s Thai iced tea recipes. Most of the recipies didn’t even come close. I have to admit that your Thai iced tea come very closed to the authentic Thai iced tea both appearance and aroma. Two thumps up for you.
Anyway, if you want to, I can also send you some Thai tea leaf that has the distinctive aroma for you to try. Our tea is organic though we did not label it. And here is our website: http://www.sribhud.com
elana says
Jess, you are welcome!
jessica says
just needed to share with you a silly story…brewed some roobois this am to chill in the fridge and this afternoon was wondering, as i’ve mentioned i sometimes do in my kitchen, ‘wwed’…what would elana do…within moments i was using your thai iced tea recipe and now i sit, like a kid, sipping away on a fabulous late afternoon cool liquid refreshment!
thanks for all your creative work and energy towards nourishment~
*j
elana says
Thanks Jasmine -tips are much appreciated!
jasmine says
after taking some Raw food classes and making Almond milk (just love it), after using a high speed blender, I strain the milk in a super fine mesh bag purchase from Pure Joy (Elaina Love).
elana says
Sorina -Thanks for your comment. I hope you really enjoy it when you make it!
Kelli Jo -What a sweet comment you have left for me. Thanks so much for making my day a better one :-)
Kelli Jo says
Thanks for cheering me up! It’s been one of those weeks where my personal food creativity is negligible and I’ve had enough of those food disasters where I had to rely on the all too familiar carry with me staples to make me ill. I remembered your website and your wonderful positive attitude about your dietary needs. Came here for some hope and cheer. I saw this recipe and could hardly believe it. Can’t wait to try it! Thanks for helping me FEEL the bright side of eating well! Bless you for the work you do and the joy you share!
Sorina says
It look’s to good to be through I am definitely going to try this
elana says
Hi Amy-
I haven’t tried the 2 day soaking method so not sure if that would make things more gritty. What kind of blender are you using? How long are you blending for and at what speed? If you make it again, try soaking for the overnight period and blending on the highest speed for a longer time. I think this will take care of the grittiness problem, let me know how it goes next time you do the cashew milk.
Thanks,
Elana
Amy says
Hi Elana – I did soak them but I actually did it for two days because I forgot they were in there (*blush*). Could this be part of the problem?
Thanks!
Amy
elana says
Hi Amy-
Glad you liked the Thai Iced Tea and thanks for your question about the Cashew Milk. That recipes calls for the cashews to be soaked overnight –wondering if you did that? Let me know as I would really like to get to the bottom of the grittiness problem, haven’t encountered that one before.
Thanks,
Elana
Amy says
So I just made this and I HAD to comment one more time to let everyone know how great it is. It really does taste like a thai tea – but without all the usual unhealthy components.
One thing though – I made the cashew milk and when I used it it still had some gritiness to it. I even belended it for longer than the recipe said. So to use it here I just strained it through before adding to the tea, which was great – but I wanted to check and see if there’s something I did wrong or any advice you might have on how to do it next time.
elana says
Amy -So glad you liked the bread. And yes, isn’t it great to be able to have the Thai Iced Tea without paying the price after?! Thanks for your comment.
Joy the Baker -Thanks for stopping by and for your great feedback.
Joy the Baker says
I love the simplicity of this recipe. Just lovely! And cashew milk! Wow! I just experimented with making almond milk. So simple and absolutely delicious!
Amy says
Ooh I always salivate over this Thai treat too, but have only had it once and paid for it dearly afterwards. I’m really looking forward to trying this version!
By the way – I made your “almond flour” bread the other day and it turned out great. I’m trying to resist eating the whole thing in one sitting!