In summer, a refreshing glass of iced tea is a wonderful way to cool down, and as home-made iced tea is far superior to any shop-bought option, we thought we’d take a look at two tried-and-tested preparation methods and explain the difference between iced tea and cold brew tea.
Preparation: The most labour intensive but also the quickest way to make iced tea, traditional iced tea, is made by pouring hot water over a larger than usual amount (about one and a half times) of tea, adding ice cubes and allowing the tea to cool. The traditional iced tea process usually takes 3-5 minutes steeping time plus cooling time.
Flavour: The use of hot water quickly extracts a wide range of flavours, including tannins, which can make the tea taste slightly bitter and give the finished tea a slightly more robust and astringent flavour profile. Teas made in this way are sometimes sweetened or flavoured with lemon.
Time: The whole process, including chilling, can be done relatively quickly (less than an hour).
Suitable teas: Herbal infusions, whether blends or pure herbs such as peppermint and chamomile, and fruit teas are particularly well suited to traditional iced tea making; in fact, herbal infusions do not work very well as cold brew because the herbs need heated water to extract their full flavour. Teas with added flavourings also work well as traditional iced teas.
Preparation: Cold brew tea is made by steeping a larger than usual amount of tea leaves (one and a half times the usual amount) in cold water in the fridge for a long time, usually at least 6-8 hours, sometimes overnight. The leaves should be allowed to float freely to release their full aroma and flavour. The amount of tea and the length of the steeping time is a matter of personal taste.
Flavour: The use of cold water allows the flavours to be extracted more slowly and gently, resulting in a smoother, less bitter flavour with less tannin extraction. Cold brewed tea often has a more delicate and nuanced flavour profile than teas made with hot water.
Time: The cold brew process takes significantly longer (several hours to overnight) due to the slow infusion in cold water.
Suggestions for teas that work well with the cold brew method:
White Peony (Bai Mu Dan): A white tea with a mixture of leaves and buds, Bai Mu Dan offers a fuller flavour with floral and fruity notes when made as a cold brew.
Vietnam Fairy White Tea: While all white teas work well as cold brew, the beautiful sweet, and fruity, and citrus notes found in the delicate buds that make up Fairy White tea really come to the fore when allowed to reveal their flavours and aromas slowly.
Matcha: By far the fastest way to make a cold brew, matcha can either prepared in the traditional way with warm water and served with ice cubes, or simply put into a water bottle and shaken vigorously for a vibrant green cold brew (if not drunk immediately the bottle method requires repeated shaking).
Japanese Sencha / Kabusecha: The next fastest tea to unfold its flavours in cold water, Japanese steamed teas such as Sencha and Kabusecha offer a clean, grassy and slightly sweet flavour.
Jasmine Pearls: Prepared as a cold brew, these naturally flavoured pearls slowly reveal a subtle floral and sweet flavour.
Large leaf black teas: Although they take a longer time (8 – 12 hours), hand or lightly rolled black teas, such as Ceylon Amba hand rolled tea with flowers, and Formosa Honey Scent are much more delicate and complex than when prepared with hot water
First Flush Darjeeling: Depending on the cultivar used, first flush Darjeeling teas can reveal exquisite floral, sweet, citrus, muscatel and even nutty flavours when prepared as a cold brew.
Earl Grey: Preparing Earl Grey with cold water allows the subtle citrus notes of bergamot to slowly unfold without any hint of bitterness.
Wen Shan Bao Zhong: Over a 10 – 12 hour cold brew infusion, the floral notes in this large leaf, very lightly oxidised oolong combine to reveal hints of pineapple and citrus fruits.
Balled oolongs: Tightly rolled oolongs such as Four Seasons and the high grown Qing Xin and Jin Xuan take longer to open up their subtle flavours than open leaf teas but the results are worth the wait!
Oriental Beauty: Ideal for those who like a darker, yet mild and fruity cold brew, an Oriental Beauty cold brew tantalises the palate with notes of raisins, honey and caramel.
Whether cold brew teas can be brewed more than once depends on the tea. We tried it with a white tea and the second infusion had only a hint of the colour and flavour of the first. Japanese green teas, on the other hand, work well over two or three infusions, with the subsequent infusions lighter in flavour, but still refreshing and delicious.
Cold Brew tea should definitely be served in a wine glass! There are many similarities between tea and wine – not least the way in which terroir affects flavour. How the tea – or wine – is stored, served and prepared also plays a part in the flavour. In this YouTube video Bernadine Tay, co-founder of the European Speciality Tea Association, interviews a wine sommelier and a tea sommelier to find out more.
Iced and cold brew teas differ mainly in the way they are prepared and the resulting flavour profiles. Hot brewed iced tea is quick and easy to prepare, but the delicate flavours found in more exquisite teas can get lost. When tea leaves are placed in cold or iced water, they release fewer tannins than when brewed with hot water. Therefore, cold brewed tea has a smooth and delicate flavour, is never bitter and is ideal for enjoying high quality loose leaf teas.
Cold brewed tea can be infused in the fridge overnight and stored for up to two days. The taste will not become bitter and unpleasant as long as it is stored at a low temperature.
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