How to make cold brew tea?
“Tea is to the body as music is to the soul.” — Earlene Grey
The making of cold brew takes place mostly in the refrigerator. Heat brings out the tea’s bitter and tannic flavors, so without any heat, this tea would be smooth and super refreshing for a soothing experience in summer. It does not taste even slightly bitter.
What is cold brew tea?
Cold-brew tea is a type of tea made by steeping the tea in a refrigerator or at room temperature for an extended period. This process is used because here, time is used instead of temperature to release the flavors of the tea. This method is known as getting an exact taste out of the tea leaves and that too gently. It is hence providing truer tasting tea to the tea fans out there. This tea is preferable as scorching hot tea kills all the tea flavors and even does not provide the natural benefits of tea.
Ingredients required in making cold brew tea:
• Tea in tea bags or tea leaves( 1 teaspoon per 6 to 8 ounces of water)
• Water as per requirement
• Optional add-ins include lemon, sweetener as per choice, mint leaves, cucumber slices, etc.
• Cheesecloth or a paint straining cloth which is used exclusively for food products( used on sieve)
How to make cold brew tea?
It is a straightforward method to follow.
1- Take tea bags or loose-leaf tea in a container (loose tea is preferable for getting a great taste).
2- Take water as per requirements.
3- Add the tea to the water in a container.
4- Cover the mixture with a lid.
5- Put that mixture in the refrigerator and let it stay there from about 6 to 12 hours.
6- Once the time up, strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve and discard the leaves or tea bags.
7- Serve the tea as it is, or even one can enjoy the tea with any add-ins of choice.
Time for which tea is edible
This tea tastes the same for about 3 to 5 days. Hence can be kept in the refrigerator and enjoyed for a maximum of 5 days. Just a few conditions need to be taken care of.
Firstly, keep the tea covered while storing it for a long time and planning to drink it afterward.
Secondly, keep the tea under refrigeration for keeping it tasting the same.
Benefits of drinking cold brew tea
• The process of making this tea is straightforward and hence does not require any particular things to make it. There are bottles available in the market where one does not even need to filter as the bottle itself contains the filters. Therefore, if you are lazy, so this tea is just for you.
• The caffeine content in this tea is low. It also contains a higher amount of vitamin C, which is suitable for your body. So, it has many health benefits.
• This tea does not need sugar to be added into it, and yet it is sweet and mild in taste. So for the people trying to cut calories from their diet, this tea is the best. Full of antioxidants and naturally sweet drinks could even replace the wine on your table, hence removing extra calories from the daily diet.
• This tea keeps the person hydrated as it contains more an=mount of water. So it’s like flavored water and hence even tastes good.
• Different Variants are available in this tea so you can choose as per your preferences. Some of them are Jasmine, shencha, etc.
Recommendation from the makers
Make this tea using loose tea leaves as then the leaves will open up and provide even much more taste to the tea. Even while using brew tea bags, then cut the tea bags at the corners and then add it to the water before keeping the mixture into refrigeration. The makers suggest that if using tea bags, use the specially made cold brew tea bags that are just made differently for this purpose.
The difference from regular tea
There are not many differences in the tea used for preparations. The cold brew tea bags are prepared, especially as compared to the simple tea bags. As the simple bags will go through like water, the materials used in preparing the bag are different. Other than that, there are no significant differences. The significant difference would be in preparing the tea. As for regular tea, a person uses one teabag per cup of hot water but here, one needs to use roughly one tea bag per 4 cups of water. They are hence providing a milder taste and a soothing experience to the drinker. However, a person could even use regular tea bags for making cold brew tea. Also, for that dilution level is different.
To conclude, it is the best summer drink ever. It’s like a cold version of the traditional sun tea that people make. Moreover, this version is much better if planned to be drunk in the summer. As it is more soothing, sweet, and milder than the counterpart is. The preparation is also easy. So one day do the process, then one could have refreshing tea for the next 4 to 5 days directly in the refrigerator.
So make your cup of cold brew tea today as I am making mine for sure.
