How to Make Thai-style Iced Tea

When Thai iced tea is listed on a menu I usually order it so I was excited to see a recipe for Thai-Style Iced Tea in the June 2013 issue of Bon Appetit.  Now that I have prepared and drunk the tea, I realized that I overlooked a key word in the recipe, i.e. "style". While the BA tea is tasty, it does not taste like restaurant Thai iced tea.  I do not know what is missing. (I did cut the recipe and substituted half and half for the cream.)  In any case, this iced tea is refreshing - warm weather predicted for the remainder of the week - and you cannot go wrong with condensed milk.

Bon Appetit's Thai-Style Iced Tea
(8 servings)

10 star anise pods
3 Tbsp sugar
1 cup water
1 vanilla bean
15 black tea bags
7 cups cold water
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Combine the first three ingredients in a small saucepan.  Scrape seeds from the bean and add the bean to the saucepan.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 10 minutes.  Transfer to a large pitcher.  Add the tea bags and 7 cups of cold water.  Cover and chill for at least 4 hours.  Strain into a different pitcher.  Add the last two ingredients and stir until dissolved.  Serve over ice.