Monday, May 30, 2011

Thai Iced Tea

It is HOT outside and feels like summer is already upon us. The best way to cope with the heat is a tall glass of Thai Iced Tea.

Every blog post I have about a Thai restaurant includes me ordering this AMAZINGLY delicious drink. It is strong-brewed black tea with other spices, which can include orange blossom water, star anise, crushed tamarind seed or food coloring. After adding sugar and dairy, it is a very refreshing and addictive drink.

I bought this kit at the Bangkok 54 market after lunch one afternoon for around $5. It makes 65 servings, which will save me a lot of $. The brand also sells the tea in individual tea bags, but only makes 30 servings. I'm sure you could find different brands of the tea at other Asian markets too.

This kits comes a bag of ground Thai tea leaves...

...and this cloth tea strainer (aka Spongebob's jelly fish net).

To make 8-10 servings:
1. Measure out 1/4 cup of the tea and pour it into the cloth strainer.

2. Brew it in 4 cups of very hot water (boiling is not necessary) for 3-5 minutes. It should turn a deep orange.
3. Add 1/2 cup of sugar.

4. Pour into a pitcher and let it cool.

5. Serve it over ice with a splash of half and half and ENJOY!
I found that it is better to double the recipe because it goes fast!

The box suggests trying the sweetened tea with lime, pineapple or lychee juice too. I haven't tried those yet, but sounds interesting.

If you don't have this strainer, I'm sure you could brew the tea like you would with any loose leaves. Or try using a tied up coffee filter or simple strain the leaves out before you serve.

3 comments:

Bbq or DIE! said...

Mmm thai iced tea, yum. So many MD & VA posts, why the DC neglect!? If you haven't already, check out Domku in petworth, tasty tasty. Also, don't forget about Bistro Provence in bethesda, but only when you're feeling spendy.

Eat well my friend

Marie said...

It's cuz I live in the 'burbs, and only go to DC if it's planned with friends, etc. Yes, there are MANY places I haven't been yet including Domku and Bistro Provence. Thanks for those suggestions!

Michele said...

Oooo!! I'm going to have to try this! Thanks for posting a product review. Love the strainer- I have one for coffee. Nice find girl!!