How to Cold Brew Tea
WHAT IS COLD BREW?
Cold brews can offer a refreshing take on a cold drink without the added sugars in juices or sweet teas. Cold Brew Tea is the method of making tea with cold or room temperature water only. Without the shock of hot water the tea leaf extracts its flavour at a much slower rate. By having this more gentle infusion it does not give off bitter tannins, and actually makes a more smooth, less astringent tea.. Use any type of tea for this method, green, black, oolong, white, pu’erh or yellow tea & herbal infusions.
Cold steeped tea is incredibly simple to do, and once you start you may enjoy it more than its hot cup counterpart. Allowing the leaf to infuse slowly, it is more forgiving on amount of leaf to water, which makes this method hard to mess up.
Along with being a simple and convenient process, cold brewed tea offers incredible advantages for your physical and mental health. Every tea contains compounds called catechins, these include things like antioxidants, calcium, vitamins B & C. Tea also has nearly 95% being water, it keeps you well hydrated. Tea can also help you stay alert and more productive throughout the day due to its levels of caffeine. (Dont worry if you cant have caffeine, there are plenty of herbs & botanicals to infuse the cold brew style)
Below is a guide to follow and explore the new world of cold steeped tea! These guidelines will show you approximate times for each type of tea. Remember to experiment with cold brew, it can take anywhere from 2-12 hours to get the steep you are looking for. Our recommendation is to prepare your jug of water & leaf the night before, so when you wake up a beautiful cold brew is ready for you. We also have a great tip to “recycle” your used hot cup tea leaves for the cold brew method.
HOW TO COLD STEEP TEA:
Step One: Using 2 teaspoons of the loose leaf tea of your choice into an empty pitcher or jar. Avoid using teabags, or infusers for this method, as you want the tea leaves to move around the water freely to get maximum flavour.
++ You can use any tea you like, some of our favourites are Royal Oolong, Sencha Green, Coco White, Jasmine Rooibos & . ++
Step Two: Fill the vessel with room temperature/cold water, roughly about 2 cups. If you have a vessel that fits more than 2 cups, add 1 teaspoon more of tea to cup of water.
++ At this stage you can add sweetener such as honey or slices of fruit to compliment the tea. ++
Step Three: Place pitcher in the refrigerator, and allow time to steep. Above we have listed rough guidelines for steeping each category of tea. We prefer the easy method of prepare and steep overnight. We tend to leave the leaves in the water until the last drop of tea is poured. However if you find the infusion is getting to strong for your liking simply strain the liquid into a new jar while straining out the leaves.
Step Four: Time to enjoy your cold brewed tea! Once you have allowed enough time for the tea infusion you will notice a beautiful colour in the liquid. When pouring your cold brew into a glass, use strainer or infuser to filter out the tea leaves.
++We tend to leave the leaves in the water until the last drop of tea is poured. However if you find the infusion is getting to strong for your liking simply top up the jar with more cold water to dilute the infusion. ++
The cold steep tea method is a great way to be creative with your tea & botanicals. Try adding in fresh herbs like mint or chamomile. We also love brightening up the cup with slices of lemon or berries. Comment below and tell us your cold brew recipes!