Summer is here for many of us, but there’s no need to pack away your teas! All of our tea blends can be made into a crisp, cold refreshing drink to cool you down on a hot day.
The usual method for making iced tea is to brew your tea hot and then chill it in the fridge, however making cold brew tea means that you brew the tea in room temperature water in the fridge overnight. This gentle process allows the flavours to release smoother and more slowly, bringing a better flavour and avoiding any bitterness.
The steps to cold brewing tea really are simple as one, two, three:
- Take a jar or pitcher (around 500mls – this is around 2 cups) of room temperature water
- Steep 1 pyramid tea bag in the water, and place in the fridge for 8 hours (covered)
- Enjoy with any garnish you want!
Cold brew tea can be kept refrigerated for up to 5 days, but we guarantee you’ll love it so much it won’t last that long!
Let’s look at our top three cold brew blends to get you started:
Ginger Mint Fusion
Everyone’s favourite blend, Ginger Mint Fusion is a smooth green tea infused with hand grated ginger, rosemary and mint from Tanzania. This is such a nice way to finish a meal as it will help you digest and cleanse the palate.
Garnish: why not enhance the existing flavours by adding a sprig of mint or rosemary?
Hibiscus Star
We recently shared 4 drinks you can make with our Hibiscus Star tea because it is just so versatile! The fusion of star anise, hibiscus and ginger makes the perfect zesty and refreshing cold brew, and with it’s bright pink colour your picnic spread will look beautiful too!
Garnish: Anything from raspberry and mint leaves to grapefruit slices would be delicious.
Pan Roasted Oolong
You will want to use around 2 grams of our loose, rolled leaves of our artisanal pan-roasted Oolong tea into your jar or pitcher, and more tea if you’re doing a bigger batch. When you’re ready to serve, pour a cup of the strained tea into a glass with ice to enjoy.
Garnish: Tea lovers say that if you want toppings, you don’t love Oolong tea enough! We love this alone but it also works nicely with a dash of coconut milk for creaminess, or with tamarind slices and of course, with mint leaves – because they just work with everything!
Don’t forget to tag us in your favourite cold brew blend and garnish at @kazi.yetu.
