Cold brew tea...

[CANES]

Not having much luck with black tea and cold brewing. Seems it stays pretty flat tasting and doesn't get a good rich color no matter how long I let it steep. I've been doing 32g of tea in about a quart of water to make a concentrate and then filling up my gallon (4 quart) pitcher with extra water to get the ratio. This is with loose leaf- Normally Keemun or Assam- but even tea bags of Luzianne just make a poor brew for some reason. To get anything drinkable, I now just go back to brewing it hot and then sticking it in the fridge.

I use the same cold brew ratio with green teas- usually Sencha- and steep for about 5-6 hours and it works out really well.

Matcha is the easiest. Add a couple teaspoons to a travel mug, water, ice and shake. Because of the simplicity, that'll probably be what I wind up doing the most. I stick with the culinary matcha for that. Too cheap to waste the good stuff.

Any help with the black teas, especially? Should I try a different ratio? When I had bad brews with the Assam, I added more tea the next time and steeped a good 12 hours and it became noticeably bitter.

 

[Ad Astra]

Not even Luzianne cold brew? I drink a ton of the stuff, sometimes even if it's still brewing.

An excellent book I read about tea suggests that Nilgiri makes the best iced tea...

Nilgiri tea - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Chemically, Nilgiri tea has been shown to be higher in Quinic acid and lower in tannins than other black teas.[13][8]

Nilgiri tea is particularly useful for making iced tea since it retains its clarity as it cools, whereas other black teas will often become cloudy.[2] Global commercial brands, such as Nestea, utilize Nilgiri tea in their iced tea products that use real tea.[16]

AA

 

[CANES]

Not even Luzianne cold brew? I drink a ton of the stuff, sometimes even if it's still brewing.

Yeah, it's easily the best tea from a grocery store for my tastes. I buy the small 100 pack to brew it hot in a mug, also. 16 bags for a gallon pitcher of iced. My largest Yixing pot has been dedicated to Luzianne, believe it or not.

I'm thinking that my palate is just used to the bitterness of brewing hot. That's why the majority of the time cold brewing blacks come off as weak or flat. That Assam I mentioned above came off as a different type of bitter when I added more tea. Whatever happened there made it worse tasting than the flat taste. I'll just chalk it up to my tastes not working with cold brewing black tea.

Every time I think I've tried just about every type of tea possible, something like Nilgiri pops up and I'm mistaken. I can't remember trying it at least. Thanks for the rec. I might be able to find some today.

 

[Ad Astra]

Yeah, it's easily the best tea from a grocery store for my tastes. I buy the small 100 pack to brew it hot in a mug, also. 16 bags for a gallon pitcher of iced. My largest Yixing pot has been dedicated to Luzianne, believe it or not.

I'm thinking that my palate is just used to the bitterness of brewing hot. That's why the majority of the time cold brewing blacks come off as weak or flat. That Assam I mentioned above came off as a different type of bitter when I added more tea. Whatever happened there made it worse tasting than the flat taste. I'll just chalk it up to my tastes not working with cold brewing black tea.

Every time I think I've tried just about every type of tea possible, something like Nilgiri pops up and I'm mistaken. I can't remember trying it at least. Thanks for the rec. I might be able to find some today.

Can't remember where I got my Nilgiri, and I used it all up!

Bitter to me always means I broke the "4-minute brew" rule. Some of them really turn bitter after 4 minutes. You want it dark, but it's helpful to time and toss that tea .... I learned from our Scottish friends, who drink Harrod's store black tea nonstop. I was convinced they were throwing away teabags that were still good, but no. Electric kettle, and a little doohickey that drops saccharine tablets with a little click-click. In America, we-all think saccharine causes cancer, but that's an old study and disproved. It's not better or worse than other fake sugars.

Good tea, however, really (to me) needs no sugar. And milk makes tea a whole 'nother drink. Ideal for older/diabetic/blood sugar probs ... does trump coffee as a choice, though I hate to say it.


AA

edit: a good read:

https://www.amazon.com/Story-Tea-Cultural-History-Drinking/dp/1580087450/ref=asc_df_1580087450?tag=bngsmtphsnus-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=79989588515105&hvnetw=s&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583589115514153&psc=1

Cheaper on the bay

 

[OkieStubble]

Not having much luck with black tea and cold brewing. Seems it stays pretty flat tasting and doesn't get a good rich color no matter how long I let it steep. I've been doing 32g of tea in about a quart of water to make a concentrate and then filling up my gallon (4 quart) pitcher with extra water to get the ratio. This is with loose leaf- Normally Keemun or Assam- but even tea bags of Luzianne just make a poor brew for some reason. To get anything drinkable, I now just go back to brewing it hot and then sticking it in the fridge.

I use the same cold brew ratio with green teas- usually Sencha- and steep for about 5-6 hours and it works out really well.

Matcha is the easiest. Add a couple teaspoons to a travel mug, water, ice and shake. Because of the simplicity, that'll probably be what I wind up doing the most. I stick with the culinary matcha for that. Too cheap to waste the good stuff.

Any help with the black teas, especially? Should I try a different ratio? When I had bad brews with the Assam, I added more tea the next time and steeped a good 12 hours and it became noticeably bitter.

Culinary Matcha? Got any pics of a brand I can see? Is there a caffeine free Matcha?

I can’t see black tea being cold brewed and not ending up bitter. My wife has a iced tea maker, but it just brews a large picture of hot tea and the it’s put into the fridge.

However, I do notice, that when the hot tea goes into the fridge, it is much lighter in color? Almost see thru. But when it comes out cold, it’s really dark colored. It sure looks like a cold brewed tea once it gets cold?

 

[CANES]

Culinary Matcha? Got any pics of a brand I can see? Is there a caffeine free Matcha?

I can’t see black tea being cold brewed and not ending up bitter. My wife has a iced tea maker, but it just brews a large picture of hot tea and the it’s put into the fridge.

However, I do notice, that when the hot tea goes into the fridge, it is much lighter in color? Almost see thru. But when it comes out cold, it’s really dark colored. It sure looks like a cold brewed tea once it gets cold?

Have never seen a decaf Matcha. Walmart has culinary matcha. I think the brand is Carrington. Big bag for less than 10 bucks compared to Ceremonial grade that runs about 20 bucks an ounce. Culinary is a second or third picking of the tea plant and after the shade is taken away from the first "ceremonial grade" picking, so the color of the matcha isn't as vibrant green and it's a bit more bitter. Overall, the antioxidant benefits don't change much though and even the culinary grade is much higher in antioxidants compared to high quality non-matcha green tea. That's because you're consuming the whole leaf. Pretty interesting stuff, huh?

 

[OkieStubble]

Have never seen a decaf Matcha. Walmart has culinary matcha. I think the brand is Carrington. Big bag for less than 10 bucks compared to Ceremonial grade that runs about 20 bucks an ounce. Culinary is a second or third picking of the tea plant and after the shade is taken away from the first "ceremonial grade" picking, so the color of the matcha isn't as vibrant green and it's a bit more bitter. Overall, the antioxidant benefits don't change much though and even the culinary grade is much higher in antioxidants compared to high quality non-matcha green tea. That's because you're consuming the whole leaf. Pretty interesting stuff, huh?

It is interesting. I found a decaffeinated green tea at Whole Foods called Allegro. I drink it hot with a touch of honey for the antioxidants. Matcha’s antioxidant power is unmatched. I sure wish I could get it de-caf. That would be perfect for me.

 

[CANES]

It is interesting. I found a decaffeinated green tea at Whole Foods called Allegro. I drink it hot with a touch of honey for the antioxidants. Matcha’s antioxidant power is unmatched. I sure wish I could get it de-caf. That would be perfect for me.

Yeah I know what you mean brother. I hadn't gone cold turkey with the caffeine in coffee yet but that's the end game. If I ever finish up my stock of beans, it'll be decaf from then on out. Harder to do that with tea because of the limited options.

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

At a cold brew tea demo at Sensoji Temple in Tokyo, the #1 green tea company in Japan had a hands on demo discussing cold brewed tea. They showed that bitter tea tannins extract at high temperatures, but the caffeine and polyphenols extract at lower temps. Thus cold brewed teas are "smoother" than traditional hot brewed teas.

I could see how "black" tea may be missing something as the tannins make them "bracing"

 

[ErkRusselReserve]

Have never seen a decaf Matcha. Walmart has culinary matcha. I think the brand is Carrington. Big bag for less than 10 bucks compared to Ceremonial grade that runs about 20 bucks an ounce. Culinary is a second or third picking of the tea plant and after the shade is taken away from the first "ceremonial grade" picking, so the color of the matcha isn't as vibrant green and it's a bit more bitter. Overall, the antioxidant benefits don't change much though and even the culinary grade is much higher in antioxidants compared to high quality non-matcha green tea. That's because you're consuming the whole leaf. Pretty interesting stuff, huh?

Life is too short for bad matcha. Go all in!

The lower grade stuff is for ice cream and Disney Sea popcorn!

 

[Wgg2017]

In the last few months I've tried hot brew tea, cold brew tea, and sun brewed tea (no sugar in any of them). My observations are similar to yours in that the hot brewed tea had the most flavor and the cold brew tea was so mild that I added double the amount of tea on the second batch but it still didn't match the flavor of the hot version and also had too much caffeine as well.

The best I made was the sun brewed tea. To make it, take the normal amount of tea and water you'd use for hot brew, place it in a glass pitcher, and set it in direct sunlight for 4-6 hours. Great, flavorful, and very refreshing. Take care to wipe any bugs off the outside of your pitcher when you bring it back inside

Edited to add: The tea I was using for hot, cold, and sun brewed was inexpensive supermarket tea bags. I've enjoyed loose leaf tea in the past but generally don't use that for the iced tea I drink. Maybe I should reconsider that.

 

[sidpost]

With the Decaf comments, or more aptly caffeine avoidance comments, is it really that bad for you? Are you super sensitive to it?

I say this as someone with high blood pressure. With my Italian Espresso machine and good Italian coffee, I can also say I drank enough at one time occasionally to cause heart palpitations!

 

[luvmysuper]

I don't have good success rates with any cold brewing method.
For me, hot brewing is easy and provides the flavors that I am looking for in a tea, whether that is traditional southern sweet iced tea or a cup of Assam with cream and sugar.

 

[sidpost]

Sun Tea works well for me with something like Luzianne Quart tea bags. YMMV, especially if you live somewhere other than I.

Cold Brew coffee and I get along well with a cold brew jug when left in the fridge for a day or two.