Welcome to our first blog post all about cold brewing tea. Cold brewing is SO easy!
This is our favorite way to make iced tea and it’s simple, healthy and gives you the best flavor possible with no bitterness or off notes.
We use this process for our bottled teas and promote it generally because the health advantages are numerous and it gives you the best tasting tea possible. We also offer a whole collection you can brew yourself at home.
Ok, now without further ado, lets jump right into it!
Cold Brew Tea Benefits
Did you know that cold brewed teas are healthier for you than traditional hot brewed teas? When you hot brew your tea, you can easily over steep your tea at too hot of temperature or for too long which will literally cook your tea leaves.
With cold brewing, one of the active anti-oxidants found in teas, polyphenols, are released slowly into your drink and if left to cold brew for more than 8 hours, you end up getting more polyphenols into your glass. This is why we recommend brewing your tea overnight- this will give your tea 8 hours + to brew and you will be taking advantage of increased levels of anti-oxidants in your finished tea!
The next advantage is the the flavor. When you cold brew your tea, the flavors are released slowly over time rather than being forced out through the use of heat. When tea is brewed slowly like this, it reduces and often times eliminates all the bitterness generally associated with tea and keeps those healthy polyphenols fully intact.
I can't tell you how many times I have been at a trade show and given someone a sample of our cold brew teas who told me, "Oh no, I don't like tea" only for them to exclaim "That's delicious!" I usually let them know, "It's not tea that you don't like, it was the bitterness."
How to Cold Brew Iced Tea
We make the process very easy for you. Our collection of Cold Brew Teas come packed into oversized tea bags which allow you the easiest brew of all:
1 teabag into a half gallon pitcher, fill with purified water, and set in your fridge overnight so that all those yummy flavors can slowly release. In the morning, remove the pitcher from the fridge and enjoy! That's it! It really is that simple.
you are exchanging time for temperature, so since you are using cold water (roughly 37* in the fridge) vs. hot water (roughly 180-190*) you need to give the tea leaves more time to release their flavors. If you can wait 12 hours or more, you’ll notice an even richer, fuller flavor to your tea.
Now, if you like your tea sweet, or with just a touch of sugar, after it finishes its 8 hour cold brew, this is when you can add 1/4-1/2 cup of simple syrup.
Simple syrup is very, well, simple to make! Just liquify an equal amount of sugar, honey or sugar substitute into an equal amount of boiling water. Try starting with 1 cup water to 1 cup sugar.
The sweetness level of tea is a very individual preference, so find what you love. Start slowly with the simple syrup and add more gradually so as not to over sweeten it.
Cold Brew Loose Leaf Teas
Another way to make cold brew tea is to use our collection of loose leaf teas or make your own tea blend from your own ingredients. This approach is really fun and let’s you make an unlimited amount of unique variations!
Many people choose loose teas because they happen to be tea purists and don't want to use a tea bag which might detract from the pure tea, and its true, there really is nothing better than a cold brew loose leaf tea!
If this is you, or if you love the freedom to experiment with every pitcher of tea, then here is how you cold brew your loose leaf tea;
1. add your loose leaf tea into a French press
2. add COLD water and let it cold soak in your fridge overnight (8 hours or more is preferred, but 6 hours is the minimum). In the morning, push down on the French press plunger and enjoy a glass of your perfect Cold Brew tea.
Again, if you prefer your tea sweetened, now would be the time to use add some simple syrup.
Cold Brewing Green and Black Teas
The use of green and black teas date back thousands of years. Both come from the same plant: Camielia sinensis and what distinguishes the two from one another is the amount of time it was given to ferment for.
Green teas are known for their freshness, an almost "grass like" scent and taste since they are minimally processed and often times pan roasted you get a true taste of the fresh leaves. Generally speaking, there is no fermentation in the preparation of green teas.
Black teas, (and oolongs, red teas, pu-ehrs, white teas, and others) all start off as green tea- the same plan, Camilla sinensis, but are left to ferment for anywhere from a few days to many years.
The longer the fermentation process, the deeper, richer, and more fruity the tea begins to taste and many tea connoisseurs find themselves delving down the pathway into all the subtle differences in the complexity of each. Pu-ehr teas are tea cakes made from compressing the tea leaves and then wrapping them and leaving them to ferment for months to years. These are very complex and some of my favorite.
When you cold brew a traditional green or black tea, the biggest advantage is how smooth the flavor is. So many people do this for the first time and are surprised at how there is no bitterness to the tea.
This right here is how I can easily make a convert out of someone who thinks they don't like tea.
Herbal Teas for Cold Brewing
Herbal Teas give you a great selection of flavors to choose from when making cold brewed iced tea. I feel these are some of the best to play with because you get bold, bright flavors coming through that are very clean.
Additionally, Iced teas are traditional spring and summer time refreshments and what could be better than an bright and flavorful Hibiscus Mint tea or Ginger with Lime?
Herbal teas give you lots of benefits from the plants that are used in them as well, and can boost your vitamin intake, anti-oxidants, give you energy and more.
Hibiscus is very high is vitamin C and has been known to help reduce high blood pressure.
Mamaki Tea is packed full of anti-oxidants and also helps to reduce high blood pressure.
Ginger has been a digestive tonic for ages and helps to soothe irritable stomachs.
Turmeric is one of nature's most powerful anti-inflammation herbs!
Juniper Berries have been known to be useful in cleansing the liver and offer one of the most distinct flavors in nature
Rose hips are packed full of Vitamin C and boost immune systems.
Hawaiian Iced Teas
We live in the wonderful, beautiful, state of Hawaii, and that is why we specialize in teas that showcase the wonderful tropical flavors that we find around us.
Iced Teas are the quintessential summertime refreshment, and we wanted to add our own twist on what summertime refreshment is, since in Hawaii, well, we kinda do summertime all year long.
Kona Mango is so sweet and delicious
Passion Black tea has a touch of tropical refreshment from Lilikoi fruit
Hibiscus Mint w/ Mamaki is the ultimate Refresher everyone loves
and Ginger Lime is a local favorite.
We hope you try cold brewing your own teas, whether it's by trying one of our blends or by making your own unique one. The flavor of your tea will be so much brighter and fresher and I bet you may never go back to hot tea!
