PRINTDrink This: Thai Iced Tea
Black tea and cream combine to make a sweet and swirly drink at Crazy Noodle downtown
Photograph by Leah Beane
Refreshing and sweet, this Thai twist on a typical iced tea will make your table-neighbors jealous.
April 19, 2012 | 12:00 a.m. CST
Sweet tea is a classic Southern favorite, but Crazy Noodle puts a Thai spin on the traditional drink with its Thai iced tea. The drink has the powerful flavor of black tea leaves and a whirlwind of sugar. To finish, the glass is topped off with fresh cream. The tall glass, similar to that of Long Island glassware, is filled with Crazy Noodle’s specially brewed black tea, which has a warm amber-like glow. In the top third of the glass, an opaque orange cream rests on the tea just blending where the two meet. The sweet ginger taste lingers in your mouth after each sip to cool down the typically spicy Thai food.
Tony Sudsai, kitchen manager at Crazy Noodle and brewer of the tea, says it’s all about the care. Sudsai brews the tea leaves slowly and at a low heat to ensure they don’t lose their flavor. The tea is brewed with sugar, and Sudsai adds a pinch of salt before carefully layering half-and-half on top of the drink glass. The cream almost sits on top of the dark tea, but it blends slightly, swirling into the glass to create the peachy color.
“I’ve drunk it since I was little,” Sudsai says. “Some people think it’s too sweet, but for most people, it’s the perfect pairing.”
The half-and-half is the key to this drink. It heightens the sweetness of the tea, cuts through the spice and makes it pretty to look at.
