Cold Brew Tea (Viral Tea Sommelier’s Original Recipe)
Updated Jan 13, 2021
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The secret to making the best iced tea is to cold brew it, steeping tea in cold water for a few hours. Get tips and step-by-step directions on how to make refreshing cold brew tea at home from a Tea Sommelier.
Cold Brew Tea
Cold brewing is a slow and gentle process where tea steeps in water for hours in the refrigerator. The method makes absolutely the best iced tea. It’s also the easiest way to make iced tea, but it does take several hours.
Cold brewing makes a sweeter, smoother tasting tea since tannins, which make tea bitter, aren’t steeped out of the tea in cold water the way it does in hot water.
This means no more bitter iced tea! Because cold brewing doesn’t involve hot water, it’s perfect to make in the hot summer months.
RELATED: 14 Cold Brew Tea Recipes
Note from Jee
Summer means cold brew tea season! I always have at least 2 jars cold brew teas going at all times, sometimes just tea, and sometimes with tea and fruit, using my cold brew tea formula. (Here are all the cold brewed teas from last summer.)
My favorite to cold brew are black teas since they’re so easy and forgiving. Even if I accidentally leave them to steep in the refrigerator for more than 2 days, they don’t get bitter!
Recipe Highlights
- A mostly hands-off recipe, this refreshing cold brew tea takes just 2 minutes to prepare at home.
- Find expert tips on how to cold brew tea that’s smooth and sweet instead of bitter.
- Learn how to perfectly cold brew any type of tea, including black tea, green tea, and herbal tea.
Ingredient Notes
- Loose tea or tea sachets: Any and all kinds of tea can be cold brewed.
- Water: Use filtered water for a better tasting cold brewed tea.
For full ingredients and detailed instructions, please see the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Glass Jars I Use
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Put tea and water in a pitcher or glass container. Cover and place in refrigerator to cold brew.
Use cool or room temperature filtered water. No need to boil any water to make cold brew tea.
Step 2: Strain out tea leaves. Use a mesh strainer if using loose tea or just take out the tea sachets or tea bags.
Expert Tips
- Ice is optional since the tea is already chilled, but add ice to keep it colder for longer.
- Not all tea is cold brewed for the same amount of time. Green tea in general is trickier to cold brew. Black tea, oolong tea, and herbal teas should be cold brewed for 12 hours and green tea should be cold brewed for 3-6 hours.
- If you want to sweeten your iced tea, use simple syrup. It’ll be the easiest to incorporate into your tea since it’s liquid. Also try flavored simple syrups to sweeten and flavor your iced tea.
- Make and store your tea in glass containers. Plastic tends to stain and leave behind odors.
- Keep cold brewed tea in constant rotation by starting a new brew 1-2 days after starting the first.
- Cold brewed tea can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
Conversion Chart
| TO MAKE | WATER | TEA |
| 1 serving | 1 cup | 1.5 teaspoons loose tea or 1 tea sachet/bag |
| 2 servings | 2 cups | 1 tablespoon loose tea or 2 tea sachets/bags |
| 4 servings | 4 cups (1 quart) | 2 tablespoons loose tea or 4 tea sachets/bags |
| 8 servings | 8 cups (2 quarts) | 4 tablespoons loose tea or 8 tea sachets/bags |
Related
- Strawberry Cold Brew Hibiscus Tea
- Peach Cold Brew Oolong Tea
- Watermelon Cold Brew Tea
- Pineapple Ginger Cold Brew Tea
- Raspberry Mint Cold Brew Green Tea
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Cold Brew Tea (Tea Sommelier’s Viral Recipe)
Ingredients
- 2 cups water
- 1 tablespoon loose tea, or 2 tea sachets or tea bags
Instructions
- Put tea and water in a pitcher or glass container. Cover pitcher and put in refrigerator for at least 12 hours.Use cool or room temperature filtered water. No need to boil any water to make cold brew tea. Use filtered water for the best tasting cold brewed tea.
- Strain out tea leaves.Use a mesh strainer if using loose tea or just take out the tea sachets or tea bags.
Video
Notes
- Ice is optional since the tea is already chilled, but add ice to keep it colder for longer.
- Make and store your tea in glass containers. Plastic tends to stain and leave behind odors.
- Keep cold brewed tea in constant rotation by starting a new brew 1-2 days after starting the first.
- Cold brewed tea can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days.
- White tea: 12 hours
- Green tea: 3-6 hours
- Oolong tea: 12 hours
- Black tea: 12 hours
- Herbal tea: 12 hours
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Cold brew black iced tea recipe yields the best-tasting and most refreshing iced tea! Thank you!
Hi Jee,
I’m making your amazing cold brew, limonade en iced coffee recipes like crazy. Fave so far is the Arnold palmer (incl the green tea mint cold brew with fresh limonade combo).
I just put a cold brew with hibiscus and mint in the fridge for an overnight brewing. I want to make a cold brew oolong with bergamot mint (I have a very strong plant in my garden 😉 ) or some ginger? I’m searching for the right amount to add especially with the ginger? Like a 1cm crushed per cup?
Anyway, you make my summer a lot better to handle with your fantastic recipes.
Hi Daphne, I would start with a 1/2 inch of thinly sliced or grated ginger and see how it turns out and adjust from there. For the bergamot mint, crush or tear a 4-6 leaves as a starting point.
Thanx!! I’m gonna try that
Hey there I wanted to make herbal green tea using G. Tea w\Jasmine,dried lemon and mint sachets( everything is sachet unfortunately I can’t afford anything else)
Because of the different steeping time I thought I could throw it all in and take the green tea out while still leaving in herbs do you think this could work?
Hi Fenris, yup, that would work!
Recipe is fantastic. You might want to check the price of the Weck jars at Weck before buying at Williams-Sonoma.
That sounds so easy! Where did you get those glasses where you made the tea in? They look like the perfect size for storing in the fridge.
Hi Miranda, it is easy! They’re Weck glasses: https://rstyle.me/+t_fii9_WQRGMTx1LBoz19Q
Is cold brew better tasting than sun tea? I recently discovered that I wasn’t doing sun tea wrong, but that I just don’t like it. It has a flavor that makes me think of hay.
Hi Kristi, I personally think cold brewing tea tastes the best, much better than sun tea.
My copy cat Starbucks iced green tea recipe uses 3 Prince of Peace tea bags and 1 Bigelow Plantation Mint bag. I’ve never heard of Weck before, those jars look great, thx for the tip!
Hi, great article, just led me to buying a cold brew tea maker, 🙂 can’t think why I haven’t heard of these before.
Can I ask if you can steep the tea more than once when using this method? I drink organic oolong ( way too expensive ) and always steep 3-4 times when making hot tea.
I am also thinking of mixing my oolong with my herbal lemon & ginger tea, would you suggest making up two seperate teas and mixing in the glass or is it possible/better to combine before brewing?
Hi Jules, you definitely can steep tea more than once but just steep it for longer than the first time by adding a couple of hours and giving it a taste. As for mixing oolong and herbal and ginger tea, I would make it separate at first to figure out the best ratio of each tea then once you’re happy with the ratio, combine it before brewing.
I drink “way too expensive” teas as well, using multiple infusions, and I’ve found that in many cases I can cold brew those leftover leaves with decent results. As a starting point, I usually brew hot tea using 4-8 g, depending on variety, then cold brew those leaves with about 500 ml of water for a few hours to overnight. It really depends on the tea but it’s a nice way to get the most out of those expensive teas.
I also cold brew cheaper teas from scratch and usually get at least two good rounds out of 8-10 g/liter – sometimes 3
Nice recipe, a bit curious, if sencha should be brewed only 3 hours, should we also brew other green tea like Long Jing Tea or other chinese green tea for 3 hours in refrigerator?
Thanks
Hi Daniel, great question! Sencha is steamed in the tea making process so it’s more delicate than Long Jing which is pan-fried instead of steamed. Long Jing is heartier so it’s best to cold brew it for longer.