Thailand Passport to tea 2023, Cha Yen

I can't believe it is November and this will be my 11th tea class of the year.  I have loved these classes and discovered this is my real passion- teaching people about tea.

               

On the left is tea picking basket from Thailand, on the right are little ceramic kids I got in Thailand.

                             

Table is set and I am ready to go....

                           

Everyone will get some Thai instant tea to take home.  Also they will get Thai Tea Mochi to try.

                        

I practiced a few days before, making sure I got it right.  I made hot tea with the tea bags and then frothed milk on top.  It was very good- but I could tell it was missing the condensed milk and evaporated milk.

 I also made the cold iced tea the day before too.  In the iced tea it was both sweet and condensed milk and evaporated milk,  It was great!

I then was trying to get the layered look so I added even more sweet and condensed milk to the tea.  It was way to sweet, but I did get the desired look.

 THAI ICED TEA:

When I was in Penang in 2019 they sold Thai tea in plastic bags.  It was crazy to see all people carrying there "to-go" containers. 

Thai tea is cooked with condensed milk, heavy in milk solid and sugar. Therefore it has rich caramelized notes, sweet and high sugar.

Thai Tea is is made from strongly-brewed black tea- often an Assam tea.  Usually spiced with ingredients such as star anise, crushed tamarind, cardamom, and occasionally others as well (often making this beverage a favorite among masala chai tea fans). This brew is then sweetened with sugar and sweetened condensed milk, and served over ice.

Artificial vanilla flavoring- cause the unique flavor 

Orange color- is a dye

I found these to go bags that I thought would give it the same feel as street Thai Tea.

Thai iced tea/ Cha Yen 

Thai tea base: 

3/4 C Cha tra mue Tea leaves 

(2 T for a 22 ounce cup) 

4 C hot- just done boiling water 

2 T granulated sugar or brown sugar 

Little salt

(Salt- A little salt helps brighten up the sweetness of the tea and prevents it from becoming cloying. It's a little trick that makes all the difference!)

1/2 C Sweetened condensed milk
2-3 T Evaporated milk- Evaporated milk is used to add creaminess without adding extra sweetness. I always use full-fat evaporated milk for best flavor.- punch 2 holes in the top of the can 

A lot of ice 

HOT THAI TEA:

Drinking Thai Tea in Thailand.

Thai Tea

3/4 C Cha tra mue Tea leaves 

(2 T for a 22 ounce cup) 

4 C hot- just done boiling water 

2 T granulated sugar or brown sugar 

Little salt

(Salt- A little salt helps brighten up the sweetness of the tea and prevents it from becoming cloying. It's a little trick that makes all the difference!)

1/2 C Sweetened condensed milk
2-3 T Evaporated milk- Evaporated milk is used to add creaminess without adding extra sweetness. I always use full-fat evaporated milk for best flavor.- punch 2 holes in the top of the can 

Making the Thai Tea:

Strain the tea through a fine mesh strainer. 

Pour over method - pour a little, then stop and let the team bloom- then finishing pouring.  The begin pouring back and forth 5 times.  
Add sugar and salt. 
Combine the tea base with sweetened condensed milk.
Top with evaporated milk once in the cup

Here I was trying to get the layered look again.  I got the three layers.

bottom- sweet and condensed milk

middle layer- thai tea

top layer- frothed milk

BLUE THAI TEA 

4C water

5 t Tea

Milk to froth

optional- condensed milk

\

We frothed milk on top, but decided it needed some sweetness so we added the condensed milk to the tea.  It was not only a beautiful blue, but it tasted great too.

BAEL TEA 

Bael fruit Tea (Nam Matoom)

This fruit is served in Thailand to welcome you to hotels, massage places, and other places to welcome you.

Outside peel starts out green.  A member of the citrus family. An almost caramel smell- like a caramel orange. 

 It’s a super fruit.  Helps digestive disorders. High in antioxidants. Helps control anti microbial properties. High in vitamin C. Helps constipation. It helps produce insulin.  It reduces blood sugar.  It also reduces body heat.  It’s a cooling drink and helps cool you off when you are hot. 

It's best drank cold.

BAEL TEA

Take 2-3 dried bael 

4 cups boiling water

Brown sugar to taste

Ice 

Toast on a grill to softens and releases flavor- lightly toast, once the aroma is released, they’re done.

4 C boiled water- add the bael, simmer for 15-20 minutes

Minutes 

Add brown sugar 

Strain out 

Add ice