How to cold brew green tea

Is this just cold tea?

To be honest, yes and no!

This is not ‘cold through neglect after a few hours’ tea…
Cold brew green tea is cold, intentionally.
Oh but why would anyone do this? I hear you say.
As these tea leaves infuse in cold water overnight, this results in an amazing smooth beverage. The nuances of the tea shine through, and some teas bring their own surprises (I’m looking at you Duck Sh*t Oolong).
Well worth exploring this alternative way to prepare and enjoy tea, and bonus that is is incredibly refreshing.
So easy it literally brews itself.

So how do I cold brew green tea?

I do advise at least one flash hot brew, this is to ensure the leaves start unravelling.
If this hot brew step is skipped then the leaves will need to be infused longer. So increase from 6-12 hours up to 24 hours in some cases such as ball rolled oolongs.

All you need is:

• good quality tea leaves, I can suggest either our amazing smooth green tea, Cloud Mist or the more buttery rich green tea Dragonwell (also known as Long Jing).
• A bottle; I’ve used anything from volvic bottles to hario brewing bottles (which are available from us, but currently only at events). You don’t need anything fancy, but it is better if it can close or that fridge smell might sneak in.
• Cold water; good quality water, tea is 99.999% water, water quality has such an impact on the final tea experience.
  Optional: Hot water and a gaiwan/cup to flash hot brew.

No really I just want to know how to do it!

Ok, no more faffing.

• Use 1g tea to 100ml water (so that 500ml empty bottle, would need about 5g of dry tea leaves)
• Optional: Pour 80 degree C water over the leaves, let infuse for 15 seconds and pour the water into a cup, enjoy the cup of gongfu cha tea (yup it is that easy, but that’s another story)
• Place your tea leaves into your cold brewing vessel (bottle, jug, large cup, hario bottle)
• Close the vessel
• Place in fridge for at least 6 hours, I tend to leave it overnight. If hot brewing was skipped leave for at least 12 hours.

You now have an incredible cold brew! Enjoy 🙂