Thai iced drinks
Thailand's street drinks are strong and sweet over crushed ice: orange cha yen with condensed milk, dark oliang coffee, sharp lime soda and fruit shakes blended to order. They belong to the stall, not the cafe, and "mai wan" is the phrase that turns the sugar down.
Photo: Chensiyuan at English Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Cha yen is Thai tea with condensed milk over ice, often 25 to 45 THB. Oliang is the dark iced coffee at the same price, sweeter and heavier than a cafe filter. Nam manao is lime and soda. A fruit shake is often 40 to 80 THB. Say "mai wan" if you want less sugar.
Specialty pour-over is a different drink at 80 to 150 THB. Use the coffee guide for those cafes. Stall ice is commercial ice. If you are skipping ice, ask for the drink without it. Coconut water from a cut fruit is often 20 to 40 THB.
How to order
- Cha yen for tea. Oliang for Thai coffee. They are not the same cup.
- Woon means sweet. Mai wan means less sugar.
- Fruit first in mango season, March to May. See fruit by season.
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- Is oliang a latte?
- No. It is strong coffee, often with sugar and sometimes milk, poured over ice.
- Where is the cafe map?
- The Bangkok and Chiang Mai coffee guide covers pour-over. This page is the stall cup.