Where To Buy Tea (used in Thai Iced Tea) in Bangkok?

[Will2011]

Hello,

I am looking for the tea used to making Thai Iced Tea. I am far to be a tea expert, but I understand it's made from black tea (correct me if I'm wrong). I checked earlier threats but didn't find any satisfying answer. I observed street beverage vendors to see what brand they use, but it seems they take the tea out of its original packaging.

To begin with, I'd like to know which tea (brand) is used and where to get it from. There are a bunch of 7/11s and Tops' in the area I live, but I was unable to locate any particular tea for that purpose.

Any pointers would be appreciated.

Thank you

[Suradit69]

Presumably you mean cha dam ... black tea. Sometimes you can ask for cha yen ... cold tea and get it, but in many places cha yen just means stick a bag of Liptons in some hot water and then add milk,sugar and a lot of ice.

There's instructions for making it here: http://learnthaiwithmod.com/2012/07/thai-iced-tea-recipe/

... and references here: http://www.teagenius.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=33:thai-tea&catid=7&Itemid=101

At Friendship in Pattaya there was a mix available, but can't remember the name/brand.

Probably best to go into a supermarket and ask for cha dam or cha yen Thai or go to a street vendor, ask for cha dam and watch him/her mix it.

• Cha Yen or Cha Nom Yen or Thai Iced Milk Tea (ชาเย็น)– This is one of my favorite Thai drinks. It is milky and has orange color. It made from Thai black tea mix with sweetened condensed milk and sugar. Then, pour it over crushed ice.
• Cha Dam Yen or Thai Iced Tea (ชาดำเย็น) – This drink is similar with Cha Yen or Cha Nom Yen. They use the same ingredients, but no sweetened condensed milk in Cha Dam Yen.

Edited October 2, 2014 by Suradit69

[rwdrwdrwd]

I think it's probably this one - Number One Brand

Can buy it in loads of places, very cheap, very nice. Certainly seen it in Tops, loads in Makro, quite possibly in 7/11 as well.

Edited October 2, 2014 by rwdrwdrwd

[Will2011]

I didn't find any black tea at tops that you guys mentioned. The brand i use to bump into is 3 horses i guess, in a thai/chinese packaging. Is it black tea as well?

[recom273]

Nope, not 3 horses.

I was looking for a tea to make 'tea eggs' with .. I thought that the 3 horses brand, was the cheapest on the shelf and that it had to be the one.

3 horses is like a chinese tea, you get it in coffee shops / dim sum shops for free in a teapot and those little white porcelain cups here.

Its like a weak green / brown colour, not the stuff your looking for.

I haven't made Taiwanese 'tea eggs' since, i keep on meaning to ask my local tea woman .. the amount she piles into those 'socks' it has to be cheap.

[Daffy D]

Tesco:-

[Will2011]

Nope, not 3 horses.

I was looking for a tea to make 'tea eggs' with .. I thought that the 3 horses brand, was the cheapest on the shelf and that it had to be the one.

3 horses is like a chinese tea, you get it in coffee shops / dim sum shops for free in a teapot and those little white porcelain cups here.

Its like a weak green / brown colour, not the stuff your looking for.

I haven't made Taiwanese 'tea eggs' since, i keep on meaning to ask my local tea woman .. the amount she piles into those 'socks' it has to be cheap.

Thanks for the explanation. Now I know what 3 horses tea is used for!

[Will2011]

Tesco:-

Ice Tea.jpg

Apparently, a lot of street vendors use lipton to make thai iced tea. However, it looks like the original one is made from black tea, which is what I am looking for.

If you find any black tea used for that purpose, please let me know where and what store you got it from. Thank you.

[mike324]

I think it's probably this one - Number One Brand

Can buy it in loads of places, very cheap, very nice. Certainly seen it in Tops, loads in Makro, quite possibly in 7/11 as well.

this is the most popular and one of the oldest branded tea for making Thai Ice Tea. You should find this at all supermarkets, don't forget the condense milk!

[roath]

definately number one brand as poster showed pictures of. get the red colour or gold. green or yellow are green teas. you can get in many supermarkets and local shops also at concessions at BTS stations such as Mo chit and Chong Nonsi (just 2 I know). they have a website you can check for stockists generally www.cha-thai.com

[roath]

Lipton doesnt taste the same. And you need condensed milk (Carnation or Falcon brands are very popular). Tastes a bit manky with regular milk

[roath]

you can get instant milk tea sachets but they are very sweet and a bit weak. similar to what you get in 7/11 in the ready made coolers

[Stuart21]

Try Siam BFB Sisuporn 02 809 9401

[Suradit69]

Tesco:-

Ice Tea.jpg

Apparently, a lot of street vendors use lipton to make thai iced tea. However, it looks like the original one is made from black tea, which is what I am looking for.

If you find any black tea used for that purpose, please let me know where and what store you got it from. Thank you.

In one mention of cha dam someone said they used Assam, a strong Indian black tea. I've found Teekanne Assam at Friendship in Pattaya, but that's the only place. And, the only place I ever found Assam in Bangkok was at Whittards of Chelsea at Siam Paragon ... excellent tea, but at Whittards it's very pricey.

[Will2011]

Thank you, guys. I'll get it next week maybe at one convenient BTS station and report how it went.

[Stuart21]

Try Siam BFB Sisuporn 02 809 9401

Sorry, Siam FB

Maybe not this tea, but a fair chance they will have it.

I am looking for Coffee & Chicory. Anyone?

Edited October 3, 2014 by Stuart21

[harrry]

Try Siam BFB Sisuporn 02 809 9401

Sorry, Siam FB

Maybe not this tea, but a fair chance they will have it.

I am looking for Coffee & Chicory. Anyone?

How can Ceylon tea come from Thailand.......

[Stuart21]

Nope, not 3 horses.

I was looking for a tea to make 'tea eggs' with .. I thought that the 3 horses brand, was the cheapest on the shelf and that it had to be the one.

3 horses is like a chinese tea, you get it in coffee shops / dim sum shops for free in a teapot and those little white porcelain cups here.

Its like a weak green / brown colour, not the stuff your looking for.

I haven't made Taiwanese 'tea eggs' since, i keep on meaning to ask my local tea woman .. the amount she piles into those 'socks' it has to be cheap.

Cha dun. How tsr!

[DekDaeng]

Try Siam BFB Sisuporn 02 809 9401

Sorry, Siam FB

Maybe not this tea, but a fair chance they will have it.

I am looking for Coffee & Chicory. Anyone?

How can Ceylon tea come from Thailand.......

T.I.T., kup!

[Will2011]

As an update, I just bought the suggested One Brand tea at their Sala Daeng Bts Station booth, and ordered a "fresh" Black Iced Tea cup to try it out and it tasted very good.

So, thank you all for your contributions. I hope this thread will help people who are looking for Thai Tea.

[honu]

Cool to see a thread about tea here; I should check this forum more often. I live in Bangkok and write a blog about tea so it's definitely familiar ground.

It seems the post might well be about mixing powdered tea with condensed milk, which is a bit outside the range of tea I drink, just loose teas, typically better versions. As for conventional black tea you can buy that in Tops (see picture).

If the taste the original post had been seeking was from powdered tea then no brewed tea would probably be better, even though in some people's view most brewed tea is better (so subjectivity comes into play). The tea in that picture (black tea from Thailand, typical commercial black tea) can be a bit bitter (astringent, whatever), but careful brewing can offset that, and even more so the addition of sugar and milk.

I like iced tea made from a lightly oxidized oolong much better but it's a matter of preference, and a very different thing.

[honu]

I tried a decent version of a Thai iced tea recently, and did some research about it to write a blog post. I'll add the link here but type out the most related content so there's not really a need to read it there, except for more description of that particular tea or where I drank it.

Research indicated the tea used is either Assam or Ceylon, tea from India (one region) or Sri Lanka, both types a bit astringent (bitter, essentially). For a tea mixed with sugar and milk the astringency can be a good thing since it all but completely fades out from those additions anyway. In an interesting twist one source said traditional Thai tea was also made with a semi-wild Thai version of the same Indian tea plant, camellia sinensis var. assamica. Essentially no chance of finding that, at least not without spending more time in the North of Thailand, but interesting.

It was also interesting researching which herbs are used to give it that distinctive flavor. There's no clear answer to that, but possible inclusions are orange blossoms, crushed tamarind seed, star anise, and clove. I've tried the last two in masala chai (Indian sweetened milk tea, more typically drank hot, but also iced); add ginger, cardamom, and cinnamon and that's one basic recipe, with clove and star anise really more possible variants.

The orange color is food coloring in modern versions, but it makes you wonder if it doesn't relate to some traditional ingredient that had been coloring the tea, carried over as an artificial ingredient. It was interesting they made the latte version I had in an espresso machine, the first time I've seen that done (it worked). More about that tea:

http://teaintheancientworld.blogspot.com/2015/09/traditional-thai-tea-at-bridge-cafe-and.html