Regular tea is dark golden brown in shade and after mixing with milk, it becomes light brown. On the other hand, Thai tea milk is orange.
According to the consumers, the brewed tea when mixed in water is red in color then the question arises, “How this changes into orange?”
It is because of the “turmeric powder.” Turmeric is an essential ingredient of Thai tea, which posses healing properties and is responsible for the orange hue of the tea.
In this article, we will discuss the further reasons for this orange color as well as some factual information related to the ingredients of Thai Tea.
History of Tea
Tea blending dates way back to the period before Christ. Legend says that tea leaves accidentally fell into someone’s drinking water giving it a refreshing flavor and resulting in the great beverage we now know as tea.
Development of Thai Tea
During the reign of King Rama IV and V which is also the beginning of the nineteenth century, drinking tea became highly popular.
When this tradition started in the land of Thai, the domestic workers were served tea that was red in color that includes Assam leaves and all the beneficial ingredients.
The ingredients that were added to the tea include:
- star anise
- cloves
- tamarind
- turmeric
However, when the workers experienced good taste and energy with the tea, they added evaporated, condensed, or ordinary milk to refill the glass. With the passing of time, they came to know which ingredients would give more flavor and vitality to the tea.
Eventually, this tradition that started with domestic workers spread to the entire population of Thailand.
Benefits of Spices
The addition of the above-mentioned spices to Thai tea was not merely an accident or to make the tea fancy. Each ingredient has benefits in addition to giving the tea its unique taste.
The benefits of ingredients are as follows.
| Ingredient | Benefit |
| Star anise | Digestive aid and antioxidant |
| Clove | Prevents heart disease, diabetes, and cancer |
| Tamarind | Antimicrobial properties |
| Turmeric | Prevents digestive and respiratory disorders |
Reason for Orange Color
As you already know that Thai tea uses many spices like star anise, cardamom, and turmeric powder.
This spice mix is highly beneficial for your stomach and gut. In addition to adding flavor to the tea, the spices can heal your body internally and soothe your organs.
Turmeric among these spices is specifically known as a healing agent and the orange color of the tea is also because of turmeric. If the tea is made without turmeric, it is going to have a light brown beige color but not the classic orange.
Thai tea is made with strong black tea leaves also known as Assam leaves. Black tea when brewed with all the spices in water has a bright red-crimson color.
When this brewed mixture is added to milk, it results in the orange color which is traditional to Thai tea.
The Food Color Secret
Another theory related to the orange color is that restaurants add red and yellow food colors to Thai tea to distinguish between Thai coffee and Thai tea.
As the original Thai tea color is not so bright orangey, they make it a bit too orange so people could refer to and accept it as Thai tea.
It somehow depends on the quality of the tea as well. I believe that food color does not make any difference to the taste and if the restaurants started to serve the original one, it would be accepted as well.
Somehow, this color trend has spread so frequently that if a foreigner looks at a Thai tea with less orange color they would refuse to accept it as authentic.
For me, color doesn’t matter but the taste and I believe that people shouldn’t go for the color as it could be attained by adding preservatives or artificial colors.
Eventually, it might ruin the actual taste of it and so enjoying natural Thai tea even if the color is not orange would be appropriate.
As per nineteenth-century tradition, orange Thai tea would be the original beverage. Here let me make it clear here that Thai tea might have dark orange color but the pale or sharp orange is a clear giveaway of added food color to the tea.
Possible Side Effects of Food Color
Usually, food color has no side effects and it only assists to add some color to the beverages.
However, there are findings of toxic substances being added to food colors of low quality. This can be dealt with by buying only high-quality food colors but my personal opinion is that Thai tea does not require any artificial color to prove to be Thai tea.
It has all the ingredients that the makers claim and that’s what makes it special. The fact is food color does not make Thai tea special.
Condensed Milk as the Special Addition to the Thai Tea
My love for condensed milk goes beyond the limits. Its taste is just heaven for me and I prefer condensed milk to include in my desserts as compared to ordinary milk.
As already discussed, condensed milk is an optional ingredient for Thai tea but in my opinion, it creates magic in the flavor.
Usually, in restaurants, they serve you Thai tea with condensed milk because it enriches the flavor and gives your tea a creamy texture. However, it is an optional ingredient if you’re making it at home.
The fact that amazed me regarding condensed milk is that it doesn’t make your tea extra sweet but its taste blends into the tea and makes it a soothing beverage to consume.
Moreover, as real Thai tea is a bit red-brown in color, condensed milk can be added to make it orange as well. Now you can also say that condensed milk makes Thai tea orange as its milky white color blends with red-brown tea.
For further elaboration on the topic, check out the following video.
Do the Spices Make the Orange Color in Thai Tea?
When you add the spices such as cardamom, star anise, and cloves to the water, you can observe a bit of yellowish color will emerge from the spices. Therefore, this can be a reason for a bit of yellowish orange texture in Thai tea.
However, this is not only the reason for Thai tea’s orange color. The strong black tea blend, turmeric, and added food colors are the real reasons for the orange color in Thai tea.
Conclusion
- Strong tea leaves, the addition of turmeric, and food color are the responsible factors for the orange color of Thai tea.
- The real tea does not have orange color but a reddish brown.
- The food color makes your Thai tea bright orange. If the color is on the dull side, it is from the natural brewing process.
- Other than this, condensed milk lightens the color of actual Thai tea and so when every ingredient infuses, it gives out the perfect orangey shade.
- As the idea has spread and people consider Thai tea to be orange, servers are continuing the same tradition to make it orange to keep the distinction between Thai and regular tea.