The cold brew thread!

Non-oxidized tea
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swordofmytriumph
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Location: Seattle, USA

Mon Sep 06, 2021 8:56 am

I’m back after a long hiatus from tea (a year and half!), and have a hankering for some cold brew sencha. I have some that’s been in my fridge for awhile, thought might be a good way to use it up.

I had a fabulous method of brewing it in a pitcher in the fridge overnight to drink in the morning, but alas, it has been so long since I’ve done it that I have forgotten what it was. I can’t remember the ratio I used, I remember though that it was either a lot less or a lot more compared to hot brewing.

So, I went to see if there was a thread for cold brew, and there isn’t, so thought I might as well start one :D

What are y’all’s fave cold brew methods, ratios, etc?
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mbanu
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Mon Sep 06, 2021 10:06 am

The most important first step is safety -- some types of tap water are not safe for use to make cold-brew tea: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf9801466

Edit*: Non-paywalled -- https://www.academia.edu/download/45692 ... p4w153.pdf
Last edited by mbanu on Tue Sep 07, 2021 2:27 am, edited 1 time in total.
swordofmytriumph
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Tue Sep 07, 2021 2:05 am

Oh wow good to know!
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debunix
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Thu Sep 23, 2021 11:26 pm

Hm. I'm not using instant tea powders, and much of the tea I drink cool or chilled is made with filtered, but some with tap water. It nearly all starts with hot water. I made a thread about sparkling teas I usually start hot and drink chilled and carbonated here.
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debunix
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Thu Jul 28, 2022 11:57 pm

Prompted by someone else making a topic about iced tea, I'm going to update what I am currently doing for chilled or cool teas lately. I start essentially all of them off in boiling water, and when I am at home I start the leaves with boiling water in an inexpensive porcelain gaiwan. After a few minutes, I pour the gaiwan contents, leaves and all, through a funnel into a water bottle or sparkling water bottle that already has a little cool water in it, so I minimize the risk of the hot water weakening the special sodastream bottles specifically and minimizing the hot water contact with the plastic of my other water bottles. Then I fill up with cool tap water, let all chill a few hours and take out to drink (or carbonate and drink) when hot and thirsty.

I usually set up a few bottles at once ahead of a hot day. Sometimes I've got 4 or 5 identical gaiwans on the go at once as I prep them while making and drinking my morning sencha.

I like a lot of light or green oolongs this way, many Korean Balhyochas and Taiwanese red oolongs, some low bitterness black teas, white teas (although these can get either boring or bitter easily and don't always come out right), and some green teas (Long Jing, An Ji Bai Cha, sencha, and Tai Ping Hou Kui are often good).

When prepping the leaf, you have to remember that the volume that counts is the total volume of the drinking vessel, and you won't be preparing multiple infusions--in that sense, it's more like drinking tea western style with little tea in a large pot and a long steep.

How much tea to use, how long to infuse, that becomes a matter of experience and preference. Keep in mind too-strong tea can often be saved by diluting it.
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TeaGrove
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Sat Jul 30, 2022 7:29 am

I've just been doing kori dashi on really hot days. There's less control but if you like drinking grandpa style then it's not a bad method for days when putting the kettle on is downright antisocial.
koridashi.jpg
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pedant
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Thu Aug 04, 2022 12:49 am

mbanu wrote:
Mon Sep 06, 2021 10:06 am
The most important first step is safety -- some types of tap water are not safe for use to make cold-brew tea: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf9801466

Edit*: Non-paywalled -- https://www.academia.edu/download/45692 ... p4w153.pdf
interesting. never heard of DBPs before. thanks for sharing!
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