Cold Brew Tea: A Guide to Your New Favorite Way to Make Tea
Image credit: The Rising Spoon
With warmer weather approaching, cold brewing may become your new favorite way to enjoy tea. Not only is it the best way to make iced tea, it is also easily done in batches. This means it can be made in advance + will be ready whenever you want to grab a glass.
What is Cold Brew Tea?
Cold brew tea is tea made by a method of steeping tea in the fridge over a longer period of time. What is spent in time, you get back with the benefit of taking the guesswork out of steeping your tea at the right temperature + for the correct amount of time. This makes it perfect for beginners or people that love their tea cold/iced.
Cold brewing also results in a smooth tasting tea. Tea contains tannins when made with hot water. Tannins make tea a little bitter naturally. Since these tannins aren’t extracted when tea is made with cold water, you get none of the bitterness. As an added bonus, cold brewing also results in less caffeine. Perfect for those warm summer nights when you want to enjoy your favorite black or green tea without all of the caffeine.
How to Make It: Step by Step
Making cold brew tea is so simple. You only need two ingredients to get started - your favorite Ora tea blend + filtered water at room temperature or cold. That’s really it! I love to make my cold brew tea in a mason jar but grab your preferred glass vessel + let’s get started.
Step One: Brew
Measure out your tea + add it to your vessel. Add 1 tablespoon of loose leaf tea for every 2 cups of water (trust me, you’ll want more than one cup). Feeling like making a gallon? This means you’ll add 8 tablespoons of tea. Now pour room temperature or cold water over the tea, give it a little swirl or shake + pop it in the fridge for 6-24 hours. The longer the tea sits, the stronger the flavor will be. I, generally, steep my tea for a full 24 hours unless it is green (6 hours). Here’s an easy time table for different types of tea:
White tea: 6 hours
Green tea: 3-6 hours
Oolong tea: 12 hours
Black tea: 12 hours
Herbal tea: 12 hours
Step 2: Strain + Enjoy
After your tea has steeped in the fridge for your desired amount of time, pour it over a fine mesh strainer into your cup or pitcher. Of course, this ensures that no loose tea is in your drink.
Pro Tip: If you’re using a fine tea that may escape the strainer, feel free to use Disposable Tea Filters when steeping. Once you’ve finished steeping, just remove the filter(s) with a little squeeze and toss in the trash. This is great for easy clean up.
After you’ve made your tea, feel free to drink it right away. You can also pour it over ice and/or sweeten if you wish. The best way to sweeten cold/iced tea is with simple syrup. While you can purchase simple syrup, it is so easy to make. Here is a recipe.
I hope you’ll give cold brewing a try! Tea is so versatile this way + easily can be used to make cocktails or lattes. Speaking of lattes, try my Berries + Cream, which uses cold brew tea…you won’t regret it!
With love,
Trista
“If you are cold, tea will warm you;
if you are too heated, it will cool you;
If you are depressed, it will cheer you;
If you are excited, it will calm you.”
