A lot of people tend to assume that iced tea and cold brew tea are one in the same, however that couldn’t be further from the truth! Both are tea and both are drunk cold, but that’s about the only two things they have in common. Let’s dive in and see what the major differences are between the two.
Iced Tea
Traditional iced tea is made by brewing loose leaf tea or tea bags in hot water for a specified amount of time, depending on the tea variety being brewed. Once brewed, the tea is removed from heat and chilled in the refrigerator before serving over ice. Just like normal hot tea, time and temperature are critical in achieving that perfect tasting brew and can be adjusted to your taste.
Cold Brew Tea
The cold brew tea method is pretty simple:
- Add 1.5 to 2 times the amount of tea you would normally use
- Add filtered cold water
- Stick in fridge for 16-24 hours
The cold brew tea method requires patience but it is totally worth the wait! More on this below.
So What’s the Difference?
When you hot brew tea, you are forcefully extracting all the flavors from the tea leaves by force, essentially cooking it and altering the chemical composition of the tea itself. If the time and temperature for your herbal tisane or tea was not correct, you may end up with a bland watered down version of tea or alternatively, a very bitter brew that will require more sweetener to make it palatable. While the high heat does extract the flavors of the tea as well as beneficial antioxidants, it also releases many bitter tannins and higher acidity.
Simply put, cold brew tea is a lot more forgiving and essentially dummy proof. Let it sit and steep for as long as you would like until it has reached your desired taste. The slow extraction process gently pulls all the nutrients, antioxidants and flavors producing a less bitter, smoother and full bodied tea with a truer and more pronounced flavor profile.
Conclusion
While traditional iced tea is a faster way to make tea if you’re in a hurry, we believe that the best things in life come to those who wait. Cold brewing tea takes a bit of planning, but the difference in taste is incomparable. Slow and low (temperature) is the way to go for the best tasting and most refreshing tea you’ve had in a while. Don’t have the time or patience to make your own cold brew? Head on over to our online shop to buy cold brew tea and experience smoothest, most refreshing tea you’ve ever tried in a bottle.