Steeping Method
To make cold brew, infuse the leaves in cold water, often with lemon or lime. Unlike hot brewing, cold brewing offers a milder, less astringent cup of tea.
- Mix one part leaves with four parts cold water. This ratio is a starting point. Adjust to suit your taste.
- Use high-quality, organic, fair-trade leaves. The quality greatly affects the taste.
When serving, use a small tea strainer over your cup. Strain the entire brew then pour back into the rinsed container.
Other Preparation Methods
Another way is to first brew hot then pour it into a pitcher. Add lime, lemon juice, mint or honey. Let it cool then add ice.
Using a tea bag is probably the easiest way. Just put the bag in a cup, add water and let it brew.
There’s also a cold version called tereré. This cold-brewed tea is ideal to refresh, especially in summer.
You can mix the tea with herbs to improve flavor.
How long to steep cold brew?
- The brewing time ranges between 3-5 minutes or 2 minutes when using cold water.
- Instead of warm water, add cool water on loose leaf herbs then refrigerate overnight.
- Add 1 tablespoon of leaves to an in-cup infuser. Brew for 4 – 6 minutes depending on your desired strength.
Straining your cold brew is an essential step to remove any loose leaves or particles, ensuring a smooth taste.
Tereré is a traditional cold-brewed tea. It is very popular in tropical South America because it is incredibly refreshing on a hot day. The most notable difference between tereré and hot tea is that tereré is prepared using cold water, which is sometimes mixed with fruit juice.
By far, the most popular way of drinking is to follow the centuries-old preparation style using a filtered straw and gourd. Without pressing the filter, let it sit in the fridge for 1 to 20 hours depending on the desired strength.
Is it better to drink hot or cold brew?
Some prefer flavor of cold tea, buying pre-brewed chilled tea or brewing then chilling themselves.
- Place one tea bag or loose leaves in mug. Add 160-180°F water, the temperature greatly affecting taste. Let it steep 3-5 minutes.
- Temperature enhancing certain flavors. 155-180°F a good range but personal preference varies.
Cold brew preserves nutrients. Hot brew brings out robust flavor, shorter steep for milder taste. Add fruits, herbs to cold brew for refreshment.