What Tea Should I Use For Making Iced Tea
For traditional iced tea, you want to use black tea. You can choose any brand that you like, but remember, the better the quality of the tea you use, the better the flavor will be for your iced tea.
I love using earl grey tea. Earl Grey is a black tea that is infused with bergamot oil which has a light, citrus flavor that makes for a delicious iced tea.
Also, keep in mind that you can use this method to make any type of iced tea you enjoy. Some of my favorites are green tea, lemon verbena tea, chamomile tea, peach tea, and/or mint.
What Is Cold Brewed Green Tea
As the name suggests, cold brewing means tea brewed with cold water instead of hot water. Cold brewing is a process of gentle steeping that takes longer than hot tea which gets ready in less than 5 minutes. Even though cold brew takes longer, it’s worth waiting for its smooth and sweet taste. Unlike hot green tea, cold brewed green tea doesn’t turn bitter the longer you steep. You can let the tea steep with this method overnight, so you can drink the refreshing tea in the morning.
How To Cold Brew Green Tea
The cold brew process is one that has been gaining traction for several years now. In addition to being a great way to have ice-cold, summer-ready tea on demand, the cold brew process is more difficult for tea-brewing newbies to ruin.
The traditional, hot brew methods have several areas in which neophytes can spoil the process, leaving themselves with substandard, overly-bitter, terrible tasting tea. The cold brew process, because it is simpler, provides a set-it-and-forget-it level of ease to having smooth, sweet tasting green tea without much hassle.
On top of that, though, there is some evidence to suggest that cold brew green tea might edge out its hot brew counterparts regarding healthiness. An article from Wonder How To explains:
Prevention hypothesized that the cold-brewed version was agitated before it was left to brew overnight, and since agitation can release more antioxidants, that led to the surprising lab results. So before you put your cold-brewed tea to rest, maybe you should give the container a good shake or three.
They go on to cite an interesting study that implies cold-brewed tea might also have increased levels of one antioxidant in particular:
Meanwhile, a 2012 study by Professor Jeng-Leun Mau of National Chung Hsing University, Taiwan, showed that cold-brewed green tea that was steeped for 12 hours had a high level of polyphenols that were equal to or greater than tea steeped in hot water for 5 minutes.
Recommended Reading: Lipton Iced Tea While Pregnant
Benefits Of Making Tea With Cold Water
If youre new to making cold brew iced tea, you probably have a few questions. For example, you may be wondering why so many people, including myself, say that cold brew tea is the best way to make iced tea.
Additionally, you may be wondering the benefits of cold brew tea.
In a nutshell, cold brewing tea is the perfect technique since the steps are foolproof, the flavor is smooth and complex, and the process may improve some nutritional benefits.
Simple Japanese Green Tea Soda
Rather than steeping the entire hot tea, follow the step below to make refreshing Japanese green tea cold brew soda.
- Pour hot water over loose-leaf green tea with 1/4 amount of hot water you would use in method three above.
- Wait for 1-3 min. At this point, you have very thick green tea since you used very little hot water in step one above.
- Now pour club soda or carbonated water of your choice over the tea prepared in step one and two.
- Filter out and add ice. If you wish, add sweeter of your choice . Check this article for 10 ways to sweeten Japanese green tea
This simple step makes you a very healthy cold brew green tea soda. Pretty cool, isn’t it? You can do the same trick with matcha too. Click here for the matcha version.
Also Check: Do Snapples Have Caffeine
Making Your Own Tea Bags To Reduce Plastic Use
Even though teabags themselves should be one of the most compostable kitchen items, many manufacturers have switched from cloth or paper teabags to find plastic mesh. This plastic mesh and its extra fine perforations make it possible for manufacturers to use lower quality tea- made up mostly of particles and tiny bits rather than actual tea or herb leaves. Making your own tea bags using cloth or paper as the teabag and string, thread, or staples to close is a great way to reduce your plastic use while also boosting your consumption. You can make homemade teabags from material you already have on hand, and ingredients you can grow in your garden or buy in bulk. An edible garden with fruit and herbs is a treasure trove for making your own infused water and teas using homemade teabags.
Put The Jar In The Refrigerator For At Least 8 Hours
Now its time to place the tea in the refrigerator. Ideally, cold brew tea should steep for 8-12 hours and no more than 24 hours. Personally, I brew it about 12 hours overnight.
Heres a little known tip if youre pinched for time.
The tea experts at Whittard of Chelsea recommend using a flash heat method to wake the tea up before adding cold water. This is accomplished by covering the leaves with 2 inches of boiling or near-boiling water. Then it is topped off with cold water and brewed at least 4-6 hours.
On another note, Whittard also explains that hot water kills natural bacteria in unprocessed teas.
Don’t Miss: Dunkin Donuts Boba Drink
The Best Teas For Cold Brewed Ice Tea
Before I get too tea-snobby on the subject, I’ll say it again: you can cold brew any tea you want and get something good to drink. And yes, the difference between decent tea and great tea is much smaller with cold brew than hot. But chances are, if you’ve read this far, you’re okay going the extra mile for an amazing sip, and higher quality teas do yield higher quality cold brew. And if you want to dig really deep, some teas take much better to cold brewing than others.
Black tea, the most common tea in the West, is in many ways the worst candidate for serving iced. Its golden-fruitiness gets downplayed by cold temperatures, and oftentimes it’s plagued with high levels of tannins that dry out the tongue. I’ll drink iced black tea, but it doesn’t leave me feeling that refreshed. Those tannins are likely why many iced teas are made deliberately weak, or loaded with sugar to fight back against the astringency.
Instead, consider broadening your tea horizons to other styles. Here are the four that I find myself cold-brewing the most.
Select A Tea And Put It In A Glass Jar
The first step to make cold brew iced tea is to select a tea and put it in a jar with water.
Loose tea is the preferred choice since its large leaves produce the most flavor as they unfurl in the water. However, you can also cold brew tea sachets which contain fairly big pieces of tea or tea bags.
Tea bags are considered the lowest quality of the bunch, though you still can cold brew them.
Regarding type of tea, anything goesblack, green, white, herbal, oolong and so on.
And if youre like me and enjoy a perfectly made cup of hot black tea, guess what? With cold brew you dont have to worry about watching a tea timer or excessive bitterness.
Suggested amount of tea to use per cup of water:
| Type of Tea | |
| 2 | 4 |
The amount of tea you use to make cold brew iced tea depends on the way the tea is packaged and how concentrated you want the tea to be.
Ready to Drink Iced Tea: For ready to drink tea, the basic formula is to use about 1.5 times the amount of tea per cup of water than you normally would. For instance, if the tea package calls for 1 teaspoon of tea per 8 ounces of water for hot brew, then use 1.5 teaspoons for cold brew.
Cold Brew Tea Concentrate:
Tea concentrate is just stronger tea, usually double strength.
With it you can create some really fun and flavorful drinks. All you have to do is combine tea concentrate with another drink using a 1 to 1 ratio.
Recommended Reading: How Many Shots In Long Island Iced Tea
Remember The Equilibrium Between Tea And Leaves
After all these tips and tricks you need to remember that there is a maximum for how strong your tea can get. There is an equilibrium between the concentrations of compounds in the tea leaves and the flavor and caffeine already in the water.
You may dissolve a bit more with higher water temperatures and higher amounts of tea leaves, but in the end, there will always be that maximum concentration of the flavor compounds you can extract.
Theres a lot more to learn about tea! If you are looking for a good place to start, I highly recommend the book Tea: History, Terroirs, Varieties. You can .
Sharing is caring!
Our Favorite Tea Leaves For Cold Brew Green Tea
Here are the flavor profiles of each tea:
1. Gyukuro tea was very delicate and had a light aroma. The flavors were mellow and floral, not much of the bottled green tea taste. The texture was water-like with a clean finish. 2. Tea leaves picked 88 days smelled like bottled green tea. It had a strong tea flavor, slightly tart, and fragrant finish. This was our favorite. 3. Shincha had a very light aroma. The tea tasted medicinal and herby, slightly bitter with a tart finish. 4. Ippodo Hosen tea had a light aroma and a very refined green tea flavor. It had a slightly tart finish but tasted really clean. This was our second favorite. 5. Bancha was quite horrible. There was no green tea smell and the aroma reminded us of burnt leaves. The drink didnt taste like green tea at all and left our mouth dry.
So what did we learn from our experiment? Our preferred green tea for the cold brew method is Hachiju Hachiya Sencha that has had time to mature. Gyukuro and Shincha are both too light and lacked the deep green tea flavor profile. Bancha was quite awful and we wouldnt be able to tell it was even green tea.
You May Like: Do You Drink Iaso Tea Hot Or Cold
How To Cold Steep Tea
Cold brew coffee is a thing and so is cold steep tea. The cold steep tea method is similar as it involves making your tea with cold water only, eliminating the water-heating process. Dont confuse it with iced tea as cold steeping tea does not involve any ice but this method is still refreshing and offers many advantages. Since you are using no hot water here, the tea leaves are extracted much slower which may result in a lighter-bodied tea with less astringency and bitterness. Its an easy way to enjoy any tea type as they will all cold steep well, steep times varying.
How To Make Cold Brew Iced Tea Safely
Published: by · This post may contain affiliate links.
Cold-brew tea is a major iced tea trend because it’s simple to brew and creates smooth classic flavors. It couldn’t be any easier.
Boutique teahouses and even foodservice tea outlets are offering cold brew options for iced tea.
The reason for this popularity is the smooth and subtle flavor profile of the cold brew method. Combined with the ease in preparation, making cold brew tea is a perfect summertime choice.
But how can you cold brew tea at home safely?
Don’t Miss: Does Starbucks Have Bubble Tea
Why Does Boiling Tea Make It Bitter
Boiling tea will hasten the brewing process and take a short time to make your tea ready. However, you will need to watch the time closely if you plan on boiling your brew as it can ruin the taste profile.
The kind of tea that you use also impacts the boiling time. Lighter versions of tea are more susceptible to heat. Hence, if you are brewing green or white tea, you will need to be more careful.
Hot water causes compounds from tea to steep out into the water. The hotter the water, the faster the compounds are released into the drink.
One of the compounds called tannins contributes to the bitterness of the tea. Consequently, as tannins proceed to make their way into the hot water, it causes the tea to take on the burnt taste. It also causes the tea to contain high levels of caffeine as well.
How Much Tea Ratio To Water To Loose Tea Leaf Or Teabag
This depends on how strong you like your tea, personally, I do one teabag to ¾ cup and 2 teaspoons loose leaf to 1 cup of water. If you find the tea too strong, dilute with water until you are comfortable with the strength. Or use 1 teaspoon to 1 cup of water, I find it too light hence why I double the amount used.
Also Check: What Makes Green Tea Taste Better
How Many Tea Bags Do You Need To Use For Cold Brew
The number of tea bags you will need for making cold brew depends on the type of container you are going to use and how much drink you want to prepare.
A useful rule of thumb is to use one tea bag for every 8 ounces of water. This means that youll need about 6-8 tea bags to make a whole pitcher of delicious tea. Of course, the more tea bags you use, the bolder your drink will taste.
How To Make Delicious Cold Green Tea At Home
One of the most well-known varieties of tea is known for its prominence in both history and culinary tradition.
Green tea is a unique beverage thats flavor is all its own. The tea has been popular in Asian countries throughout history and theres a huge range of green tea flavored products in countries like Japan.
The bitter but refreshing taste of green tea works in both hot and cold beverages. Iced green tea, in particular, has found itself becoming more and more popular thanks to the famous coffee chain Starbucks.
Read Also: How Many Twisted Teas Are In A Case
Can You Boil Cold Brew Tea Bags
You can boil cold brew tea. If you would like to boil cold brew tea bags, you need to empty the contents from the tea bag into the pot. However, when you make a hot brew you should add the cold brew tea leaves in hot water rather than boiling them. Boiling tea leaves speeds up the extraction process and makes your tea bitter.
Cold-brew tea bags are versatile and can be hot brewed as well. However, you must remove the teabag before you pour the contents of the teabag in the hot water.
If you dont remove the tea bag and add the entire bag to a pot of boiling water, there is a risk that the bag might burst and tear up. It will create a mess and ruin your tea experience.
To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to aweb browser thatsupports HTML5 video
Whole Leaf Tea Will Not Get Bitter As Quickly
When bitter compounds are trapped inside whole tea leaves, they will take much longer time to dissolve into the water. For this reason, whole loose leaf tea will yield less bitter tea.
You will still be able to get a flavorful and strong cup of tea if you adjust the temperature and steeping time accordingly.
You May Like: Boba Tea Dunkin Donuts Bubble Tea
Cold Green Tea Benefits
Cold brew tea is not the same as brewing it hot and letting it cool.
Brewing hot and brewing cold are actually surprisingly different, both in their flavor and their health benefits.
Which is better?
That depends on what you are looking for. All I can tell you is that both are great.
In this article, we will take a closer look at cold brew green tea, including how to make it and its many benefits.
Perhaps you will love it even more than hot tea. Many do. Either way, you get to enjoy some amazing, but different, benefits and an amazing, but different, flavor.
Can You Steep Green Tea Too Long
Green tea is the most delicate type of tea. You should never over-brew green tea leaves, because even the highest quality leaves will taste bad If you dont brew them properly. They will almost always become very bitter, astringent and unpleasant to drink. However, over-brewing has certain benefits too. The longer you brew your tea, the more catechins, caffeine and L-theanine you will extract. This means you will get a healthier, but bitter cup.
Don’t Miss: Dunkin Donut Boba
Cold Brew Iced Tea Drink Ideas
If you made ready to drink cold brew tea add sweetener if desired and pour over ice. Simple syrup is ideal since its already dissolved.
Heres an idea. If you made multiple flavors like a fruity herb tea and green tea, mix them together and pour over ice.
If you made cold brew tea concentrate, the combination of drinks you can make are as limited as your imagination.
You can even look at the Starbucks iced tea menu to see their lineup of delicious iced tea drink combinations.
For instance, they combine tea concentrate with another drink like lemonade or peach juice to create a thirst-quenching iced tea. Here you can see my Starbucks copycat recipe for Iced Green Tea Lemonade.
Furthermore, cold brew tea concentrate is ideal for making iced tea lattes. As a matter of fact, I cold brew English Breakfast tea to make an Iced Caramel English Breakfast Tea Latte. Yum!
And heres my recipe for a decadent Iced London Fog Latte with Vanilla Sweet Cream, made with cold brew earl grey tea.
Finally, to make regular iced tea using concentrate just add fresh water or even seltzer water to make it a little fizzy.