Damn fine cup of Thai iced tea…
Part of my share the wealth... of knowledge series
Thai iced tea from a can is not necessarily a great substitute especially when you throw the often used nondairy creamers into the equation, but I can usually get a good can/tin of tea, say 20 fl oz or so for about a dollar ready to drink which isn’t shabby. It’s portable, enjoyable, and gives me access to the drink outside of the restaurant setting (which is also often overpriced).
However, I am no longer confined to those two options! (“Instant” Thai iced teas are not considered an option… blah!) Last week I stopped into Owajimaya and they had a new product I had never seen before. In fact I suspect it is very, very new since the company website does not have the product listed yet. Put out by “Taste Nirvana” a very fine dry loose leaf Thai tea mixture that can be brewed at home (ideally in a French Press) for a restaurant quality tea you can manipulate to your own fancy at the low low price of $3.96 for a pound (in a vacuum sealed, resealable pouch just like gourmet coffee). I brewed up an 8 cup portion in my large French Press and placed the contents in a mason jar for chilling. Just add coconut milk (typically the substitute of choice for vegans, but personally it just tastes better) or coconut cream for a really rich drink (i.e. calorie dense) and you have a magnificent delicious Thai iced tea for pennies (well for me “chilled,” as actual ice is optional)!
www.tastenirvana.com
www.uwajimaya.com/
Let me know if you have access to an alternative brand of dry loose leaf tea, I’d love to make comparisons. If you can’t get access to this product or something similar send me a line. As a favor to a friend I’d be happy to share.
So I dropped by Uwajimaya on my way to work today and in the course of one week they had completely sold out of the tea. I'm suspecting it was one of the many local restaurants, but maybe it's just that hot an item. Anyway, I've tried a few variations and if I use coconut milk it needs to be really sweet otherwise something gives it has a curious aftertaste. I think it may be some sort of chemical reaction with the milk instead of being purely related to taste... oh, and really cold too so instead of chilled it's over ice after all. With milk it is far more dynamic and easier to play with. Less sugar and warmer are still quite satisfying. It's not quite perfect yet, but I'll get my ratios figured out eventually. ...and presentation of course. It has too look spectacular. With nearly a year since I was trying a vast array of Thai dishes, it looks like this August is going to be very focused on Thai again. Mmmm... come to think of it, the peanut sauce was really good... and so was the cashew-peanut variant I developed later.
The reason I probably stopped doing it was probably all about the coconut milk. If my calculations are right, it contains 4x as many calories as milk (if I'm using my preferred variety of coconut milk which is about 55%) vs. 2% milk. The peanut sauces contained quite a bit of coconut milk... say about 1/4 to 1/2 a cup for a serving depending on the dish (200 calories from the coconut alone) and with the Thai iced tea that's about 1 tbsp for an 8 oz cup. Hmmm... very fattening. I think I'll keep the use of coconut to a minimum. Maybe I'll keep the Thai off the menu save for special occassions, or just use recipes that avoid the coconut milk.