As the name suggests, this method simply involves brewing a hot batch of tea and then pouring it over ice. Brew your tea a bit stronger than normal - in most vessels we recommend 30 seconds to a minute longer. If planning on adding other additives, such as making milk tea or a cocktail, you may want to brew even stronger.

Once your tea has been brewed to the desired strength, pour into a glass or pitcher filled with ice. You can let it rest for a moment, give it a stir, or shake to cool down. Most of the ice should melt, with some leftover giving a cold, mellow, and refreshing taste.

Pros: Most similar taste to the fresh hot tea, fastest method, quick and easy to adjust to get desired taste

Cons: Ice quality matters the same as water quality so you may need to use filtered water to make ice, loses some of the aroma

This next method also requires you to start with making hot tea, but just brew it to the normal strength this time - you can use the normal ratio found on our brewing guide. Once the tea is done brewing, pour it into a glass or separate container and put it in the fridge. Some people prefer to let it cool closer to room temperature before sticking it in the fridge, which we would recommend if using a sealed glass container.

Pros: Useful to keep undrunk tea for later, keeps some of the original aroma

Cons: Takes a few hours, flavors change compared to the beggining tea, typically results in less vibrancy

Ice brewing is a method of cold brew that is common in Japan, where it is referred to as Koridashi. Simply place green tea leaves over ice cubes and allow the ice to melt. Once the ice is melted, strain the leaves and enjoy.

Instead of waiting for all the ice to melt, some let it ice brew for about 45 minutes and then add a little hot water.

Pros: Unique, will still get a lot of the full flavors of the leaf, works well with bright green tea

Cons: Hard to time perfectly, loses a lot of the aroma

For Refrigerated Cold Brewing, use a smaller leaf ratio for the quantity of tea you wish to make - optionally you can reuse tea that has been steeped already and use a more similar ratio. In an air tight container, use room temperature or slightly cool water and then put the container in the refrigerator for around 12-14 hours. Remove or strain out leaves.

*Smaller batches may take less time, especially depending on the ratio of leaves and water

Pros: Get all of the same flavors as a fresh brew although a little more mellow

Cons: Takes a very long time, less room to adjust

Additives

Cold Brewing tea makes a perfect base for most common additives, compliments, and recipes. Some of the most common of these can be found under our Brewing Guide.

Adjustments

Since most Cold Brewing methods take some amount of time, it can be dissapointing if it does not come out as you planned. If the tea is too bitter, you can always add more water. We have found that adding both ice and hot water can add a lot of virbancy back to an unsuccesful batch.

Advice

We recommend trying out the different methods for yourself to see which results in the best flavor for your needs. Start with smaller batches, or even just start with leaves that have been brewed once or twice.