How to Prepare Your CoffeeThai Oliang
Oliang is iced coffee as Thailand drinks it, and the secret is that it is barely coffee at all. The beans are roasted alongside soybeans, corn, and sesame, and that 'bean mix' is what gives the brew its dark, nutty, toasty body — brewed strong through a cloth or metal filter and poured over ice into a tall glass with condensed milk pooling at the bottom. In Bangkok's street markets it is poured from the filter into glasses stacked like ammunition, drunk black and cold and in a hurry.
Ratio breakdown
Ingredients run from the top of the cup to the bottom; the last item is the bottom layer. Values are normalized to a true 100% stack.
What you need
- 300 mlWater
- 2 tablespoonsCondensed milk
- a tall glassIce
- 3 tablespoons oliang bean mixCoffee
Method notes
- Grind
- Medium — for the cloth/metal filter
- Water temperature
- Boiling over the mix
- Total time
- 7 min
Steps
Put the bean mix in the filter
The mix — coffee with roasted soybeans, corn, and sesame — goes in whole, ground medium so the filter lets the toasty oils through without letting the fines muddy the cup.
Pour boiling water through, let it run, and pour again
The double pour is the essential pass: the first wetting swells the mix and the second extracts the roasted depth a single pour would leave behind.
Fill a tall glass with ice and condensed milk
The strong hot brew meets the cold glass as it falls, and the milk dissolves into the pour, building the sweet, layered body.
Pour the hot brew over the ice and stir
The stir marries the dark brew with the condensed milk, turning two layers into one cold, toasty cup — the contrast of bitter, nutty and sweet that defines oliang.
Tips
- Served without milk it is oliang noi — the same mix brewed black over ice, for those who want the roasted grains and sesame to speak alone.
- The mix stores well but loses its roast quickly once open; keep it sealed and use it within a few weeks to hold the toasted depth.
Common mistakes
- Skipping the second pour — a single pass leaves the toasted grains half-extracted and the cup thin and one-note.
- Grinding the mix too fine — the soybeans and corn turn to dust that the filter cannot hold back, muddying the cup.
FAQ
What's actually in the oliang bean mix?
Coffee beans joined by roasted soybeans, corn, and sesame. The grains roast dark and give oliang its toasty, nutty body, stretch the coffee further, and keep the brew strong and affordable at the street stalls — which is exactly why the mix became the tradition's signature.
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