Have you ever attempted to make ice tea, and ended up with a really bitter brew that could only be masked by copious amounts of sugar or honey? You’re not alone. What if we told you that to brew the perfect tea, you don't need a kettle or hot water?
One of the easiest methods of making beautiful iced tea is the cold brew method. This method requires absolute minimum brain power. Not only is it really easy to do, but it yields much better results than most other methods, and in our opinion, some teas actually taste better when brewed this way.
Below are the parameters we use when cold brewing, but as with everything this is just a guide, you can add a little more tea and experiment with the amount of time you leave it for. In fact, this method is so forgiving, that even if you forget about your tea and leave it for more than a day you will find it still tastes delicious.
For more information check out our Youtube channel: Beyond Tea
Recipe for Cold Brewed Tea (500ml)
1. Add 3 heaped teaspoons of tea to 500ml water.
After experimenting with this for degustation events in larger quantities, we found that some teas, particularly white and green teas can be brewed using half of the amount needed to make hot tea. Gyokuro is a great example of this.
Most teas and tisanes are great cold brewed although some are better than others. We particularly like using green oolongs, green teas and white teas. If you are using good quality leaf, you will be able to steep them more than once, particularly green teas and oolongs. Another interesting point to mention is that the flavour profile may be quiet different from a hot brew. This is because some of the compounds found in tea aren’t released unless exposed to heat. The result is a brew with no bitterness or astringency and a more fruity flavour profile.
Here are 3 particular teas we enjoy cold brewing that you can try.
Gyokuro - a refreshing and pure cold brew. The sweetness in the tea is more detectable and less savoury notes when served iced -
Paradise - This green tea blend is fantastic as a cold brew. Notes of pineapple with a creamy nuttiness to it and slight hints of coconut.
Dong Ding - a ball rolled oolong from Taiwan - sweet and floral flavour profile extremely refreshing.
2. Place in the refrigerator overnight (or approximately 7-8 hours).
3. Use a strainer to remove the loose-leaf tea leaves and serve over ice.
4. Re-use your tea leaves. Fine leaf teas can be re-steeped so consider topping up the water and returning it to your refrigerator for another brew.
*Eco-flasks are perfect for cold brewing available now in our Teaware collection