Thai Iced Black Coffee (Oliang)
A deeply roasted, dark coffee brew sweetened with palm sugar and poured over a tall glass of ice — the bold, no-milk street coffee that keeps Bangkok awake on the hottest days.
Servings
Ingredients
Nutrition
Per serving
Steps
Boil with spices
Bring the water to a full boil in a saucepan with the crushed cardamom and star anise. Remove from the heat, stir in the ground coffee, cover, and let it steep for 5 minutes to pull out the deep, roasted flavor.
- 1 litre water
- 3 cardamom pods
- 1 star anise
- 50 g ground coffee
✅ Done when: the brew is dark, strong-smelling and fully steeped
Strain until clear
Pour the brew through a double layer of cheesecloth or a into another pot. Pour it through the same cloth a second time; this double strain is the trick that gives its clean body without any grit.
✅ Done when: the liquid is smooth, dark amber-brown and free of grounds
Sweeten while hot
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Cool and chill
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Pour over ice
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Boil with spices
Bring the water to a full boil in a saucepan with the crushed cardamom and star anise. Remove from the heat, stir in the ground coffee, cover, and let it steep for 5 minutes to pull out the deep, roasted flavor.
- 1 litre water
- 3 cardamom pods
- 1 star anise
- 50 g ground coffee
✅ Done when: the brew is dark, strong-smelling and fully steeped
Strain until clear
Pour the brew through a double layer of cheesecloth or a into another pot. Pour it through the same cloth a second time; this double strain is the trick that gives its clean body without any grit.
✅ Done when: the liquid is smooth, dark amber-brown and free of grounds
Sweeten while hot
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Cool and chill
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
Pour over ice
This step is part of Foodie Premium. Subscribe to unlock the full method, cooking mode and every recipe in the library.
The Story Behind the Dish
Oliang arrived in Thailand with Teochew Chinese immigrants, whose word for it roughly means 'black and cold.' Street vendors brewed a dark, strong blend through cloth filters and sweetened it heavily, creating a cheap, bracing drink that could stand up to the tropical heat long before Thai iced tea became famous abroad.
It remains a fixture at noodle stalls, markets and roadside carts, often brewed in large batches early in the morning and kept ready in jugs over ice all day.
⭐ Why It's Famous
Its deep roasted flavor, no-fuss sweetness and refreshing chill made it the everyday coffee of Thai working life, long before specialty cafés arrived.
💡 Fun Fact
The name comes directly from Teochew dialect: 'o' means black, 'liang' means cool or cold — a simple, honest description of exactly what's in the glass.
Bangkok and street stalls across Thailand
13.76°N, 100.50°E
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