How To Cold Brew Tea

How To Cold Brew Tea

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Tea is commonly seen as a hot drink that you make when you want to warm yourself up. However, you can also get a range of cold teas that are extra refreshing on a hot summer's day. These are designed to be a bit sweeter than normal tea, offering a fantastic alternative to typical cold drinks - like sugary sodas. 

For the most part, everyone knows how to brew a cup of tea. Nevertheless, when dealing with cold brews, you probably have a range of questions. Do you use hot or cold water? How long do you let the tea steep? Can you add ice? It's easy to make yourself think this is more confusing than it actually is! So, we've put together a quick guide that will answer all your questions about cold brewing tea. 

What type of tea do you need to use?

This is a big question as some people assume you need to use loose leaf tea in cold brews. We recommend using specially labeled cold brew tea bags. If you use loose leaf tea, it requires more effort as you have to strain out the leaves after the tea has brewed. The advantage of using specially labeled cold brew tea bags is that you simply take them out when you're ready!

Can you brew tea in cold water? 

Can you brew tea in cold water?
Yes, you most certainly can brew tea in cold water. If you scroll further down the page, you'll see we go over the main cold brewing methods for tea. While one of them does involve hot water, the other two are done strictly with cold water. It does make a big difference as to what type of water you use, however. Hot water brings out the tannins in tea a lot more than cold water, which is usually what provides the typically bitter tea taste. There's also more caffeine and a stronger flavor when using hot water as your steeping method. So, cold water offers a mellower flavor, but one that shouldn't be as bitter, making it slightly more refreshing. Either way, the choice is yours and nothing's stopping you from experimenting with all the different brewing methods. 

The 5-minute brewing method

Let's get into the actual brewing methods for cold tea! This first one is the easiest of all as all you require are a specially labeled cold brew tea bag, some cold water, and a fridge. In essence, you follow a simple three-step process: 

  1. Put your specially labeled cold brew tea bag in a glass
  2. Add cold water and put the glass in the fridge/freezer
  3. Wait for 5 minutes to let the tea brew

After this, you can take it out of the fridge/freezer, remove the tea bag, and start sipping. If you want, you can add some ice cubes to the tea to make it even colder, but that's entirely up to you. The trick with this method is ensuring you have very flavorful tea bags or you won't get a very strong flavor from the brew. Opting for one of the wonderful Southern Breeze Cold Brew iced tea bags could be a great choice here as they’re perfectly designed for this method. 

It's a popular method amongst people who are maybe in a rush or don't want to wait for their tea to be ready. You could make it in a bottle and bring it to work if you want - or make it before dinner for a refreshing drink with your food. The options are endless, which is why this is such a popular brewing method. 

The longer cold brewing method

Next, you have a method that's very similar to the previous one, only drawn out over a much longer period. Here, the first two steps are exactly the same - though you can also substitute loose tea for a specially labeled cold brew tea bag. The difference comes in the final step, where you place your tea in the refrigerator for multiple hours. It should sit there for up to 6 hours to let the tea steep and release all of its unique flavors. 

Effectively, this method provides you with a stronger flavor in your cold brew. It is also preferred by people who use loose tea, as loose tea steeps better over many hours than tea bags. The other advantage of this is that you can brew a large bottle or jug of tea, and it will keep for a good few days while retaining the flavor. So, if you have the time to do so, it could be a brilliant idea for you. 

Also, another good idea is to play around with these first two methods. If you try method number one, and you want to get more flavor from your cold brew, give this method a try instead. You can also tweak the brewing times - perhaps brew for 3 hours instead of 6 to get a more intense flavor than the 5-minute method, but not too strong. 

The hot water method 

The hot water method
Finally, you have the hot water method for cold brewing tea. Yes, this sounds like a strange concept - how can you use hot water for a cold brew?! Well, it's the exact same as the previous method, only you initially put hot water on the tea leaves/tea bag. This brings out more of the natural tea flavorings, giving it a darker color and releasing more caffeine. Then, you top it up with cold water and stick it in the fridge for anywhere between a few minutes to a few hours!

Our Family Size Sweet Tea Bags are ideal for the hot water method. We have a very simple recipe, just add two tea bags to a large pitcher, followed by 2 quarts of boiling water. From here, let the tea steep for 3-5 minutes, depending on how strong you want it. Remove the tea bags, chill the pitcher in the fridge, then serve with ice! We’ve got a variety of different flavors available in our family range, including original, peach, raspberry, lemon, and decaf iced tea. 

There you have it; three different ways to cold brew tea! Now, if you're looking for some sweet and flavorful tea bags like blackberry iced tea, mint iced tea, peach tea, or mango iced tea Southern Breeze can help you out! We have a range of phenomenal flavors to choose from, offering tea bags that are specifically designed for cold brewing. They'll provide ample freshness on a hot day, letting you sip on some cold tea in your back garden. Plus, all of our iced tea bags work with the 5-minute brewing method, so you don't have to wait for your delicious drink!

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