Iced Green Tea - The Ultimate Guide

Here is the story behind my favorite green tea!

On a hot summer day, I was going back home sweaty, after playing basketball. My grandmother was waiting for me to give a full pitcher of green tea with lemon and mint. I still remember the moment the fresh flavor of the tea.

What is Iced Green Tea?

Iced green tea is a fantastic beverage to have when you're craving something cold, and revitalizing, and want to stay active!

What is Green Tea?

The leaves and buds of the Camellia sinensis are used to make green tea.

After the Camellia sinensis plant's leaves are harvested, they are then quickly heated—either by pan-firing or steaming—and dried to avoid excessive oxidation, which would turn the leaves brown and change their flavor from when they were first picked.

Isn’t it cool to hear the process?

To make iced green tea, you also need to know how to brew cold tea!

What is Cold Brewing?

The process of steeping tea leaves or coffee beans in cold water to extract flavor is known as cold brewing.

Cold brewing depends on time, as opposed to hot brewing, which uses heat to extract flavor. This is the reason why cold brewing usually takes longer than hot brewing.

Although some may find this inconvenient, there are several advantages to cold brewing that more than counterbalance the longer brewing time.

The Benefits of Iced Green Tea

• Less caffeine is extracted from the tea when it is brewed cold; using cold water results in a lower total caffeine content.
• Less bitter than　hot brewed tea — In addition to releasing less caffeine into the brew, cold brewing tea also releases fewer catechins and tannins, which contribute to the tea's reduced bitterness.
• Very simple to prepare—cold brewing requires less effort in preparation than hot brewing—making it ideal for novices. Using too-high temperatures when hot brewing poses a risk of scorching the delicate tea leaves and degrading the tea's quality (making it taste bitter). Cold brewing reduces this risk.

Ingredients and Substitutions In This Recipe

• Tea: You can use matcha powder, loose-leaf tea, matcha blends like Lemon Matcha or Hibiscus Matcha, or teabags of green tea kinds, such as green lemon tea for this.
• Water
• Ice: If you're making a quick cold brew.

Useful Equipment to have

You can easily make cold brewed green tea at home using the supplies you already have on hand.

The only equipment you'll need is a clean pitcher, bottle, or jar.

How to Make Iced Green Tea

Step 1

Adding the tea leaves

Depending on the type of tea and the format you intend to use (loose leaf, teabags, or powdered tea), there are different ratios for tea and water.

1. Tea leaves: Two tablespoons of tea leaves are needed for a 750 ml bottle and one tablespoon for a 300 ml bottle.
2. Matcha: If you want to add matcha to the tea leaf mixture, use one tsp for every 750ml bottle.
3. Matcha blends: Use 1 tablespoon for every 750 milliliter bottle of matcha blends, such as our Lemon Matcha and Hibiscus Matcha (1 tsp for every 8 ounces of water).
4. Tea bags: The ratios for teabags change depending on the kind of tea you're using. Check the instructions on your tea bag.

Step 2

Pour cold or room-temperature water into your bottle or container.

You can choose one way below,

1. If you are brewing on the go, add ice to about half of the container and top it off with water.
2. If you don't mind waiting, pour in as much cold or room-temperature water as possible, and let it brew in the fridge.

Step 3

After the water and tea leaves are in the bottle, cover it with the cap and shake or swirl the leaves gently to mix them up.

It only takes about 15 minutes to brew Japanese green teas quickly enough for serving (cold brew matcha is ready right away). To fully experience the flavor of your tea, flip the bottle upside down a few times before serving.

To enjoy your tea the next morning, you can also store it in the refrigerator for the entire night. Tea that has been cold-brewed can be refrigerated for up to three days.

You can also make your own cold-brew green tea infusions by combining cold-brewed tea with fruits or mint.

Variations

• You can taste and add more sugar, vanilla syrup, honey, maple syrup, or simple syrup if you like your drink sweeter.
• If you prefer a fruitier drink, You could make Peach Green Tea Lemonade. This is how to make it: It is demonstrated in two methods for making it: with peach juice or with fresh peaches.
• To make green tea lemonade, add a tablespoon of fresh lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of sweetener.

Tips and Notes

I will give you a trick for the cold brewing method!

Technically, this is a hybrid, primarily cold-brew methodology.

I give tea leaves a quick burst of slightly heated but not boiling water to get the leaves awake again. This process also releases some of the beneficial antioxidants from the tea leaves; in contrast, brewing tea cold (without adding hot water) has less antioxidant activity.

After about ten counts, rinse with cold water. This ends the heat, ensures a slow and smooth extraction, and guards against overcooking or overbrewing.

While cold and hot brew green teas are excellent on their own, this method is less vegetable!

FAQ

What Kinds of Green Tea Can Be Cold Brewed?

While any tea can be prepared cold, unfermented teas -like Japanese green tea- work best in this regard.

Their subtle flavor goes well with iced tea. Furthermore, compared to other teas, Japanese teas cold brew considerably faster. While most teas take 6 to 8 hours to become flavorful, Japanese teas become flavorful in just 15 to 20 minutes of brewing.

What are the fruits and herbs going well with Iced Green Tea?

As I mentioned Peach Green Tea Lemonade would be great. In addition, mints, honey, and lemon would be the most popular ones! You should try them out!