If you love a good Thai Iced Tea, you’ll love this Thai Ice Tea with Lime (Cha Ma Nao). It’s made with the same tea mix, but without dairy and with lime juice. Refreshing & perfect for summer!
We first tried this tea in Ayara Thai, a restaurant near Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). We used to live around the area, so this was our go-to Thai place. Bryan noticed this drink on the menu, and he decided to give it a try. Wow, it was so amazing! Unfortunately, I haven’t seen this in any other Thai restaurants so far. Be honest, I love this tea a lot more than the classic Thai iced tea. It is light, little sour and still has that unique Thai tea flavors, but incredibly refreshing. It’s something that I can drink all summer long!
Good news is this tea is very easy to make. Before getting into making the tea, let’s talk about the tea leaves. Thai tea is made with Thai tea mix. It’s a blend of tea leaves, spices, and orange food coloring. It has a really distinct flavors and color compare to other tea. You can find Thai tea mix in some Asian supermarkets or online.
To start, prepare the simple syrup. I prefer using simple syrup because sugar doesn’t melt when the tea is cold. I can adjust the sweetness at the end if needed. Bring water and sugar to a boil for 1 minute and stir to melt the sugar. Set aside to cool to room temperature and keep in the fridge until ready to use.
Now, brew the tea like how you brew most other tea. Add boiling water to tea leaves and steep for 3 minutes. Strain out the leaves and cool in the fridge until cold. When the tea is cold and you’re ready to serve, squeeze some fresh limes to get lime juice. Stir the lime juice and simple syrup into the cold tea. Pour everything into serving glasses filled with ice cubes. That’s it!
This Thai iced tea with lime is a great beverage for any summer party, like BBQ or poolside. It’s just so refreshing that you would want more and more. Hope you guys will like it as much as we do!
Thai Iced Tea with Lime (Cha Ma Nao)
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons Thai tea mix
- 2 cups hot boiling water
- 1 tablespoon fresh lime juice (about 1 lime)
- ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons simple syrup
- 14 – 16 ice cubes
Simple Syrup:
- ⅓ cup water
- ⅓ cup sugar
Instructions
- First, prepare the simple syrup. In a small pot, add water and sugar. Bring to a boil. Stir to melt the sugar. Keep boiling for 1 minute. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Keep in the fridge in an airtight container.
- In a tea pot, tea press, French press or a bowl, add tea mix. Pour in boiling hot water. Let steep for 3 minutes, then strain into a glass or heatproof container. If you’re doing in a bowl, use a clean cheese cloth on a sieve to strain out tea leaves. Cool at room temperature for 10 minutes and chill in the fridge until cold, at least 3 hours.
- When ready to serve, squeeze lime juice into a small bowl. Mix 1 tablespoon lime juice (not all) and ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons simple syrup (not all) into the cold tea. Add ice cubes into serving glass. Pour the tea over. Taste and adjust with more lime juice or syrup if needed. Serve cold.
Notes
- There are a few Thai tea mix out there. The most common brand is Pantai. You can get it from some Asian supermarkets and Amazon. The one I used this time is Cha Tra Mue. I got it from Amazon.
- It’s best to have an extra lime just in case. Some limes may not be as juicy.
- If you don’t want to make a simple syrup separately, you can add sugar directly into the hot tea after straining. For 2 servings, use ¼ cup sugar. But you won’t be able to adjust the sweetness at the end.
- I actually have simple syrup at our home all the time. Bryan uses it to make cold brew coffee and we use it to make cocktail sometimes too. It’s something good to have around. We usually do 1:1 sugar and water ratio. We keep the syrup in a mason jar in the fridge. It can last easily for a month.
- One thing I want to remind you that Thai tea mix has food coloring, so it’s best to use glass or certain ceramic containers when you’re making the tea. That way, you don’t get any orange stain in any container later.
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