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If you are looking for the easiest way to make a cup of any tea, look no further. Cold brewing is the best way to make any tea leaves taste delicious completely effortlessly.

What is cold brewing?

Cold brewing is making tea without using boiling or hot water. To make a cup of cold brewed tea the only thing you will need is your favorite – or not so favorite – tea leaves, a pitcher and a fridge. Why not-so-favorite? Because cold brewing will extract a different flavor profile than traditional brewing. In fact, it can make even the most bitter tea taste light and delicious. The science behind this is quite simple. All bitter compounds in tea such as catechins, chlorophyl and caffeine are best extracted using very hot or boiling water and steeped for longer than usual. Cold brewing is exactly the opposite.

Is cold brewing same as making iced tea?

Cold brewed teas are refreshing and light, and very likely you won’t be needing any sweetener. On contrary, to make a best cup of iced tea, you should make a stronger hot brew first, cool it down and dilute with a lot of ice. Real home-made iced tea often needs a sweetener and can even be bitter.

How does cold brewing work?

Just by looking at all the types, cultivars and terroirs, it’s easy to conclude that tea is a very complex drink. But when we include different brewing methods, everything get’s much more complicated.

Cold brewing may have started with coffee, but turned out to be great for making tea too. A study on cold brewed coffee showed that cold-brewed coffee may have a similar caffeine content as the hot brewed one, but the infusion will have a better ability to retain flavonoids.[1] And it’s flavonoids that are linked to many health benefits[2]. 

On research showed that cold-brewed tea will have lower levels of caffeine[3], but more polyphenols and flavonoids than hot brewed tea[4]. Furthermore, some beneficial compounds in tea may be preserved with cold brewing[5]. A study on Pakistani green tea showed that cold infusion may have a better antioxidant activity than hot green brewed tea steeped for more than 25 minutes.[6] In fact, steeping tea for 30 minutes had a bad impact on antioxidants and infusions had the lowest antioxidant content compared to other regular steeping techniques. Next time you want to extract the most antioxidants from green tea leaves, don’t let the leaves steep for more than 5-10 minutes.

How to cold brew tea

Use a big clean pitcher and add one spoon or tea leaves. Try to use about 1 spoon per litre of water. Cold brewing extracts more delicate and light flavors, so fresh spring water kept at room temperature is the best choice. Fill the pitcher with water and cover with a lid. Place in the fridge for at least 3-4 hours, or best, overnight. Serve with or without ice.

Green tea will be ready in about 3 hours, but other types, especially black, rolled oolongs or herbal teas may need longer to give the best flavor. Use within 24 hours. You don’t need to strain the leaves, but the flavor will change after a day, so try to drink it while it’s still fresh.

Cold brewing is a great way to finish your tea session with high quality teas. If you think you can’t get any more flavor using hot water, cold brew them for 24 hours in the fridge. This method is great for oolongs, pu’erh and steamed green teas.

If you are cold-brewing pure loose leaf tea, try adding herbs like mint, basil or rosemary or fresh lemon slices or berries.

Cold brewing pu’erh

Pu’erh can be cold brewed too, and small ripe compressed Bird's Nest Pu'erh tuo cha’s are more than convenient for cold brewing. Use one tuo cha per 500-1000 ml of water, depending how strong you want the flavor to be. Keep in mind that this type of tea is compressed, so flavor will be lighter and it will take longer to get the best taste. Rinse the tea leaves first, add spring water and let it steep for at least 12 hours, preferably longer. The longer you steep it, the stronger the flavor will be. Drink it within 1-2 days.

What’s your favorite tea for cold brewing?

Sources

[1] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323191961_Can_Cold_Brew_Coffee_Be_Convenient_A_Pilot_Study_For_Caffeine_Content_in_Cold_Brew_Coffee_Concentrate_Using_High_Performance_Liquid_Chromatography

[2] https://www.health.harvard.edu/heart-health/brewing-evidence-for-teas-heart-benefits

[3] https://www.researchgate.net/publication/264700887_Effect_of_Different_Brewing_Methods_on_Quality_of_Green_Tea_Quality_of_Green_Tea

[4] http://impactfactor.org/PDF/IJPPR/9/IJPPR,Vol9,Issue7,Article11.pdf

[5] http://impactfactor.org/PDF/IJPPR/9/IJPPR,Vol9,Issue7,Article11.pdf

[6] https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/d00e/329fb49e96c46fb41b6bca37871931e23a9f.pdf