Name: Spiced Thai-Style Iced Tea Concentrate
Total time: 50 min
Cuisine: Thai
Ingredients: 7 Assam tea bags; 1 cinnamon stick; 1 star anise pod; 1 teaspoon ground turmeric; 3 cups boiling water; ⅓ cup sweetened condensed milk; 1 tablespoon sugar; 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Why This Recipe Works

Cha yen, widely known simply as Thai iced tea, is a milky beverage sweetened with lots of sweetened condensed milk that's sold by Thai street vendors and served in Thai restaurants. Many establishments serve a commercial concentrate. We riffed on the commercial kind by steeping Assam tea with star anise and cinnamon (which help mimic the undisclosed flavorings in such products), as well as turmeric (to approximate yellowy tint of food coloring), and then enhanced it with vanilla extract, sweetened condensed milk, and sugar. To serve the tea, we diluted the concentrate with milk.

Before You Begin

We strongly prefer the robust flavor and striking, amber-red color of Assam tea for this recipe, but you can substitute English breakfast tea if Assam is unavailable. For an accurate measurement of boiling water, bring a kettle of water to a boil and then measure out the desired amount.

Instructions

Place tea bags, cinnamon stick, star anise, and turmeric in bowl. Add boiling water and steep for 15 minutes. Strain mixture through fine-mesh strainer lined with triple layer of cheesecloth into second bowl. Stir in condensed milk, sugar, and vanilla. Let cool completely. (Concentrate can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.)TO SERVE: Pour ⅔ cup concentrate and ⅓ cup milk over ice into glass. (Sweeten with extra sugar if desired.) Stir to combine.