Category: Articles

Cold Brew Nation

Demand has been increasing for these “ready-to-drink” beverages, as they embrace the spirit of efficiency without ever sacrificing flavor. It is no wonder that Oliver Strand stated in The New York Times “The United States is becoming a cold brew nation.” – so why not do so with tea?

Cold steeped teas are perfect for home and office as the method brings you the ideal refreshing ice cold tea every time. While hot and room temperature teas would melt your ice to some degree, refrigerated cold steeped tea will not immediately melt your ice, giving you the perfect iced tea just in time for lunch. Tea takes a while to steep; this is just longer and in preparation for the next day. Therefore, it gives you something to look forward to.

Why Cold-Steep?

Cold brewed tea, or more accurately cold steeped tea, is a great alternative to preparing delicate teas. White, green, and Oolong teas are picked from the youngest of leaves, and therefore are easily affected by hot temperatures. The cold-steeping process is a great way to extract and maximize all flavor, and unlike steeping in hot water, is gentle with the delicate leaves.

When you traditionally brew or steep coffee or tea in hot water, the naturally occurring oils and caffeine are activated, releasing the more bitter and astringent flavors of the plants. However, when you cold brew coffee or cold steep tea, the oils never “cook”, therefore you don’t get that “robust roasted” flavor. In its place, you get fuller and more naturally sweet tastes in your coffee and tea. Refreshing cold steeped tea is easy to make, as it uses the same process and equipment as cold brew coffee.

Cold Steep with Summit Tea

We would like to show you three different ways in which to cold steep the most delicate of our premium teas. But first, are some factors to consider before cold brewing the perfect glass of tea. Of course, this is just how we make it at Summit Headquarters, so feel free to experiment using different amounts of tea and time to your personal preferences.

White Tea– Classic Method

White tea leaves are the youngest and most delicate of the tea leaf life cycle. These leaves are especially susceptible to hot temperatures. Therefore, when we cold steep white teas, we are not only extracting their delicate flavors, but we are also making the most out of caring for the young leaves.

We used the Classic Steeping method for our white tea. First, we added our Rose Silver Needle Tea to one of Summit’s Drawstring Bags. Then, we filled a glass jar with cold filtered water and added our bag of tea and sealed it – just as if we were brewing a regular hot cup of tea. With white tea being so delicate, we allowed it to steep in the fridge on the lower end of the cold steeping spectrum at 12 hours. Finally, remove the bag and it’s ready to serve, or place the lid back on and save it for later.

Oolong Tea – Decanter Method

Oolong green teas are are beautiful to watch unravel. When picked, these leaves go through a clumping process that produces long rolled tea leaves. Therefore, when we cold steep Oolong teas, especially Oolong Blends, in clear decanters, we can appreciate their uniqueness as we extract their flavors.

We used the Decanter method for our Oolong tea. First, we added our Passion Oolong Tea to one of Summit’s Double Walled Glass Tea Tumblers. Then, we added cold filtered water, to almost the top of the container, placed the tea-strainer lid, and carefully filled the rest with water, finally sealing the tumbler. With Oolong tea being so flavorful we allowed it to steep in the fridge on the mid range of the cold steeping spectrum at 14 hours. After, we appreciated the leaves and poured into a glass.

Green Tea – Concentrate Method

Green teas are the most popular because of their health benefits. However, many people do not enjoy drinking green teas because when they are not brewed just right, they can be bitter. Cold steeping is a way to obtain all the benefits and flavors of green tea, without all the bitterness.

We used the concentrate method for our green tea. This method works to create a concentrate of tea that you can dilute with ice or water over time. This is especially useful for coffee and tea shops that serve larger quantities of iced tea per day.

First, we added twice the usual amount of our Green Mountain Thunder Tea to one of Summit’s Drawstring Bags. Then, we filled a 16 oz glass jar with cold filtered water and added our bag of tea and sealed it. Since we enjoy the dewy taste of green tea, we allowed it to steep in the fridge on the high range of the cold steeping spectrum at 16 hours. Then, we filled a 32 oz glass with about 12 oz of ice. Finally, we poured our green tea concentrate in with the ice to yield us two cups of iced tea at the end of the day.