An exotic coffee drink is the black tie.
This is a traditional drink of Thailand.
A black tie contains black tea and espresso as well as a mix of spicy and sweet ingredients.
Basically black tie coffee starts with traditional Thai tea and ends up with a double shot of espresso.
Just how do you make black tie coffee?
Black Tie Ingredients
Black tea mix = 1 cup or 4 bags of black tea
Orange blossom water
Star anise
Crushed tamarind seed
Sugar ¾ cup
Condensed milk or cream
Healthy organic coffee
You can gather all of the ingredients for the Thai tea base or you can purchase Thai tea mix with tea and all of the ingredients added.
An alternative is to simply use black tea but then you miss out on a lot of the taste of this exotic drink.
Black Tie Steps
Make the tea first and cool it.
Boil four cups of water and add tea and stir in sugar, boil for three minutes
Let the tea steep for half an hour
If using a Thai tea mix strain out the leaves
Or remove tea bags
Allow to cool and then put in refrigerator
Make expresso, a double shot for each glass of Black Tie
Pour tea into glasses with ice and add your double shot of expresso
Top off with cream or condensed milk, pouring slowing to create a creamy layer on top of the drink and serve.
History of Thai Tea and the Black Tie
Folks in Thailand used to buy their tea from Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) until it become too expensive.
So they started using a semi wild tea that grows in mountainous regions of Thailand known as BaiMiang.
They added orange blossom water, star anise, crushed tamarind seed and whatever other spices came to mind.
They sweetened this beverage with sugar, coconut milk, whole milk or evaporated milk.
This drink spread with Thai restaurants across Asia and to Europe and North America.
There is little information about how people started adding espresso to this drink but a good bet is that this variation was created in a coffee house as a way to sell more espresso.
Black Tie Organic
If you want to go totally organic with this drink check our article about finding organic ingredients.
Variations on a Black Tie
This drink invites experimentation. Thai tea, which is the base of the drink, is made using a variety of spices and sweeteners in Thailand.
The same applies to making it in your home.
It is certainly a great drink for a hot day so make sure to prepare the tea early and cool in the frig and add a little ice before adding your espresso. Then sip and enjoy!
