Learn how to make Thai Iced Tea or Cha Yen ชาเย็น, a very popular Thai drink, from our Thai cooking video.

Thai Iced Tea has a unique flavor, creamy and sweet with rich aroma. Both adults and kids really love it since it can be a dessert like drink. This sweet and creamy beverage fits well with Thai dish that is spicy.
 

World's 50 most delicious drinks

In December of 2011 Thai Iced Tea was found in the middle of a list made by CNN  of the world's 50 most delicious drinks. Why so far down? There were other mistakes in the list like attributing Red Bull to Australia. But the biggest mistake I noticed was that they stated Thai Iced Tea was made from, "black tea ... and spices", but every bag of tea intended for use as Thai Iced Tea I've seen says it contains 100% GREEN TEA (and sometime food coloring), but that is all. The mistake is understandable. It seems the tea leaves and steams are cured in such a way that they turn very dark, almost black. I am no tea expert and I say "cured" because the raw green tea prepared this way reminds me of the smell of pipe tobacco. There is another strong smell to the leaves which is almost like licorice. I've heard many people state that there must be star anise in the tea mix, which also smells like licorice, but I've never seen this listed in the ingredients. Thai iced tea is still a bit of a mystery to us at CookingThaiFood.com and we will continue to research the origins and science of it for our readers. Please post a comment if you have any insight of your own.