There’s been a real surge of interest in cold-brewed beverages – both coffee and tea. Today I’m going to share with you an easy, step-by-step guide to making cold-brewed iced tea at home. Before you begin, you’ll want to assemble the following ingredients and equipment: A package of your favorite Arbor Teas’ loose leaf tea – almost any variety will brew up great A teaspoon measure A T-sac, tea infuser, or strainer; And a pitcher; Start by measuring your loose leaf tea. Generally, you should measure 1 teaspoon loose leaf teaper cup of iced tea. But fluffier blends – like white teas and some herbals – may require as much as one tablespoon or more, while denser teas such as gunpowder may require less than one teaspoon. Place the tea in a T-sac or infuser, and place that in your glass or iced tea pitcher.
If you are using a pitcher with a built in strainer (like our Cold Brew Iced Tea Maker here), or you plan on straining out your tea, simply place the leaves directly in the pitcher. Fill your container with 1 cup room temperature water per final cup of iced tea you intend to make. Just pour the water over the tea-filled T-Sac or infuser, or directly over the tea leaves. Be sure the tea is covered completely with water. If you’re making tea for lots of people and need to scale up the recipe, one quart of iced tea generally requires a ½ ounce of loose leaf tea. Now just place your glass or pitcher in the refrigerator for 6 to 10 hours – basically overnight. Remove the leaves when you’ve reached the desired strength or strain the tea when you serve it.
Doesn’t that look delicious? Another nice thing about cold-brewing your iced tea is that it practically never clouds, as some teas can when chilled too quickly. You might be surprised to know that heating the water is the most energy-intensive step in the whole process of growing, manufacturing, shipping and preparing your tea. Cold brewing your tea is eco-friendly because it slashes energy use by eliminating the water-heating process. I hope you enjoy this step-by-step guide to cold-brewing iced tea.
