Recipes
Thai iced coffee recipe for home or café, with dark roast beans
A starting recipe for Thai-style iced coffee using espresso, moka pot or drip, how to adjust sweetness and creaminess, and how to keep it from tasting watery.
By ทีมโปรดชง · Published · 4 min read
Thai iced coffee is strong coffee mixed with sweetened condensed milk and milk, poured over ice. It's sweet and creamy with a clear coffee flavour, and it's a best-seller in almost every Thai café. Here's a starting recipe you can adjust.
Why dark roast
Condensed milk, milk, sugar and ice mute a lot of the coffee flavour. A dark roast has enough bitterness and roast character to still come through. A medium roast gives a softer drink. See how to choose a roast level.
Starting recipe (16 oz glass)
- 60 ml strong coffee, e.g. a double espresso or moka pot coffee
- 30 ml sweetened condensed milk (about 2 tablespoons)
- 40–60 ml evaporated milk or fresh milk
- 0–10 ml sugar or syrup, to taste
- A glass full of ice
Method
- 1. Brew strong coffee and stir in the condensed milk and sugar while it's hot so they dissolve.
- 2. Add the evaporated or fresh milk and stir.
- 3. Fill the glass with ice and pour the coffee over it.
- 4. Taste and adjust the sweetness or creaminess.
No espresso machine?
- Moka pot: strong, espresso-like coffee; use the same amount.
- Drip: 20 g coffee to 100 ml hot water, ground slightly finer than usual, for coffee strong enough to mix with milk.
- French press: about 1:6–1:8 coffee to water, steep 4 minutes, then press.
Keeping it from tasting watery
- Brew stronger than you would for hot coffee, since the ice dilutes it.
- Mix the condensed milk in while hot, then let it cool a little before pouring over ice so the ice melts more slowly.
- Make coffee ice cubes so melting doesn't dilute the drink.
- Use fresh beans for a clearer aroma; see how to store coffee beans.
For cafés
Iced coffee is often a café's biggest bean user. Using the same dark roast for every glass and weighing your doses keeps the flavour consistent. For regular use, 1 kg bags are better value, and you can ask about wholesale prices.
Dark roast from PRODCHONG
All three of PRODCHONG's Doi Chang coffees come in dark roast, in 250 g and 1 kg bags. See dark roasts.