Cold-brewing at room temperature

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LuckyMe
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Mon Jul 08, 2019 11:50 am

Being the impatient type, recently I've restored to steeping my tea at room temperature for a couple of hours and then pouring it over ice. I'm quite happy with the results. It tastes like cold brew but ready in a fraction of the time it would take to cold brew in the fridge. Was curious to see if anyone else steeps their tea this way?
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debunix
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Mon Jul 08, 2019 2:55 pm

What I often do when I want cool-brewed tea on the road is cover the tea leaves with hot water, give it 1-10 minutes (depends on the degree of rush to get out the door), and then fill my bottle or thermos with cool water from the tap (I'm rarely prepared with cold water from the referigerator). By the time I'm ready to drink it, 30 minutes to 12 hours later, it is ready to enjoy. I think of this 'hot start' as opening up the leaf so that the infusion can more rapidly complete with cooler water. It seems to work better than adding cool water to dry leaf.

I do this for airplane trips too, by just wetting the leaves with enough hot water for them to absorb--just enough so there is not any free water to slosh or drip around to trigger security issues--a few wet leaves in the bottom of my otherwise clearly empty water bottles have not triggered any issues.
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Victoria
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Mon Jul 08, 2019 6:59 pm

Actually, cold brewing high quality gyokuro and or sencha with ice cubes takes just +- 30 minutes. Basically, the time it takes ice cubes to melt. Delicious;
viewtopic.php?p=6664#p6664
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viewtopic.php?p=14357#p14357

With medium grade greens, making a strong brew with hot water and then pouring that over ice works nicely also;
+-8g of medium grade green leaves into kyusu, add 200ml water at 175f. Steep 2-3 minutes. Pour over ice cubes.
t-curious
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Mon Jul 08, 2019 7:47 pm

Victoria wrote:
Mon Jul 08, 2019 6:59 pm
Actually, cold brewing high quality gyokuro and or sencha with ice cubes takes just +- 30 minutes. Basically, the time it takes ice cubes to melt. Delicious;
viewtopic.php?p=6664#p6664
Victoria, do you use the leaves for a 2nd or 3rd brew with this method?
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Victoria
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Mon Jul 08, 2019 7:48 pm

@t-curious I have only used them for one cold ice cube steep, but you can try a second and see how it goes. I think rather than discard leaves after the first steep, I did an extended cool brew in the refrigerator for a second steep. I have only tried ice cube method with Japanese gyokuro and high quality sencha.
gatmcm
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Tue Jul 23, 2019 8:14 am

I finish my sencha sessions by pouring in room temp water and having it a few hours later, can be repeated but i usually dont go past a couple, have it in the morning hot then after lunch and mid-afternoon cold, some teas work better than others, so far the best for this treatment has been sae midori, both the 20th aniversary and the regular kind from ocha, really highlights the sweetness and freshness.
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