has anybody tried brewing tea with "cold" water? is it considered a bad practice? suitable with some kinds of tea? in korea i was once offered a glass of cold water with a tea bag and i was quite shocked. it was a very hot summer day.
by cold i mean of course not heated, i.e. water from a bottle on the room.
In the summer, I often brew tea leaves in room-temperature water. It takes longer than hot water, of course, and the taste and mouth feel of the liquor tends to be different: no astringency, less bitterness.
/Lew
i don't know, but, even if it is the refrigerator, isn't overnight a bit too much? i mean in terms of brewing quality, not bacteria as you point out.
i see. does any of you any preference regarding type of tea - leave, or it just does not matter?
The type of tea really doesn't matter, they can all be cold-brewed. Some very delicate teas will result in an extremely delicate brew which will only have a hint of the tea leaf's flavor but which can be very enjoyable. Some will brew almost as normal, and some will offer up a new/different result that can't be achieved through normal brewing.
brewing can take an hour or even hours not minutes, so overnight is not an issue.
- Dominic
I agree with Dominic. Teas basically behave the same when brewed in tepid water temperatures ie desirable flavors like catechins and oxidized tannins are released eventually by solubility without insoluble tannins that cause astringency. Many of us extract additional brews by infusing spent leaf all day.
Jim
I get the best results with delicate greens, but that may just be my palate. I think it's worth trying with pretty much all teas.
/Lew
The teas I've had most for iced tea are the Assams and the Assam descendants- Java, Ceylon, Nilgiri, and African. Toci
DrinksForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.