Tea drinking was originated from Thailand during the reign of King Rama IV and V during the 1800s. The tea culture was exchanged between different regions of the world during the era. If you’re a fan of Asian food and beverages and specifically love Southeast Asian tastes, you must have heard or tried Thai Tea. It is a popular beverage served in Thai restaurants and all over the world. Thai iced tea is often served with the spicy foods of Asia like Chicken tikka and many other exotic dishes.
A popular argument often ignited is does Thai tea has caffeine or not. This blog article will solve the mystery about caffeine’s presence in Thai tea and cover everything about Thai tea. So if you’re interested in knowing everything about Thai tea and the recipe for making Thai tea at your home, keep reading the blog. Let’s get straight into it.
What Is Thai Tea And Its Origin?
Thai tea, often pronounced as Cha Thai, originated in the Southeast Asian country of Thailand. One thing to mention here is that it is a black tea. The drink is usually a combination of Ceylon tea, milk, and sugar. The good thing about Thai tea is that it is served hot and cold. If you visit Thailand, the specialty drink will be served in almost every other restaurant.
If we talk about the origin of Thai tea, there is diversity. Popularly, Thai iced tea is served in most places. Thai iced tea was specifically brought by the Chinese to Thailand. There is no milk content added to the tea in its cold form. On the other hand, hot Thai tea is often taken with breakfast in the morning.
How To Make Thai Tea?
Well, there are two different variations of Thai tea: Hot and Cold. We will look into the recipe of both variations and how you can enjoy the beverage at your home.
Thai Iced Tea
Thai iced tea, often served with different exotic dishes, can be easily made at home. We will be sharing the easy recipe of Thai iced tea served at most Thai restaurants in America. Here is all that you need to make Thai iced tea.
Ingredients:
- Loose-leaf black tea – 2 tbsp
- Star Anise –1 Pod
- Cinnamon Stick –1/2 stick
- Sugar –1 tbsp
- Boiling Water –1 cup
- Sweetened Condensed Milk –1 tbsp
- Vanilla Bean –1/8
- Cardamon –2 pods
- Tamarind powder –Optional to taste
- Almond Extract –Optional, ¼ tsp
- Coconut Milk or Whole Milk –2 tsp
Here are instructions for preparing Thai iced tea:
- Add star anise, tea leaf, cardamon, vanilla bean, tamarind powder, cinnamon, and almond extract to the boiling water and let it steep for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes, strain the tea, and you will get the tea without milk.
- Add sugar & sweetened condensed milk to the strained tea. Stir the ingredients until both are completely dissolved.
- It’s time for assembly. Fill a glass or two with ice cubes as the above-given amounts will be enough to make two servings of tea.
- You can take coconut milk, whole milk, or evaporated milk. Now pour the strained tea on the ice, leaving space at the top of the glass for other ingredients. Top up your ice with 1 tsp evaporated milk, and you’re ready to enjoy the sips of the yummy tea.
You can use a variety of black tea such as Ceylon, Assam, or Keemun. Besides, the ingredients like almond extract, tamarind powder, and cinnamon. If you’re having trouble getting these ingredients, you can just drop the idea and use other ingredients for taste.
Hot Thai Tea
Hot Thai tea, or locally known as Cha Dra Muer, is very simple to make, and alternatively, you can also choose to make a Thai Tea Latte. We will be discussing the simple recipe for hot Thai tea.
Ingredients:
Assam Tea/ Black Tea –3 tablespoon
Lapsang souchong tea –4 tablespoon
Cloves –3
Cinnamon –1 stick
Star Anise –2
Cardamon –4 pods
Milk – ½ cup
Water –2 cups
Evaporated Milk –2 tablespoon
Sweetened Condensed Milk –2 tablespoon
Here are the step-by-step instructions to entertain yourself with hot Thai tea:
- Steep all the dry ingredients of Thai tea into the boiling water and let the tea be brewed. You can keep it in for 5 minutes for a fairly bold flavor.
- Once done, strain the tea and get a liquid.
- Add sweetened condensed milk and evaporated milk in equal proportions to 1 cup of steeped Thai tea. You can also froth ½ cup warm milk and add it to the top of your Thai tea to enhance the flavor.
- Your tea is ready to be served! Bon Appetit!
Does Thai Tea Have Caffeine?
Now let’s jump to the real argument: does Thai tea have caffeine?
The one-word answer to this question is Yes!
Thai tea does contain caffeine, but the exact proportion depends on the type of tea you’re using to brew the tea. Typically, if you take the iced Thai tea, there is around 45-55 mg of caffeine in 1 cup. If we breakdown different types of tea, here is the amount of caffeine you get with each type of tea serving size of 8 oz:
White Tea: 10-15 mg
Oolong Tea: 30-45 mg
Matcha Tea: 60-80 mg
Herbal: 0 mg
Assam/Black: 60-75 mg
Green Tea: 15-45 mg
So now you know that you get some caffeine when sipping hot or cold Thai tea.
What Is Included In Thai Tea?
Thai tea is a kind of black tea, and one cup of black tea’s nutrients can be broken down as follow:
Potassium: 57 mg
Protein: 0 g
Fat: 0 g
Carbohydrates: 0 g
Sugar: 0 g
Fiber: 0
Black tea gives you magnesium, caffeine, potassium, and choline nutrients.
Thai Tea Caffeine Comparison With Other Beverages
If you’re conscious about the caffeine content in beverages, here is a comparison of the Thai tea caffeine content with other beverages.
Thai Tea: As discussed above, if you choose Thai tea, you get around 45-55 mg of caffeine in one cup(8 oz)
Coke: As the Coca-Cola company disclosed, 8 oz of Coke drink contains around 23 mg of caffeine.
Redbull Drink: Redbull has also disclosed the amount of caffeine in 250 ml drink that is around 80 mg, quite higher than Thai tea.
Coffee: Finally, if you opt for coffee over Thai tea, you will get 3x more caffeine than what you get with Thai tea. 8 oz of coffee contains around 125-150 mg of caffeine.
Benefits Of Thai Tea
The good thing about having Thai tea is that you can get many health benefits besides entertaining your taste buds. Here are some of the most popular health benefits associated with Thai tea:
Good For Weight Loss
It is great to discourage weight gain if you’re drinking Thai tea. Why? There is enough research evidence supporting the fact that black tea is an inhibitor of obesity and aids in absorbing lipids and complex sugars. Therefore, black tea is more helpful in digestion than green tea. The perfect balance of caffeine and antioxidants do wonders to improve your metabolism.
Decreases The Risk Of Stroke
Consumption of Thai tea is good for your health and arteries especially. A research study conducted in Boston University indicated that people consuming black tea had 50% better functioning of their blood vessels than those who didn’t have it. The arteries expand, resulting in a reduced chance of stroke. This is because clots or vessel blockage is less likely to happen in this case. Therefore, it is a great drink for your arteries health.
Anti-Inflammatory
Just like the family of all types of teas, black tea is also packed with antioxidants giving it anti-inflammatory properties. Therefore, you can take care of your immune system by using Thai tea. This fact has also been supported by research studies highlighting the anti-inflammatory properties of Thai tea.
Lower The Cholesterol Levels
Yes, regularly drinking Thai tea can help you lower your blood cholesterol levels. If you consume one or two cups of black tea every day, your antioxidants levels are increased that aids in lowering cholesterol levels.
Antimicrobial Properties
Several antimicrobial elements are good for your gut health, immune system, and metabolism. A lot of research studies have shown that different black teas, including Thai tea, are enriched with antimicrobial elements.
Reduces Probability Of Heart Diseases
Since the blood vessels and arteries are expanded by consumption of Thai tea, it also reduces the risk of heart diseases, heart attacks, and heart-related problems.
Cons Of Thai Tea
There are potential hazards and health risks of consuming Thai tea in excess. If you drink too much Thai tea, you might experience symptoms like the following:
- Sleeplessness
- Anxiety and restlessness
- Constipation
- Cardiovascular problems
- Prostate cancer
There are no obvious hazards of consuming Thai tea in moderation. These risks are associated with over-consumption of Thai tea or black tea. However, if you use the tea in moderation, you can enjoy all the benefits. Except for people who don’t drink caffeinated beverages, everyone can enjoy a cup or two of tea every day.
Conclusion
We’ve found the answer to the question: does Thai tea have caffeine?
Besides, we also discuss how you can get health benefits by consuming Thai tea in a balanced amount. For your reference, we have also shared nutrients, comparisons, and two recipes for making hot and cold Thai tea at home.