Drink tea cold - can you drink tea cold?

Introduction

Cold-brewing and drinking tea is a great way to make bitter teas such as green tea and mate gentler and sweeter. Other teas, such as Guayusa, taste even better when cold-brewed.

In this article, we give you a comprehensive overview of different teas, how to prepare them, and how cold-brewing and drinking changes their flavour. Follow the links to explore other preparation methods in our blog and find out more.

Contents

1. Why cold-brew and drink tea
   1. History
   2. What makes cold tea special?
      1. Drinking green tea cold – flavour
      2. Drinking Guayusa tea cold – flavour
      3. Other teas – flavour
2. How to make cold tea
   1. Green tea
   2. Guayusa tea
   3. Mate tea
   4. Matcha tea
3. Can you cold-brew and drink other teas?
4. Conclusion – drinking tea cold

1. Why cold-brew and drink tea?

1.1 History

Strictly speaking, brewing tea in cold water is the first method people used to make leaf infusions. According to legend, a monk first drank green tea after tea leaves fell into his cup while he was sleeping under a tea tree.

It was only later that people began boiling water and pouring it over tea leaves. For leaf infusions such as Guayusa tea, the leaves are even traditionally boiled.

1.2 What makes cold tea special?

Whether it is green tea, Guayusa, mate or matcha, drinking tea that has been brewed and served cold noticeably changes its flavour. However, a laboratory test we conducted on Guayusa found that its constituents appeared to be present in similar amounts: both the caffeine and antioxidant levels were identical in hot and cold infusions.

Drinking green tea cold – flavour

Green tea can quickly taste bitter if the water temperature and steeping time are not right. By contrast, cold-brewing green tea (and then drinking it cold, or theoretically warming it afterwards) extracts far fewer bitter compounds. Many people therefore find cold-brewed green tea much more pleasant. Other notes, such as a touch of sweetness, also come through more clearly.

Drinking Guayusa tea cold – flavour

Unlike green tea, Guayusa tea contains no bitter compounds, so a hot infusion already tastes pleasant. As with green tea, cold-brewing makes Guayusa taste even mellower, sweeter and slightly fruity.

Other teas – flavour

As with green tea and Guayusa, cold-brewing generally has a similar effect on other teas. The flavour becomes gentler and a little sweeter, fewer bitter compounds are extracted, and caffeine and antioxidants remain present to a similar degree.

2. How to make cold tea

2.1 Green tea

With hot infusions, you need to pay close attention to steeping times; we have a separate article on green tea steeping times. There is much less to consider when cold-brewing green tea. Experiment with the variety you have until you find the flavour you like. As a guide, you can use these rough timings:

Cold-brewing time:

• 4 hours for a mild cold-brewed green tea
• 8 hours for a medium-strength tea with a slightly bitter note
• 12 hours for an intense green tea with a pronounced bitter note

2.2 Guayusa tea

For detailed instructions on our top 10 ways to prepare Guayusa, see our article Top 10 ways to prepare Guayusa tea. It includes instructions for both cold brew and ice brew. Here is a brief guide to making cold Guayusa.

Cold-brewing time for Guayusa:

• 6 hours for a mild Guayusa tea
• 8 hours for a tasty, sweet and fruity Guayusa tea with plenty of caffeine
• 12 hours for a strong, intense, brisk and slightly fruity Guayusa tea with a particularly high caffeine content

2.3 Mate tea

We also have an article with more information on how you can influence the flavour of mate tea. For cold-brewing mate tea, you can use these steeping times:

Cold-brewing times for mate tea:

• 4 hours for a mild cold mate tea without bitter notes
• 8 hours for a strong, caffeinated mate tea with a pronounced bitter note
• 12 hours for a bitter cold mate tea

2.4 Matcha tea

Matcha is, strictly speaking, a high-grade green tea. See our matcha vs green tea comparison for more. Matcha powder generally tastes much mellower and sweeter than standard green tea. As our article on matcha's flavour explains, cold-brewing it makes it sweeter still.

How to make cold matcha:

• Prepare matcha much like an instant powder: use a blender or whisk, or make it traditionally with a matcha whisk (called a chasen).
• Put the powder in a matcha bowl and add a little cold water while whisking rapidly and continuously with the matcha whisk.
• The matcha should start to foam.
• Add more or less cold water depending on how strong you want your matcha.

For detailed instructions on preparing matcha, including equipment and quality recommendations, see our article Matcha preparation.

3. Can you cold-brew and drink other teas?

In general, there is no reason not to cold-brew and drink herbs, leaves, seeds and flowers. Some producers do, however, explicitly state that tea must be brewed hot to be safe to drink. This is often a legal precaution: cold water does not kill bacteria or possible insect infestations.

Tea is a natural product, so there is always a risk of contamination. Some low-cost tea producers mix dozens or even hundreds of raw-material sources to stay below pesticide-residue limits. When choosing tea, look for single-origin teas. Our Guayusa, for example, comes from a farming community in Ecuador that we know personally. You can follow the harvest and processing transparently on our YouTube channel.

4. Conclusion – drinking tea cold

Drinking tea that has also been cold-brewed is a delicious experience, and in general it can be done with any tea or leaf infusion.

Experiment to find the preparation time that suits your taste and the type of tea. Green tea needs considerably less time, whereas herbal tea and Guayusa need a little longer to develop an intense flavour.