Cold Brew Tea

Here’s how to make cold brew tea: the easiest iced tea! This recipe takes only 1 minute of hands on time and has a beautifully smooth flavor.

Craving an ice cold glass of iced tea? Here’s the easiest way to make it: Cold Brew Tea! It takes just 1 minute of hands-on time and after 6 hours, you’ve got a cold pitcher of iced tea! The flavor is even smoother than the standard method, with no hint of bitterness at all. Add a squeeze of lemon and this refreshing drink is perfect for afternoons — with about half the caffeine of a cup of coffee. Here’s how to do it!

What you need for cold brew tea

You might be surprised at how easy it is to make cold brew tea at home! There are only two ingredients required to make large pitcher of 8 servings. It’s a refreshing healthy drink that’s very low in calories! Alex and I love sipping on it in the afternoon slump time instead of cold brew coffee. Here’s what you’ll need to make it:

• 1 half gallon jar or 2 quart pitcher
• 8 cups water
• 12 black tea bags: Black tea is the best type of tea to use. While it does have caffeine, it’s only about half the caffeine level that’s in a cup of coffee.

How to make cold brew tea: basic steps

The instructions for cold brew tea are almost too simple to call a recipe! It takes 1 minute to put together, then 6 hours to steep. Here are the basic steps of how to make cold brew at home:

• Place the tea bags and water in the pitcher.
• Refrigerate 6 hours, or overnight: We found there was a slight improvement in flavor overnight, but it’s very slight. So you can go ahead and enjoy at the 6 hour mark!

Cold brew vs iced tea

How is the process for cold brew tea different from the standard iced tea? Here are the major differences:

• Iced tea is slightly more hands on, but quicker (2.5 hours). The classic iced tea recipe calls for stepping the tea for 5 minutes. Then you’ll add cold water and then refrigerate for 2 hours. It’s a little more hands on, but quicker overall.
• Cold brew is easier and has a smoother flavor. Cold brew tea is simpler, but takes a few more hours in the fridge (6 hours). But it’s worth it: you’ll notice that cold brew has a slightly smoother flavor than the classic iced tea.

Variation: cold brew sweet tea!

Want to make sweet tea? Sweet tea is a popular style of iced tea with sweetener added. It’s very popular in the Southern US and other countries like Indonesia. You can also use this cold brew tea method to make sweet tea: even though you don’t heat it! Simply stir in ⅓ cup sugar until it dissolves. This amount of sugar sweetens the tea just enough so that it accentuates the bold flavor of black tea, but not so much that it’s syrupy sweet.

Best way to serve cold brew iced tea

Of course, you can drink cold brew tea straight up! If you’re serving it for entertaining, we like to serve it in with a few extras to make it pop. To make it look its best, add the following to the pitcher or serving glass:

• Ice (use clear ice for a stunning presentation)
• Lemon slices or wedges (or squeeze a bit in)
• Fresh mint leaves

Or to get fancy, add lemonade and make it an Arnold Palmer! And that’s it: all you need to know about cold brew tea. Let us know if you make it in the comments below.

More tea & coffee recipes

Want more with tea? We’ve got lots more drinks and tasty tea recipes:

• Opt for a refreshing Iced Green Tea
• Grab a Lemon Iced Tea or Raspberry Iced Tea
• Try herbal teas like Thyme Tea, Mint Tea, Oregano Tea, Lemon Tea, Rosemary Tea, Ginger Tea, Lemon Ginger Tea, or Sage Tea
• Try this Iced Coffee or Cold Brew Coffee, perfect for summer drinking

01

Iced Green Tea

02

Lemon Ginger Tea

03

How to Make Tea

04

Raspberry Iced Tea

This cold brew tea recipe is…

Vegetarian, vegan, plant-based, dairy-free, sugar-free (base version), and gluten-free.

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