Everyone has heard about cold brew coffee, but little did they know that the cold brew tea is more superior in so many ways. The cold brew tea is a practice that existed even way before the birth of cold brew coffee. Give up the habit of pouring hot tea over ice and beat the heat of summer or even to just quench the daily thirst with a perfectly cold brew cup of tea.
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What is Cold Brew Tea?
If one knows the practice of cold brew coffee, the cold brew tea is just like it. Only instead of using coffee, it is tea. The cold brew method is basically steeping the tea in water for a few hours in the refrigerator.
The cold brew tea is prepared without the use of any hot water for the process. Because of this elimination of hot water, the tea produced is way more refreshing, smooth and mild as heat is the cause of the tannic, bitter flavours in tea. The cold brew tea is less astringent and less caffeinated because of its process. Don’t be surprised at how much sweeter the cold brew tea just on the first sip.
Don’t be confused with the sun brewed iced tea. This method uses temperature water to brew the tea and leave it on the back of your porch and brew for hours under the natural light before pouring ice into it. While there isn’t much tannins and caffeine released in the tea compared to traditionally brewed tea, sun brewed iced tea is not as sweet as the cold brew tea.
The Origins of Cold Brew Tea
One might assume that the creation of cold brew tea was only discovered recently. The truth is actually far from it. The origin of cold brew tea is from coffee’s broader and more generic history. Its initial discovery is in Japan, pre 1600s where the Japanese have established cold brewing tea in their daily lives, soaking tea leaves in the cool river water and left to brew for a period of time.
While the birth of cold brewing technique came from the cold brewing of tea in Japan, the method didn’t become well-used until the technique was used for coffee. Kyoto, Japan was the first to apply this technique to coffee, which became popular with the European traders at the time as coffee is a valuable product sold all around the world.
From Dutch and France to Cuba and North America, all the countries scattered around the world picked up this art of cold brewing, even if it was cold brewing products other than tea. This popularity and burst of general consumption opened up doors for Japan to market these drinks on their vending machines and convenience stores. Thousands of cafe baristas all around the world have taken the challenge to put a spin to the basic cold brewing technique to produce their own unique cold brew beverages.
It’s only in recent years that the cold brew tea came in full circle. Even though it took a while for the original cold brew beverage to make it to the spotlight, especially since the cold brew coffee took quite some of the fame and fortune, it has garnered quite a following over the decades and have reaped the benefits that they sow.
Types of Tea for Cold Brew Tea
While there isn’t any wrong to the making of cold brew tea, there are specific ones that can help you make a more sweeter and quality jug of cold brew tea. Both tea bags and loose tea leaves are possible to use to make cold brew tea, however it is said that the loose tea leaves are more recommended compared to the other as the flavours in them are generally more concentrated and will then make the cold brew tea more flavourful.
It’s also known that the lighter roasted tea leaves are better for cold brew tea than the darker roasted ones. Cold brew tea comes out sweeter than their hot counterparts, hence it’s best to use tea that is generally sweeter than the rest.
Many recommend the oolong tea and is known to be the best for cold brew. But if you prefer a bit of variety in your cold brew teas, a variety of green teas and even black teas have been known to be used for cold brew tea and came out just as sweet and flavourful!
Benefits of Cold Brew Tea
Why make cold brew tea? The question should be, why not? There are countless of benefits of this technique to achieving iced tea, and some are even exclusive to this method.
1. Simplicity
Cold brewing tea is one of the simplest and easiest ways of getting the highest quality of iced tea! There’s nothing simpler than dropping a couple of tea bags or loose tea leaves into a pitcher, filling it with water and popping it in the fridge for a couple of hours. Be sure to take note of the duration of steeping for your type of tea, though!
2. Flavour
It’s no secret that the taste of cold brew tea is much more sweeter and flavourful compared to the traditional method of brewing tea. Without the heat aspect, there are less tannins and caffeine which makes the tea less bitter, and also the components of the tea leaves or tea bags are preserved. The smoothness of the tea is well worth the hours of steeping.
3. Sugar-Free
If you’re trying to cut down on sugar or even fully give up on it, cold brew tea is especially great for you as it’s already sweet without the need to add in the sugar! The rich antioxidant drink is surprisingly sweet from the first to the very last sip, one might even think that there is already sugar added — there isn’t, by the way, it’s all natural!
4. Hydration
Whether it is a hot, sunny day out or you’re just feeling a little parched, cold brew tea is always the best in these situations. You won’t even have to worry about swapping out your cold water with cold brew tea because it’s just as safe. Its low in caffeine level should ease you up a bit as well.
5. Positively Affects Health
Tea has countless of studies that result in the benefits of them for your body. The cold brew tea is just the same. Reports have shown that there is more Vitamin C active in cold brew tea than others, which helps your immune system. The Vitamin D and Vitamin B in cold brew tea are great for strengthening your bones and increasing metabolism.
Depending on your tea type in your cold brew tea as well, you’ll be able to gain from the benefits of each individual tea as well. For example, herbal teas are known for ease of the digestive system, and green teas are known to reduce risks of cancer. Add those plus points to the already mentioned above, and you get a super power drink!
Downsides of Cold Brew Tea
To be quite frank, there aren’t many downsides to the cold brew tea. One might be that there is no concentrate option. When one traditionally brews a regular cup of iced tea, one can manage and control the level of concentration for the tea. While, to some extent, it is also possible for cold brew tea, it’s just not the same as the traditional methods of controlling it.
Another could be that brewing multiple jugs of iced tea in the fridge can take up quite a significant amount of space for a period of time. This may not be an issue to those who have space to spare in their fridge, but for those of us who have limited space, it might be an issue afterwards.
Popular Cold Brew Tea Products
There are so many products out there that are used for the cold brew tea, but there are some that are used by many more than others. Popular oolong teas are the Ali Shan Mountain Oolong as it is perfect in terms of sweetness for the cold brew. The runner up for oolong tea is Tieguanyin.
Popular green teas used for cold brew tea are the classic Japanese green teas like the Gyokuro type. Most opt for Darjeeling black teas if a darker roast is what they fancy as this type of black tea has a wonderful aroma on top of the high level of sweetness.
While tea products are the main priority of the cold brewing technique, the container holding the tea does play a part as well. Most opt for mason jars to store in the fridge while the tea is brewing, but the highly popular and most recommended container is the Hario Cold Brew Filter-In Tea Bottle. Just like the birth of the cold brewing method, this Japanese brand has the best bottles that’s specially for cold brewing, equipped with the convenience of bringing them on-the-go straight away! It also has a separate filter that keeps the tea leaves from floating in the actual tea itself. The Hario brand has both aesthetics and functionality in their cold brew bottle products.
Make Your Own Cold Brew Tea
It’s definitely not hard to make your own cold brew tea. In fact, it’s so easy that you can make them with your eyes closed! One thing to take note is the brewing time for the different types of tea. Oolong tea is recommended to brew for eight to ten hours, green tea and also white tea is for six to eight hours and black tea is for eight to twelve hours. If you find yourself brewing herbal tea, a solid twelve to fourteen hours will bring it to the right level of sweetness.
Material:
Drinking water, preferred tea (3g of tea for every 500ml of water)
Tools:
Jug or bottle
Steps:
- Drop the tea into a jug or bottle.
- Add water and fill it to the top.
- Put it in the refrigerator and let the tea steep for the desired duration based on your tea type.
- If your jug or bottle has no filter, strain the tea to separate the tea leaves from the tea.
- Serve on its own or even with ice, as well as with your preferred sweeteners and add-ons.
Everything about the cold brew tea is enticing. From its simplicity to the fruitful benefits, there’s no reason one should not get into the art of cold brewing their ice tea, especially in hot summer season or for those who are lucky enough to experience the sun on their skin all year round. Regardless of weather though, nothing beats a refreshing cup of iced tea, especially if it’s cold brew with the best quality and sweetest of taste.
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