Thai Black Coffee

โอเลี้ยง

Oliang (โอเลี้ยง) is Thailand's traditional iced black coffee, a drink with deep cultural roots in the Teochew Chinese community that has shaped much of Thailand's food and drink culture. The name comes from Teochew Chinese: 'O' means black and 'Liang' means cold — literally 'black cold (coffee).' Thai iced coffee traditions trace back to Chinese immigrants who settled in Thailand in the early 20th century, bringing with them the concept of strong-brewed coffee, which was later influenced by French colonial-era condensed milk practices from neighbouring Indochina. What makes oliang distinct from ordinary iced coffee is its blend: traditional Thai coffee grounds (oliang powder) consist not of pure coffee but of roasted Robusta coffee mixed with various grains and seeds — typically corn, soybeans, sesame seeds, and sometimes cardamom. This combination creates a complex, smoky, slightly nutty flavour with deep body and intense caffeine kick. The drink is brewed using a traditional Thai coffee filter called 'tungdtom' — a cotton cloth bag attached to a metal ring and handle — through which boiling water is poured slowly. The resulting concentrate is poured over ice and served black (oliang dum) or with sweetened condensed milk and/or evaporated milk added (oliang nom). In traditional Bangkok-style street coffee shops (raan kafae boran), oliang is still brewed the traditional way and served in a glass, 25–40 baht per glass. It is commonly sold at morning markets throughout Thailand, especially in older shophouse neighbourhoods.