Cold Brew Tea: What It Is & How to Make It Properly

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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.

Bottles of cold brewed tea.

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What is 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: Raspberry Iced Tea

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.

RELATEAD: Cold Brew Green Tea with Fresh Mint

Ingredient Notes

Cold brew iced tea ingredients.
  • 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.

My Glass Container Pick

In the summer, I fill these Weck jars with all different kinds of iced tea.
View Recipe

Step-by-Step Instructions

Tea leaves in a glass container.

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.

Straining tea leaves into a glass container.

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. It can taste bitter if not made properly so always check brewing guides. Black tea, oolong tea, and herbal teas are the easiest to brew since it’s harder to mess up and should be cold brewed for 12 hours.
  • Instead using a strainer, the easiest way to cold brew tea is in a cold brew maker since you can just take out the infuser instead of straining the tea into another container.
  • 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.

Questions You May Have

Is there caffeine in cold brew tea?

Unless it’s an herbal tea, there’s caffeine in cold brewed tea. There’s less caffeine in a cold brew tea (about half) than tea steeped in hot water.

Can I cold brew any kind of tea?

Yes!

How long can I keep cold brewed tea in the refrigerator?

Up to 4 days. After that, it loses quality and starts tasting off.

Why should I use loose tea instead of tea bags?

Cold brew made from loose tea is so much better and more flavorful since loose tea is a much higher quality tea. Tea sachets are great for cold brewing too.

What’s the best way to sweeten cold brew tea?

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.

Conversion Chart

TO MAKEWATERTEA
1 serving1 cup1.5 teaspoons loose tea or 1 tea sachet
2 servings2 cups1 tablespoon loose tea or 2 tea sachets
4 servings4 cups
(1 quart)
2 tablespoons loose tea or 4 tea sachets
8 servings8 cups
(2 quarts)
4 tablespoons loose tea or 8 tea sachets
Cold brewed tea in glass bottles.

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4.71 from 98 votes

Easy Cold Brew Iced Tea

By: Jee Choe
How to make the best iced tea — cold brew it! Super easy and refreshing.
Prep Time: 2 minutes
Total Time: 12 hours 2 minutes
Yield: 2 servings

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

Cold Brewing Guide

  • TEA: 1 ½ teaspoons loose tea or 1 tea sachet or 1 tea bag
  • WATER: 1 cup (8 oz.)
  • WATER TEMPERATURE: Cold water
  • STEEP TIME: 6-12 hours in the refrigerator depending on the type of tea

Cold Brew Time

  • White tea: 6 hours
  • Green tea: 3-6 hours
  • Oolong tea: 12 hours
  • Black tea: 12 hours
  • Herbal tea: 12 hours

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. It can taste bitter if not made properly so always check brewing guides. Black tea, oolong tea, and herbal teas are the easiest to brew since it’s harder to mess up and should be cold brewed for 12 hours.
  • Instead using a strainer, the easiest way to cold brew tea is in a cold brew maker since you can just take out the infuser instead of straining the tea into another container.
  • 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.

Nutrition

Calories: 1Carbohydrates: 1gSodium: 12mgCalcium: 7mg

Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.

Additional Info

Course: Drinks
Cuisine: American
Tried this recipe?Mention @ohhowcivilized or tag #ohhowcivilized!

About Jee Choe

Welcome! I'm a certified Tea Sommelier and a self-proclaimed bubble tea and iced tea master. I'm all about making tea EASY and DELICIOUS.

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71 Comments

  1. I was wondering if its possible to make cold tea like cold brew coffee where I still add my milk and sugar? I love my orange pekoe tea but its just getting a bit warm for it. Any suggestion?

    1. Hi Lucky, I would start with 1 flowering tea to 1 cup of water — the same as how you would brew it hot.

    1. Hi Ratanpriya, you can definitely reuse the tea leaves. I usually use it once more and cold brew it for 15-24 hours instead of the usual 12 hours.

  2. Does it matter what kind of glass container I use as long as it’s glass? And thank you for the recipes!

    1. Hi Anna Marie, doesn’t matter what kind of glass container. You can use any glass container you have!

  3. Hai Lee, thank you for your helpful information about cold brew tea.
    actually I’m just wondering if I mix the kinds of tea like chamomile and earl grey (e.g) will the tea loose the benefits? as we know tea has its own benefit.
    thank you.

    1. Hi Fransiskus, by mixing teas, it won’t cancel the other out and instead, you’ll get the benefit of both.

  4. what is the weight in grams of 1.5 teaspoons of loose tea? Very difficult to measure large loose leaf green tea? Would be much more accurate to put in weight in grams.

    1. Hi Dani, it is difficult to measure large loose green tea. I would put in 5 grams if you’re using a scale. I don’t usually put in information by weight since not a lot of people have tea scales at home.

  5. Hi, Jee,

    If I plan to make a milk tea, how much more extra tea per cup should I use so as not to dilute the flavor?

    1. Hi Olivia, I like to use hot brewed tea then cool it down when it comes to milk tea, but if you want to make it cold brewed, use double the amount of tea, so 1 tablespoon for 1 cup of water.

  6. Hi Jee,

    I live in the Netherlands, where the tap water quality is much better than in some other countries (I feel like the water in the USA has a very strong chloride taste, for instance). To me, the taste of our tap water is similar to that of bottled water. I believe the amount of calcium is higher in tap water though.

    Would you still recommend filtering water in my situation?

    1. Hi Jitske, if the quality of your tap water is excellent, no need to use filtered!

  7. I purchased a GLASS ICED TEA JUG WITH BASKET INFUSER, 68 OZ. and the tea leaves constantly leak through the strainer, is this normal?
    I also use the ratio recommended and the tea seems too weak?

    1. Hi Melissa, sorry to hear you’re having problems with the tea jug. The leaves definitely should not be leaking through the strainer although if they’re super tiny, they may, but that shouldn’t be an issue. If the cold brew seems too weak, I would make it stronger by adding 2 teaspoons or 1 tablespoon of tea per cup, especially if you add ice to it which will dilute it.