Thai tea is a spiced tea made with black or oolong tea and various spices, served hot or iced with or without milk. Quality tea leaves and fresh spices are important, as well as the choice of milk and sweetener. Granulated white sugar is the usual sweetener, but brown sugar or sucralose can be used.
Thai tea is a spiced Asian tea that can be served iced or hot, and with or without milk. The tea itself is usually a mix of black or oolong tea and various spices. When choosing Thai tea, there are several factors to consider. Many tea advocates believe that tea should be loose and as fresh as possible. The same goes for spices, the fresher they are, the more powerful the flavours. Cooks should also consider all of their milk and sweetener choices before putting together Thai tea.
One of the most important factors in Thai tea is the quality of the tea leaves. Even if the rest of the ingredients are high-quality and fresh, off-flavor tea leaves usually take away the flavor of the drink. Loose leaves are often best because they allow the cook to customize the amount of tea he adds to the recipe. Many loose leaf teas are also fresher than bagged ones. Local tea shops often allow customers to smell and look at their teas before choosing an item to purchase.
High-quality oolong or black tea should be a rich nutty color and have a slightly sweet, fruity scent. The perfume should not be cloying or contain acidic notes. The leaves should also be very fresh and dry. These are generally the hallmarks of good quality tea. Thai tea is usually twice as strong as other brews, so the cook should typically purchase enough tea for eight cups if he plans to make four servings of Thai tea.
The choice of herbs follows. Here, the cook is looking for tastes he likes in addition to freshness. Star anise, cinnamon, vanilla and orange blossom are among the traditional spices in this recipe. Whole or ground, each spice should have a strong scent and bright color. Vanilla paste, scraped from the bean, often works best, but cooks may use powdered vanilla instead. Star anise has a strong licorice flavor, it can be substituted with a pinch of cloves if the cook doesn’t like its taste.
The other two ingredients that the cook must choose are milk and the sweetener. Some Thai tea recipes don’t use milk, so cooks can omit it if they wish. Those who like tea with milk can choose between half and half, cream, sweetened condensed milk and non-dairy milk. The first three choices generally make for a very rich and thick recipe. Non-dairy milk gives the tea a nutty flavor, but doesn’t usually add a high amount of creaminess. This choice depends mostly on the cook’s calorie concerns and dietary needs.
Almost all Thai tea is sweet. Granulated white sugar is the usual sweetener of choice, but it can be substituted for brown sugar or sucralose. Dark honey and brown sugar are also options. Those using brown sugar may want to add a little at a time as the molasses in this sugar often makes it sweeter.
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