Why cold brew tea?
Well this is an alternative method to making iced tea in the traditional way (which involves brewing the tea with hot water then pouring over ice to cool); the benefits of cold brew tea is as the leaves are gently steeped in water for a long period of time, there are less tannins released, lower caffeine levels and there can be increased antioxidant levels if left to steep for 12 hours or more.
How is the tea flavour affected?
When extracting flavour from tea leaves using a cold brew method, you're using the length of time the leaves are infusing in the water to do the extraction rather than the chemical reactions that occur when infusing with hot water. This cold infusion (or brew) technique means the flavour of the tea will be a lot smoother, less astringent and you will taste different nuances to the tea you don't taste with a traditional hot infusion. In particular, if the tea you use is more of an aromatic tea, like Jasmine Green Tea or Duchess Earl Grey it will taste much sweeter and have more of the floral and citrus refreshing notes from the tea.
What equipment do you need?
As a very simple method, the only equipment you need is a water filter (or filtered water), a fridge and a tea pot or container you can fit inside your fridge for the leaves to infuse. Once the leaves are infused, you will need another container like a glass pitcher to pour the infused tea to serve and be able to store inside your fridge again if needed.
How to make
As with any tea, water quality is just as important as the tea leaves you are using, so only make using fresh filtered water (not distilled). Make sure the water is cool, use ice cubes if necessary, but the water temperature should be around 8 - 12 degrees C if possible. For the tea, you are going to use around double the amount of tea you would normally use to make a hot tea and the chart below provide you with a guide as to how much to weigh per 100 ml.
Weigh the leaves, according to the volume of water you intend to infuse, and place them inside your teapot or container. Gently pour the filtered water over the tea leaves. Avoid stirring. Cover and then refrigerate. After a few hours,( see the chart below for some guidance) remove the tea from the fridge and taste. If the flavour is not strong enough for your taste, place back in the fridge for further infusion time. If all well, decant the tea (separating the tea from the tea leaves) into your glass serving pitcher and serve.
Any teas made this way can be stored up to 24 hours in an airtight container in the fridge.
Suggested teas to try:
Tea Name Tea Type Approx. Weight of Tea per 100ml Minimum Refrigerated Cold Brew Time
Green Tea 2g per 100ml 2 Hours - Taste & Review
Oolong 3g per 100ml 2 Hours - Taste & Review
Duchess Earl Grey Flavoured Black Tea 2g per 100ml 4 Hours - Taste & Review
Blueberry Burst Flavoured Black Tea 2g per 100ml 4 Hours - Taste & Review Delightful Berry Fruit Tea 3g per 100ml 6 Hours - Taste & Review
留言