With only a few minutes of preparation, you can produce the best cold brew tea at home! There’s no need for special equipment, as the fridge takes care of everything. This recipe is so basic and straightforward that you’ll kick yourself for not trying it sooner. Make a batch now and enjoy smooth, refreshing tea (with no bitterness) for the rest of the week.
How to make cold brew tea
I’m sure you’re excited to try cold brew tea now that you know why it creates the best-iced teas. Although the process is simple, this is how I prefer to prepare cold brew iced tea.
Step 1: Choose a tea and place it in a jar made of glass.
To create cold brew iced tea, first, choose a tea and place it in a jar with water.
Because large leaves produce the most taste when they unroll in the water, loose tea is preferable. Tea sachets, which contain pretty large chunks of tea (but not as full as loose tea) or tea bags can also be used to make cold brew tea.
Teabags are the lowest grade of the group, but they can still be used to make cold brew teas.
Anything goes when it comes to tea types: black, green, white, herbal, oolong, and so on.
And, if you’re anything like me, you like a perfectly brewed cup of steaming black teas. You don’t have to worry about a teas timer or excessive bitterness with a cold brew.
The amount of tea you use to produce cold brew iced teas is determined by the type of teas you use (loose, sachet, or bag) and the concentration you desire.
Ready-to-Drink Iced Tea: The fundamental recipe for ready-to-drink tea is to use around 1.5 times the amount of tea per cup of water than you would usually. If the tea package instructs you to use 1 teaspoon of tea per 8 ounces of water for hot brew, use 1.5 teaspoons for cold brew.
Concentrate of Cold Brew Tea:
Tea concentration is just stronger tea, usually twice as strong as regular tea.
You can make some pretty interesting and savory beverages with it. Simply mix one cup of tea concentrate with one cup of another beverage in a 1:1 ratio.
To produce an iced tea lemonade, for example, mix 1 part concentrate with 1 part lemonade. There are no limits to what you can do.
Double the amount of teas used to make ready-to-drink cold brew tea to make a concentrate (see chart above). You can, of course, change the amount of tea to your preference.
Step 2: Add fresh, cold water to the jar
Because water is such an important component of tea, its purity is crucial.
Ideally, use cool, fresh, oxygenated water to make cold brew tea. Additionally, filtered water, free of funky minerals and odd tastes is highly recommended.
Because water may make or break a tea’s overall flavor, having a technique to filter it is essential. My new refrigerator has a water filter, but a Brita Filter Pitcher works just as well.
However, if you don’t have access to a water filter, I recommend drinking bottled water rather than unfiltered tap water.
Pour cold or room temperature water into the jar containing the teas to make the cold brew tea.
Step 3. Put the jar in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours
Now is the moment to put the tea in the fridge. Cold-brew teas should be steeped for at least 8 hours and no more than 24 hours. I brew it for around 12 hours overnight.
If you’re short on time, here’s a little-known trick.
Before adding cold water, the tea specialists at Whittard of Chelsea recommend using a flash heat method to “wake up the tea.” Cover the leaves with 2 inches of boiling or near-boiling water to achieve this. After that, it’s topped off with cold water and let to steep for at least 4-6 hours.
Step 4. Strain the tea or remove tea bags
The final step to the cold brew method is to remove the teas from the infusion. If you used tea sachets or tea bags, simply lift them out.
For loose tea, all you need to do is pour the tea through a strainer into a clean jar or glass.
Frequently asked questions (FAQ): Cold brew tea
1. What is the process of making cold brew tea? Is it similar to or superior to hot tea?
Cold-brew tea is created by steeping either bagged or loose teas in a container of water in the refrigerator at a low temperature for 8 to 24 hours. This approach is superior (in my perspective) if you plan on drinking your tea cooled because the tea tastes really smooth with no bitterness and comes out slightly sweet, so you don’t need to add as much sweetness (if you like it that way). When brewing certain teas (such as black teas) with hot water, you must be careful not to let them steep for too long or they may become bitter. With the cold brew method, I haven’t encountered this issue.
3. Should I make cold brew with bagged or loose tea?
It’s a matter of taste. Are you prepared to filter out the loosest tea leaves with coffee filters, a nut bag, or cheesecloth? Then, if you have it, go ahead and use the loose leaf. Don’t want to fiddle with filtering out the minor details? Go with tea bags instead.