The Cold Brew Method of Making Iced Tea
Iced tea is normally brewed hot and then cooled with both air temperature and of course, ice. But, did you know that you don’t have to brew tea hot in order to make the tea? Cold brew tea is beginning to gain some traction in the marketplace, but it’s a style of brewing tea that has been done for quite some time, and is fairly easy to do!
The cold brew method reminds me of sun tea, since you’re just steeping tea in water for hours, but cold brew takes place in the refrigerator instead of the back porch. The heat in the brewing process results in bringing out the tannic, bitter flavors of tea but when you cold brew your tea, that bitter taste is removed, and you’re just left with a sipping tea that isn’t bitter in the slightest. This is a similar process to how cold brewed coffee is made and many believe the cold brewed coffee phenomenon may soon be moving to tea as well.
So, how do you make cold brewed iced tea? It’s actually pretty simple (much more simple than I thought it would be when I started researching for this article). Just combine loose-leaf tea or whole tea bags and water in a pitcher and let the tea infuse the water for 6 to 12 hours in the refrigerator. Strain, and you have cold-brew tea that will taste great for days! The process seems to work best with lose leaf tea, however, some companies are beginning to come out with a cold brewed option for food service at restaurants and convenience stores. One such company, Tiesta Tea, actually sells both lose leaf packets for home cold brewing and larger packets for foodservice cold brewing. Either way, it’s a different taste and twist on an old favorite and one that might just be coming to your favorite restaurant or convenience store.
A customer of ours is looking into using this type of cold brew tea in their stores, and they came to me to ask if they would still want to use the Saftea® Liners in their urns with this kind of tea to protect the tea and keep contaminants out. After researching with our Quality Control department we were able to determine that despite the absence of both the heat and the bitter tannic flavors, mold, bacteria and fungus can still grow. Therefore, if you’re going to start using cold brew tea in your stores or restaurants, using the Saftea® Liner is still the best way to make sure that tea is safe to drink. Try these liners risk free! Request your free samples of Saftea® Liner today! Ready to buy? For your convenience, Saftea® Liner can be purchased online by visiting our web store!
