Cold Brewing Quick Guide

Do you know that about 80% of tea consumption in the US is iced tea? Why not DIY at home, making sure you choose a good quality tea and how much or which sweetening method you want to use? Cold brewing is an excellent option for certain types of tea, it’s extremely easy and has so many benefits!

Cold brewing has a different chemical process than hot brewing, resulting in fewer catechins and less caffeine. This means that the final flavor will be less bitter than when it’s hot brewed. Also, it has been studied and found that cold brewed tea has more antioxidants. Check out a short video of the differences in antioxidants between the varieties of tea when brewed hot vs. cold here.

I definitely prefer hot tea tough, but in hot summer days it gets a bit hard to drink too much. I learned about cold brewing a while ago, but never did it until recently (never been a huge fan of iced tea). I encourage you to experiment with different varieties and add extra ingredients to enhance the flavor. It’s very easy to make but you need to plan ahead for it!

How to Cold Brew Tea

– Use 2 full tablespoons of loose leaf tea to 1 liter of cold water. Add leaves first and then fill with cold water.

– Let steep overnight in the refrigerator.

– Next morning, (if you like) you can sweeten it with raw sugar, honey, maple syrup or agave.

– Enjoy!

A few extra tips

– The best teas to use for cold brewing are smoother teas like white, light oolongs and Japanese green (steamed) like Sencha, Genmaicha, etc. The results are smooth, with no bitterness and low caffeine

– You can add fruits and herbs (make sure they’re clean!) to add flavor and create your own blends. Add them together with the tea and let steep overnight. Here are a few blending ideas:

White tea and peach

White tea, lemon and cucumber

Oolong and rose buds

Oolong and berries

Oolong and coconut

Sencha and orange

Sencha and mango

– It’s ideal to get a glass pitcher with a strainer on the lid. This way the leaves flow freely allowing more contact with the water. Keep scrolling down for a recommendation of my favorite glass pitcher and bottle for cold brewing.