Cold Brewed Citron Green
Wednesday, July 29, 2009 at 9:19AM Since my tea enthusiasm has grown over the past 6-8 months, I have heard of a lot of different methods and opinions on how to best brew tea. In the end, I think it comes down a lot to personal choice, as only you know how you like your tea. At any rate, since hearing of the method of "cold brewing" tea, I was intrigued and decided to give it a try.
If you've never tried it, cold brewing is quite a simple process. Pour some water into a vessel, add the appropriate amount of tea leaves and refrigerate for 4-6 hours (steep closer to 6 hours for teas like Oolongs, who's leaves are rolled tightly... to give the leaves longer to unfurl). When you're done, strain the leaves into a glass, and drink. Of course I suppose you could have the leaves in an infuser, as you typically would with hot brewing, but I decided to let the leaves have a little more freedom.
From what I've been able to read on the 'nets, one advantage to cold brewing tea is that less caffeine is released. This is not really an issue with me, as I like as much caffeine as I can get. But for those who might be sensitive, this might be a method to try. Just be aware that there are a lot of mystery and myths surrounding tea and tea preperation, so who knows what's true and what's not?
As for taste, I didn't taste a significant amount of difference with cold brewing. Perhaps there was a bit more of an "even" flavor, but I suspect that to be as much of a function of allowing the leaves to open up (sans infuser... yet another reason I'd love to give the Sorapot a try!) than with the cold brewing itself.
Overall, cold brewing is an interesting alternative, and one which I expect I will be using more often. I decided to start with a green tea, but would love to give some more cold brewed teas a try. I'd welcome any suggestions in the comments on your favorite cold brewed tea.
Reader Comments (2)
Cold-brewed tea has been one of my favorites for years. My aunt introduced me to cold-brewed green tea, and I have yet to find a recipe or process that is on par with hers. Thanks for posting this interesting article.
Cold brewing eliminates most of the caffeine which is extracted in the conventional hot brewing method and all of the bitterness, producing a smooth and great tasting tea. It works equally well for green, black, oolong, or white teas. I will never go back to hot brewing.