Chef notes
Super-sweet and strong Thai iced tea, brewed with Ceylon tea and sweetened with condensed milk, can't really get better … except when it's turned into a frozen treat. At markets across Southeast Asia, the tea is "pulled" by pouring it back and forth at high heights — both to give the tea a thick frothy top and also to cool it down while thoroughly mixing it with the condensed milk. In Thailand, this drink is often sold to-go in little plastic bags with straws, which sounds almost as fun as these frozen pops. The iced tea served in Thai restaurants derives its candy-like color from food coloring (oddly enough, the same shade of Yellow No. 6 food dye formerly used in Kraft Mac & Cheese) to produce the bold hues that this tea is normally associated with. Just before serving, it is usually topped with evaporated milk, which gives the tea a creamy body. For ice pops, I like to pour the tea into molds almost to the top, then add a tablespoon or two of evaporated milk to create that creamy body.
Ingredients
- 6 black Ceylon tea bags, or 1/3 cup loose tea leaves
- 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
- 1/2-3/4 cup evaporated milk (about half of a 12-ounce can)
Preparation
Bring 2 cups of water to a boil in a saucepan. Add the tea bags or leaves, remove the pan from the heat and steep for 5 minutes. Toss out the tea bags (or strain out and discard the leaves). Stir in the condensed milk.
Pour this mixture into ice-pop molds until they are nearly filled to the top, and then top each one with a tablespoon or two of the evaporated milk (the milk will settle into the molds as it freezes, creating a burst of milky whiteness). Freeze until solid, at least 5 hours.
