Customer Reviews

Thai Iced Tea Traditional Restaurant Style

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

So I grew up in a townhouse complex with my two best friends being Thai and Indian 1st gen immigrants... I grew up with about a fourth of my food being from their homes--we went to whoever was making the best food. Thai tea was a bit of a guilty obsession for us, especially in the summer. As I got older, the addiction grew, and I've brewed hundreds of gallons of it. That said, I bought this along with the Por Kwan when I couldn't get to my Asian market. The Por Kwan was much better, but neither was especially great; this one is GREEN tea, which Thai tea is NEVER supposed to be. The leaf quality is pretty awful--really dusty, the stems are ground in with the leaves (big no no, clearly cheaply made), and it's DEFINITELY been treated beyond the red dye--which our tea FROM Thailand and Sri Lanka actually didn't need, though admittedly, they weren't garfield orange, more like a pinkish peach, when the milk was added (when it's brewed correctly, GOOD "black" teas will be a lovely red shade; this would likely be a gross putrid yellow-brown without the dye)...

Some people probably add enough sugar to compensate for the chemicals in this, but I can't get over it. I could steep it for 1 minute, 3, or 5 or 10 and it would still have a scent and flavor I (admittedly my sense of taste and smell are keen) am repulsed by--just opening the bag, the smell of a cheap plasticware factory's toxic chemicals gently waved in my face like fresh paint. The bag has gone unused as a result... I'm about to toss it, since frankly, I can't trust something I know has had things added to it that make that distinct "not from nature" smell and taste so apparent to me, someone who admittedly mostly buys things like Silk Road prize teas (Drunken Concubine for example) from Angelina's--the only guy I've personally met who knows quite a lot more about tea than me is there, and he used to evaluate them all over China/Asia and gets the very best... Those chemicals, if you care, are probably a mix of intended additives and byproduct. They intentionally tend to add things likely mold/mildew inhibitors since transporting in Asia equals humidity (most of this is from China, shipped to Thailand sometimes or tagged product of Thailand if the company is in Bangkok, regardless of where the tea came from or how many factories were involved in its creation), along with the obvious pesticides in these cheaper teas. Then you have the reason this stuff is so cheap when good tea will typically be--even loose--$1-4 an OUNCE: the manufacturing process. I'm pretty sure this wasn't made in an especially clean plant, and that smell in opening the bag reminded me of places that just don't exist in America, places that remind me of why I DO buy USA goods 99% of the time. The water used to clean, the grinders... none are going to be especially clean by our standards, and much gets recycled, as water is costly in other parts of the world. The short reason I won't finish this or give it to anyone else is that all of that non-tea gets brewed right into the tea and goes into your body. I like my body AND tea too much to settle for less than great. The por kwan brand is much better, but... it's still not the bee's knees. Still, if I had to pick one, it is NOT this one. The other I can say at least most people should be okay with... I'd give IT a 3.5. I give this a 2 for MOST people to be fair since face it, most don't care about the nitpicking I am hyperaware of. Most don't teach medical sciences and work directly with ill patients, either, for a living, so most aren't constantly immersed in healthcare.

Whatever you get, I'll at least give this recommendation: we grew up using sweetened condensed milk--it's how they typically do it in Thailand, where fresh cow milk is expensive, very expensive--or sometimes evaporated in a pinch; the condensed really makes the texture best for adding ice; otherwise, it becomes extremely thin, which is a sad reality of many restaurants, which I'm presuming a lot of people base their reviews on; high quality Thai restaurants--and they DO exist(expensive doesn't mean high quality)--the ones Thai folks eat at--won't skimp on this detail, let alone use regular milk. Half and half *can* be a feasible option, but it's just not the same.

I just received this thai tea and it was just amazing! I had recently gone to a thai restaurant and had the iced thai tea and I wanted to make it at home. I tried this tea and it tasted exactly like the restaurant tea. They shipped it to me within two days. The price was very reasonable. I have no complaints. I will continue to order this item in the future.

This tea tastes like the kind in restaraunts, unless it is made incorrectly. Usually, you are recommended to add cardamon and cloves to it for enchanced flavor. I use 1 cup milk to 2 cups water ratio for making the tea and sweeten it with regular sugar or splenda. Sometimes I'll make it unsweetened and add 2 tblspn sweetened condensed milk to each cup. If you do not know how to make it properly, I suggest looking up the recipe online. There are many great sites out there which will tell you how to do it, do not count on the instructions on the back of the package for a perfect tea.

I have tasted both the PanTai brand and the Por Kwan brands. This brand, the PanTai brand in the foil pouch, is milder with less body and richness. The color brews more orangey while the Por Kwan is darker and can be orangish to the color of fresh brewed coffee. The Por Kwan brand defintely is more full bodied and richer. It has black thai leaves, panden leaves and lemon grass. I wrote a great review on it. The PanTai brand has a slight cinnamony taste to it and is lighter in flavor. I've grown to really enjoy Thai Tea in general and some restaurants seem to have the darker, more robust flavor kind and others have the lighter milder cinnamony tasting kind. I guess it all depends on what you want for your taste buds.

I was in one of my favorite Thai restaurants the other day and I asked the owner to show me the kind of tea that she serves her customers. She showed me this brand, the exact package that is shown and selling at Amazon. The tea she serves is this PanTai brand and tasted milder than Por Kwan and less variable in its flavor but it was still good. So I realize it isn't the way I was making the tea, it is the way the tea just is. If you just want a cup of thai tea, this seems to do the trick. But I really like the flavor of the Por Kwan much more because it has a deeper, richer, flavorful taste and even a better aroma than the PanTai. But I think it is still a good tea and has its place, especially when eating hot spicy thai food, it is a good balance as it complements the food well. The Por Kwan brand reminds me of those tea specialty drinks at the coffee houses that have some zing to them.

Isn't it odd the weight and power that one bad review can have?

I LOVE Thai Iced Tea but the nearest place was a thai restaurant I would have to order a meal from in order to get the tea. Even then, the allure of the tea would draw me to order somewhat mediocre food. Suffice it to say, I was looking for a way to make it on my own.

I came across this tea (and various other brands) and it was looking promising except that one bad review relating to Green Tea. I second-guessed a potential purchase so much because of that one review.

Finally I took the plunge and I couldn't be happier. It tastes exactly like it does from the various sources i've tried it from. Maybe Thai Iced Tea isn't supposed to have green tea, I'm not sure. I don't position myself on internet forums as an expert in tea. I DO know however that if it looks like thai iced tea, it smells like thai iced tea, and it tastes like thai iced tea, then for all intents and purposes it IS thai iced tea. Besides, green tea leaves are probably better for you anyways.

Don't let this one negative review turn you off like it almost did to me.

Now on to other matters:

The quantity the package calls for is really too much. I make the tea in 64 oz. quantities and it only takes 4 tbsp. or so. I boil the water with the tea inside until it reaches a rolling boil, then I allow it to steep for 4-5 minutes. I was using the stainless steel muslin filter another reviewer mentioned, but unfortunately it was getting really groady looking and it was hard to dry as a college student. I've now invested in T-Sac tea filters, size #3.

There is some "dustiness" to the tea. When I first started drinking it, I never noticed it until I got to the last 4-5 oz. or so in the pitcher since the dust sinks to the bottom. Now when i transfer the tea to the pitcher I just dont pour the last few oz. into the pitcher which effectively gets rid of any issues with tea dust.

I mix the tea with milk and/or coffee creamer (original non-fat works splendidly) though i always use coffee creamer if I have it on hand.

There is ONE problem. If you really liked thai iced tea before, there's a chance you're going to get addicted to it. I have a reusable 24 oz. iced drink tumbler and it's easy to fill that up a couple of times a day or more if drank with meals. with 2.5 of these cups you're looking at 64 oz. of thai iced tea a day if you're not careful. With that being said i'd much rather drink 40-50 oz. of thai iced tea than the 30-60 oz. of iced coffee with (regular i.e. with fat) cream, sugar, and caramel flavoring.

It's a great alternative to coffee and I couldn't be happier.

i used to buy thai tea everyday from different thai restruants and as we all know this could get pricy. so, my husband bought me some of this...instead of all the tricky prep ins. all i do is put it into the regular coffee maker... i put a lot of tea gorunds in(stright out of the bag) though...then, i mix in sugar into the hot tea while stillin the coffe pot.. its very easy!!! we still you sweetened and condensed milk or evaporated milk... it just taste better... we like more tea flavor than creme so you alter it to your taste!

This Thai tea was not as good as the other brand I purchased from Amazon, but it still has authentic flavor. I would give it another buy if the other was not available (Por Kwan?)

This is really powdery and hard to work with, but it can get the job done.

This is the actual brand/mix that one of my favorite thai restaurants use. There is a bit of a floral aroma to this tea in comparison with another, less flavorful, brand that I purchased when I couldn't find this one in the asian market. For those in California, Ranch 99 markets usually stock this brand. I don't use nearly as much of the tea as is called for, but I've always had good results. I've made it in the coffee pot with great success (you do need to run it through the tea leaves twice), but it's just as easy to put the tea in a tea ball and steep that way. I'm sure it's even easier with a proper tea sock, but I don't own one. And yes, it stains, so you do have to be careful.

I was worried when I purchased this since there were so many other brands to choose from. I made a glass this morning and WOW it is perfect! What a great deal and great taste! This bag will last a long time, it is actual loose tea with the spices and VERY good quality. I will definitely be buying more of this stuff!! I am using my french press coffee pot to brew and filter the tea and it works perfectly!

The tea tastes great! It has a flavor just like at the Thai restaurant I went to in college. The only reason I give it 4 stars is that the leaves are so tiny that they go right through my mesh tea strainer. If you buy this tea I recommend using a paper filter to keep your tea free of tiny leaf debris.