Thai Iced Tea with Condensed Milk and Star Anise
Inspired by techniques from NYT Cooking and America's Test Kitchen.
Assam tea steeps with cinnamon, star anise and turmeric, is sweetened and chilled, then poured over ice and topped with condensed milk, half-and-half and vanilla.
Always check the labels of the products you use.
Method
- 1
Steep. Put the tea, cinnamon, star anise and turmeric in the heatproof jug, pour over the boiling water and steep for 15 minutes. A long steep makes the tea strong enough to stand up to the milk.
- 2
Strain and chill. Strain through the lined sieve, stir in the sugar until dissolved and let it cool, then chill for at least 1 hour.
- 3
Mix the topping. Whisk the condensed milk, half-and-half and vanilla together in the small jug.
- 4
Assemble. Fill the glasses with ice and pour in the tea to about 3 cm from the top. Slowly pour a quarter of the creamy topping over each, so it swirls down through the tea.
- 5
Serve. Serve with a straw and stir before drinking.
Storage
The plain tea keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days; add the topping just before serving. Cool leftovers in a shallow container and refrigerate within 2 hours (within 1 hour on a day above 32°C).
EU nutrition claims
- Low salt: 0.11 g salt per 100 ml (limit ≤ 0.3 g)
Per 100 ml of the finished dish, worked out from the nutrition per serving and the lowest likely cooked weight (about 122 ml a serving), so the true values are, if anything, lower. Thresholds from the Annex to EU Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006. How we decide
Caffeine · Free sugars
- Per serving: at least 36 mg caffeine (serving: 1 glass (about 180 ml tea)). Source: about 180 ml brewed per serving × USDA FDC SR Legacy #173227 (brewed black tea, 20 mg/100 g) This brew uses more tea per ml than standard brewed tea, so the real amount is likely higher..
- Scaling: making more servings does not change the caffeine in each serving; what counts is how many servings you drink in a day. 1 serving: 36 mg · 2 servings: 72 mg · 3 servings: 108 mg · 4 servings: 144 mg.
- General guideline: EFSA Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine (2015): for healthy adults, up to 200 mg in a single dose and up to 400 mg per day do not raise safety concerns. 1 serving = 9 % of 400 mg. EFSA
20 g per serving
40 % of the 50 g daily maximum · 80 % of the ideal 25 g
Free sugars under 50 g a day, ideally about 25 g, based on WHO free-sugar guidance (not endorsed by WHO). The share shown is the share of one serving. WHO
Equipment
- kettle
- heatproof jug or bowl
- fine sieve lined with a paper coffee filter
- small jug
- 4 tall glasses
Nutrition per serving (estimated values)
| Per serving | Amount |
|---|---|
| Energy | 152 kcal |
| Protein | 3 g |
| Carbohydrate | 22.7 g |
| of which sugars | 21.2 g |
| of which free sugars | 20 g |
| Fat | 5.7 g |
| of which saturates | 3.5 g |
| Fibre | 0.4 g |
| Salt | 0.14 g |
Protein per 100 kcal
2 g High Protein needs ≥ 5 g (20% of energy)
Calculated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient values
