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Vegan Thai Iced Tea, vegan recipe

Vegan Thai Iced Tea

A creamy vegan Thai iced tea built by toasting whole spices, brewing the black tea long, and simmering a quick coconut condensed milk, so it keeps the sweet, spiced cha yen body without any dairy.
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Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 20 minutes
Total Time 30 minutes
Servings: 4 servings
Course: Beverage
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients
  

Spiced tea base
  • 4 cups water
  • 1/3 cup loose-leaf black tea or 8 plain black tea bags, such as Assam or Ceylon
  • 3 star anise pods
  • 1 cinnamon stick broken into pieces
  • 3 green cardamom pods lightly crushed
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 1/4 cup coconut sugar plus more to taste
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Coconut condensed milk
  • 1 can full-fat coconut milk 13.5 ounces, shaken well
  • 1/3 cup coconut sugar or maple syrup
  • 1/8 teaspoon fine salt a small pinch, to round out the sweetness
To serve
  • 1/2 cup oat milk cold, for the swirl
  • ice for serving

Method
 

  1. Put the star anise, cinnamon stick, cardamom pods, and cloves in a dry saucepan over medium heat. Toast them for about 2 minutes, shaking the pan, until they smell warm and fragrant, and pull the pan off the heat before they darken.
  2. Add the 4 cups of water to the toasted spices and bring it to a boil. Take the pot off the heat, add the loose-leaf black tea, and let it steep for 8 to 10 minutes, until the liquid is very dark and tastes strong.
  3. Strain the tea through a metal fine-mesh sieve into a jug, pressing the spices lightly to get their flavor out. While the tea is still hot, stir in the coconut sugar and the vanilla extract until the sugar dissolves.
  4. For the coconut condensed milk, combine the shaken full-fat coconut milk, coconut sugar, and salt in a small saucepan. Simmer over low heat for 12 to 15 minutes, whisking often, until the mixture looks glossy and coats the back of a spoon. Set it aside to cool.
  5. Chill both the tea and the coconut condensed milk in sealed containers for at least 2 hours, or overnight, until they're properly cold.
  6. To serve, fill four tall glasses with ice and pour the spiced tea in until each glass is about three-quarters full. Stir 2 to 3 tablespoons of the coconut condensed milk into each glass, then top with a splash of cold oat milk so it marbles through the tea. Stir once and drink right away.

Notes

Plain loose-leaf black tea or everyday black tea bags both work here, and Assam or Ceylon give the deepest base. Skip spiced chai blends, because they bring their own flavor and fight the star anise and cardamom. Check the label on any store-bought Thai tea mix, since many of them contain dairy solids or added food coloring that a vegan drink doesn't want. Full-fat coconut milk is the one that thickens into a condensed milk, so light coconut milk won't give the same body. The sweet, spiced orange comes from the tea and spices alone here, with no dye needed. Serve it alongside anything spicy, and taste the finished glass before deciding on more coconut sugar, since cold drinks read less sweet than warm ones.