How to make a Thai Iced Coffee (recipe)

Over the years we've collected reader submissions for Thai Iced Coffee - a delicious version of the iced coffees we know and love.

Numerous people have written in to suggest recipes for Thai iced coffee, here are a few.

Jump to:

• Tips
• Thai Iced Coffee Recipe
• Variations
• Background and history

Tips

• You'll have to experiment with the strength and milk so you get lots of taste after the ice/water dilutes it.
• Alternatively, this version which comes from a newspaper article of many years ago simply calls for grinding two or three fresh cardamom pods and putting them in with the coffee grounds.

Variations

Lastly, we have the following recipe: Makes 1 8-cup pot of coffee

• 6 tablespoons whole rich coffee beans, ground fine
• ¼ teaspoon ground coriander powder
• 4 or 5 whole green cardamom pods, ground
• Place the coffee and spices in the filter cone of your coffeemaker.
• Brew coffee as usual; let it cool.
• In a tall glass, dissolve 1 or 2 teaspoons of sugar in an ounce of the coffee (it's easier to dissolve than if you put it right over ice).
• Add 5-6 ice cubes and pour coffee to within about 1" of the top of the glass.
• Rest a spoon on top of the coffee and slowly pour whipping cream into the spoon. This will make the cream float on top of the coffee rather than dispersing into it right away.

Another recipe:

• Strong, black ground coffee
• Sugar
• Evaporated (not condensed) milk
• Cardamom pods
• Prepare a pot of coffee at a good European strength (Miriam Nadel suggests 2 tablespoons per cup, which I'd say is about right).
• In the ground coffee, add 2 or 3 freshly ground cardamom pods. (I've used green ones, I imagine the brown ones would give a slightly different flavor.)
• Sweeten while hot, then cool quickly.
• Serve over ice, with unsweetened evaporated milk (or heavy cream ifyou're feeling extra indulgent).
• To get the layered effect, place a spoon atop the coffee and pour the milk carefully into the spoon so that it floats on the top of the coffee.

Another recipe using french roast coffee:

• ¼ cup strong French roasted coffee
• ½ cup boiling water
• 2 teaspoon sweetened condensed milk
• Mix the above and pour over ice.
• Note: I'd probably use less water and more coffee and milk.

There is also a stronger version of Thai coffee called "Oliangor Oleng" which is very strong to me and to a lot of coffeelovers.

• 6 to 8 tablespoons ground espresso or French roast coffee,
• 4 to 6 green cardamom pods
• crushed sugar to taste
• half-and-half or cream
• ice cubes
• Put the cardamom pods and the ground dark-roast coffee into a coffee press, espresso maker, or the filter of a drip coffee maker (if using a drip-style coffee maker, use half the water).
• Brew coffee as for espresso, stir in sugar.
• Fill a large glass with ice and pour coffee over ice, leaving about ½ inch at the top.
• Place a spoon at the surface of the coffee and slowly pour half-and-half or cream into the spoon, so that it spreads across the top of the coffee rather than sinking in.
• Note: You'll stir it in yourself anyway, but this is a much prettier presentation and it's as used in most Thai restaurants.

There's also a vietnamese iced coffee, which uses similar ingredients but a different brewing method, and without the cardamom is much milder and sweeter.

Background and history

Surely, one can get coffee with condensed milk in Thailand. But when one speaks of "Thai Iced Coffee", as found in Thai restaurants in America, one is referring to "Oliang/Oleng"[there is no standard transliteration of the Thai alphabet, so the spelling varies.]

In the FAQ one reads: "There is also a stronger version of Thai coffee called "Oleng" which is very strong to me and to a lot of coffee lovers." But this IS Thai Iced Coffee. And it is only strong if you brew it to be strong.

Oliang is a blend of coffee and other ingredients.

The brand I have (Pantainorasingh Brand) states the percentages right on the label: 50% coffee, 25% corn, 20% soya bean, 5% sesame seed.

This blend of coffee and roasted grains is really quite exquisite--a perfect marriage of flavors!

Traditionally, oliang is brewed with a "tung tom kah fe", which is a metal ring with a handle to which is attached a muslin-like clothbag. It is much like those cloth tea-strainers one finds in Europe, only larger, like a sock.

One puts the coffee in the bag and pours over it water that has come to a boil - into a carafe. Let the bag full of coffee steep in the carafe for 10 minutes.

Then add sugar and stir. Let it cool. Pour into a glass with ice, and add the dairy product of your choice on top. I use fresh half-and- half, but you can use condensed milk, evaporated milk, or a mix of the two, or of the three.

The proportions of coffee - water - sugar, vary. I use ⅔ part oliang to 1 ¼ parts sugar to 6 parts water.

[The tung tom kah fe can be found at SE Asian grocery stores - after a bit of searching. In Seattle at Viet Wah or Mekong Ranier.]

Alternately, one can bring water to a boil in a pot, add the coffee, and remove from heat. Let the coffee steep for 10 minutes.

Then strain through cheesecloth, a coffee filter, or a fine metal strainer. And continue as above.