Brewing your own homemade iced tea cold brew at home can be a lot of fun. There are many positives to making your own cold brew – most importantly, you have control over what goes into it! As you have probably researched already, most ready-made, branded iced teas contain a high amount of sugar and artificial flavours. That’s two things you won’t find in our products.
What type of tea can I use?
There are various ways to brew your homemade iced tea. Most tea that can be consumed hot, can also taste great chilled and makes for a wonderful and refreshing drink. You can also use herbal teas for something a bit different.
A few types of iced tea you may be interested to try as a cold brew include, chai, oolong or green tea. The possibilities are endless.
Experiment and use whatever tastes good. You can keep it simple and brew some nice loose leaf tea as a single ingredient, or you might like to get creative and add some extra ingredients such as lemon slices or even sliced peach.
The beauty of creating your own homemade iced tea cold brew blend, is that it also allows for a herbal caffeine-free option.
This is great for the kids or those with sensitivity. If you’re a non-drinker or just taking a break, cold brew iced tea is an excellent alternative to alcohol. You could even add some fruit juice to it if you wanted to.
On the flip side, it’s damn tasty in a cocktail or maybe mixed with a spirit, such as gin!
The beauty of experimenting is that you can add your creations to your favourite iced tea recipes to share with others.
So how do I make homemade iced tea?
OK so there are a couple of variations depending on who you speak to:
If you are using a good quality or delicate loose tea, I would suggest brewing this tea in your jug or infuser, with natural spring or purified water only. In this post, we explain how to make iced tea with hot water, room temperature and cold water. Incidentally, you should never really use boiling water, even when making hot brewed tea. Different teas are meant to be brewed at different temperatures and for different lengths of time. If you’re a little tight for time, pop your brew in the fridge in the morning and it should be good to go within 8 hours. If you’re after a richer flavour, leave it overnight (or up to 2 days). The beauty of brewing your tea in this way, is that there is no risk of over-brewing. It will gently infuse over time and release its natural flavours. Fruit in iced tea also tastes better when made this way.
I personally like to enjoy an iced Houjicha or Chai.
Method 1
Using loose leaf tea as a single ingredient:
- Add 6-7 tsp loose leaf tea per 1 – 1.2 litres of cool filtered water (no heat)
- Pour the water over your tea leaves
- Place in the fridge for around 8 hours (or overnight – up to 2 days)
- Serve cold or over ice (straining the loose leaves)
- Depending on the tea you are using, you might like to add additional ingredients such as fruit or herbs. Sencha and most standard black teas are particularly great for an iced tea blend.
There is an alternate method that I sometimes like to use for a homemade iced tea blend. It involves gently “waking up” your loose leaves, to help all your ingredients infuse together in harmony.
Method 2
- 5-6 tsp loose leaf tea per 1-1.2 litres of filtered water
- Add your tea leaves into a heatproof jug
- Heat your water to the temperature suited to the tea you are using. (e.g. Sencha – approx. 70°C / 158°F)
- Pour 200ml over your leaves and allow the hot tea to brew for 30 seconds
- Add your additional ingredients and fill your jug with cool, unheated water.
- Place in the fridge for around 8 hours (or overnight – up to 2 days)
- Serve cold or over ice (straining the loose leaves)
I have added my recipe here that you might like to try:
Organic Tropical Green Homemade Iced Tea
Makes 1 litre
- 5 tsp organic sencha green tea
- 3-4 heaped tsp organic coconut flakes
- 3 organic dried pineapple rings
Method:
- Add the tea leaves into a heat-proof jug
- Heat 200ml filtered or spring water to 70°C / 158°F
- Pour over the ingredients and leave to infuse for 30 seconds.
- Add the dried pineapple and coconut flakes
- Add another 800ml of cool spring water to the tea (cold or room temp).
- Leave to infuse in the fridge for 8 hours (or overnight for a more intense flavour).
- To serve, pour through a strainer and garnish with fresh pineapple pieces and coconut flakes.