Thai Iced Tea

Have a taste of authentic Thai iced tea prepared in your own home.

Makes 4 to 6 cups Prep Time 15 to 20 minutes Cooking Time 15 minutes

8 cups water
4 tea bags of chai tea
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup cooked big tapioca pearls
ice cubes or crushed ice
1 cup condensed milk
1 1/2 cups evaporated milk

1 Boil water in a saucepan then dip the tea bags into the boiling water. Let the mixture boil for 10 to 15 minutes. Remove from heat. Let the bags steep for 5 more minutes. Take out the bags from the pot.
2 Add sugar. Stir until dissolved. Let cool completely.
3 Place about 1 to 2 teaspoonfuls of tapioca pearls in each glass.
4 Place 1/2 cup of ice cubes or crushed ice in each glass.
5 Pour the cooled tea mixture into each glass until 3/4 full.
6 Combine condensed milk and evaporated milk in a pitcher. Pour this into each glass until the glasses are full.

Tip: Glass Fillers
You can substitute the tapioca pearls with coffee jelly or redcolored gulaman squares to add some color to your iced tea. Good quality chai tea is available at PFESCORP (tel. nos.: 531-2138, 531-2069; www.pfescorp.com). If you happen to find yourself in Bangkok, milk tea or Thai iced tea mixes are widely available in supermarkets. They’re a cool addition to your pantry, as is unsweetened powdered tea.

Photography by Patrick Martires │ Styling by Paulynn Chang-Afable