How to Make Cold Brew Iced Tea Safely

Cold-brew tea is a major iced tea trend because it's simple to brew and creates smooth classic flavors. It couldn't be any easier.

Boutique teahouses and even foodservice tea outlets offer cold brew options for iced tea.

This popularity is due to the cold brew method's smooth and subtle flavor profile. Combined with the ease in preparation, making cold brew tea is a perfect summertime choice.

But how can you cold brew tea at home safely?

COLD BREW TEA VS. SUN TEA

Sun tea used to be quite popular. You would fill up the clear glass pitcher with Lipton tea bags and room temperature water and place it in the sun to steep. That is until the discovery of microbes growing in sun tea as the product sits outside on a hot summer day for hours.

The problem is sun tea does not get hot enough. Reaching 130 degrees Fahrenheit is not hot enough to kill bacteria in the water or the tea leaves.

HOW TO COLD BREW TEA

Cold-brewed iced tea is as simple as sun tea but much safer when done correctly. Although, the brewing principle is the same. You’re eschewing the kettle along with the hot water to steep tea.

Cold-infused tea is just another way of extracting flavor from the tea leaves. It’s a longer and slower process, often 6 - 8 hours. The flavors are released slowly, resulting in smoother tea, leaving the bitterness behind.

A cold infusion results in a mellower, sweeter flavor because you aren’t pulling out the same chemicals as hot brewed tea, some of which can be bitter.

Important Note:

• You must refrigerate cold-infused tea during the brewing process. Do not simply use cold water for brewing; then let the tea sit on the countertop to infuse.
• Iced tea will keep in the refrigerator for several days.

COLD BREW GREEN TEA

Iced green tea is the perfect thirst-quencher when craving green tea, and it's getting too steamy for hot tea. A lovely Jasmine Tea is the ideal green tea for cold brewing.

One of my favorite green teas is a naturally scented jasmine green tea from Kusmi Tea. I like the delicate jasmine flavor lightly extracted by the cold brewing method.

Kusmi tea makes a delicious green tea delicately scented with jasmine. The muslin tea bags are eco-friendly and make them exceedingly easy to cold brew the green tea in the refrigerator overnight.

Cold Brewing Method:

• Use one teabag per 6 ounces of cold filtered water.
• Place tea bags in a glass pitcher.
• Combine tea and water and infuse in the refrigerated pitcher.
• Refrigerate for 8 hours.
• Remove tea bags and serve cold.

I love their organic Jasmine Green tea. It's a classic blend. The tea leaves are dried in direct contact with the jasmine petals, creating a light scent.

STEEPING HOT BREWED TEA VS. COLD BREWED TEA

There are distinct chemical differences between cold-brewed tea and hot-brewed tea. Tea is typically steeped in boiling water for 3 - 7 minutes. Compared to well-established hot brew methods, cold brew methods are still being developed.

The same pleasant chemicals extracted from steeping tea leaves in hot water are not pulled in cold water. The steep time and amount of tea leaves are drastically altered to combat this extraction problem.

Hot brewed tea pulls out the tannins, which are the bitter flavors in tea. The cold-brew method gives you a perfectly refreshing, super-smooth tea for slow summer sipping. It isn’t bitter at all.

Cold-brew tea produces a different flavor than traditional iced tea because it pulls out fewer catechins and tannins. Tea tannins are typically the substances that make tea taste bitter. It is not clear yet how the caffeine content is altered.

HOW TO COLD BREW ICED TEA

The brewing technique influences the taste of the tea and the concentration of flavanols in teas brewed from Camellia Sinensis. The higher the temperature, the higher the diffusion speed. The hotter the water, the more catechins and tannins are drawn from the tea leaf.

With a cold tea infusion, you will notice the resulting liquor is very clear with little to no sediment at the bottom. This is because you are pulling out less of the heavier molecules, mainly tannins, that tend to settle out of the solution and sink to the bottom.

Any tea can be infused by the cold brew method. This method works particularly well with green teas, including matcha. You can even infuse Darjeeling tea this way. Herbals also work very well for a cold brew.

PRO TIPS:

You can experiment with steeping times, but here is a general guide:

HOW LONG TO COLD BREW TEA:

• Green, White, and Oolong Teas can infuse in cold water in the refrigerator for 6 - 8 hours.
• Black Teas can infuse in cold water in the refrigerator for 8 -12 hours.
• Herbal Teas can infuse in cold water in the refrigerator for 8 -12 hours.

HOW MUCH TEA TO USE FOR COLD BREW:

• The trick to extracting a fuller flavor is to one and a half times the amount of tea leaves or tea bags you usually use for hot brewing.
• If you use one teaspoon or 3 grams of loose leaf tea for a hot brew, use one and a half teaspoons or 4.5 grams for a cold brew.

I often steep oolong tea like this Ti Kuan Yin in the refrigerator in the summer months. It's delightful!

ICED TEA MAKERS

Infuser Tower: 

This innovation suspends a vessel of ice over a small container of tea. Underneath the container is a pitcher to catch the brewed tea. As the ice melts, it soaks the tea, one drop at a time.

The tea leaves are very slowly saturated. Each drop is highly concentrated as the infusion drips into the awaiting pitcher. The entire process takes anywhere from 2 - 5 hours, depending on the tea type.

Refrigerate in a Pitcher: 

Cold-brewing tea in a large pitcher is the easiest and most practical method for home brewers. Grab your favorite glass pitcher, fill it with cold filtered water, and add the appropriate amount of tea leaves.

Place the pitcher in the refrigerator overnight for around 8 - 12 hours.

Mason Jars: 

Take a mason jar, add tea leaves, and place in the refrigerator for several hours and you’ll have a nice glass of iced tea.

Cold Brew Tea Bottle: 

Any hot tea infuser will work. Add your tea of choice to the basket or the container, fill the tumbler with cold filtered water, and pop it in the fridge overnight, and you’re ready to go the following day with a lovely refreshing iced tea.

A travel tea tumbler is excellent to carry around in the summertime instead of bottled water. This Urban Tea Tumbler from The Tea Spot is incredible for making cold brew tea on the go. I like that it's made from borosilicate glass.

Related:

• How to Make Iced Tea
• How to Steep Tea
• 10 Best Online Tea Shops
• 15 Classic Iced Tea Recipes

COLD BREW ICED TEA RECIPE

PRO TIPS:

• For best results, the quality of the tea matters.
• For this recipe, I used an organic tea blend of Chinese white tea, rosebuds, and jasmine pearls - a high-grade green tea from China's Fujian region. This particular blend is from The Tea Spot and is called Meditative Mind.
• The results are excellent. The brew tastes like honeysuckle.
• Cold brewing tea is not an exact science. You have to experiment a little with brewing times and tea quantity. Much of this depends on the type of tea you are brewing. So steep what you love.
• Lighter teas like green, white, and oolong will take less time than black tea. Select a tea that you enjoy unsweetened, as it's challenging to incorporate the sweetener fully. Flavored teas make a lovely infusion.

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LIPTON COLD BREW TEA BAGS

Buyer beware!

There is no such thing as instant cold-brewed tea.

Instant cold brew tea is not the same as real cold-brewed tea. You may have seen this in some popular Lipton tea bags. The instant variety is usually patented because the tea product is altered.

The commercial invention of instant cold brew encompasses a tea leaf product that rapidly infuses in cold water. The goal is to produce a beverage with the same color and flavor characteristics identical to hot brewed iced tea beverages.

Although these products contain tea leaves, they may include the addition of instant tea powder or coat the tea leaves with tea extracts.

If you read some of the patents, you will find that the cold brew products may use powders, extracts, or colorants to infuse tea in cold water quickly. The goal is to produce an iced tea beverage with color and flavor comparable to iced teas prepared by hot brewing methods.

Natural cold brew tea takes hours to infuse, not five minutes. Have patience. There are no shortcuts. Good things come to those who wait 🙂.

COLD BREW MATCHA

The only tea that you can infuse instantly in cold water is matcha. Matcha will infuse immediately into cold filtered water. I’ve even made it with sparkling water, which is refreshing. Add a little fresh fruit juice, and you have a lovely summer drink.

At home, we drink tea every day all day. I always have a backup pitcher of iced tea in the refrigerator, ready to go. The significant part of the cold brew method is that it seems you can’t over-steep the tea.

Experiment with different teas. What teas do you like to cold brew? Share in the comments.

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