Tuesday TeaDay 6/29/10 Cold brew it!

[Geekgirl]

now in my cup at work, Adagio's TKY from the Masters Series! Yummmmmmmmmmm.

aaaauughhh!!! * *

Um.. the question, yes, I have cold brewed iced tea. I like it especially for sencha, but I've done it with Bai Hao too, and really like it this way, except it takes a LONG time with a roasted tea and you have to use a LOT of tea. Seriously, like 2-3x more than you would use to hot-steep it. But it's really good this way, so if you have a bunch of bai hao or some other loose tea that's decent but you're never going to use, it's a good alternative.

[nickE]

I actually cold brew all the time. I generally will use blacks such as Ceylons or Assams. I throw some leaves & water in a big pitcher and stick it in the fridge overnight. The next morning I will decant and drink the result for the next 2-3 days.

Cold brewing definitely has a noticeable difference in taste when compared to hot brewed iced tea. It's mostly personal preference. I find that cold brewing makes the tea much more mellow and lacking in bitterness. However, some of the flavors that you get with hot brewing will not be present, so it's a trade-off.

I've not tried cold brewing sencha yet, maybe I will soon!

No tea yet today. Soon to be remedied!

[artmom]

Don't want cold or iced tea.

Formosa Ruby Black today. LOVE the big leaves. Tea is good, too.

[msmeghann82]

I love the smooth mellow taste of cold brewed teas. It works wonders for teas that are too astringent when hot brewed. I do hot brew occasionally when I just don't have the time (patience) to wait for the cold brew. Usually I'll use a tea I've brewed hot during the day for a cold brew. Works great with already opened leaves.

Damman Frere's Coquelicot Gourmand hot in my cup this evening. My how I love these french teas!

[Chip]

Hot brewed tastings of Shincha Gold from Maeda-en with the Mrs. and Shincha Sencha from Maiko.

Last up a tasting of Adagio's Masters TKY.

[entropyembrace]

Sae Midori from O-Cha and Den´s Houryoku today (going through my OTTI samples)

^_^

I only rarely cold brew...usually prefer hot tea.

[nickE]

Started off the day with Maiko's Kinari, then had a sampling of the Adagio MS AliShan (both OTTI )

Going now for a late night session with the '09 Ma Hei shengpu again. Trying to get a handle on this tea.

[bsteele]

Why yes, yes I have.

I've tried the ice cube method... though it was later in the evening and my ice didn't melt all the way.

Typically I just throw some leaves in a bottle with tap water... stick it in the fridge for several hours. Strain and repeat with the leaves a second time.

Mmmmm tasty.

Not drinking anything now, but all I've had today was Adagio's Yunnan Curls from the master's collection.

[Seeker]

Nope.
I'll listen and learn.

Just finished up my morning shincha (asatsuyu), then quaffed a nice puerh named 'trinity' from zen and tea.

[Seeker]

Hey Rob and John, what is mugicha? I've not heard of it before.

Also, since no one has posted any details, what are the various cold infusion methods? ie - how would I go about trying this? I'm curious about standard cold brewing as well as this 'ice cube' method that has been mentioned.

Thanks.
Cheers.

[nickE]

what is mugicha? I've not heard of it before.

Hey Seeker, Mugicha is Japanese barley tea. Lots of people drink it cold, as well as hot. I cold brew the stuff that Den's sells and it's pretty good. A very unique flavor.
http://www.denstea.com/index.php?main_p ... th=139_429

Also, since no one has posted any details, what are the various cold infusion methods? ie - how would I go about trying this? I'm curious about standard cold brewing as well as this 'ice cube' method that has been mentioned.

Personally, I use 1 tsp/8oz. ratio of leaf to water. For a black tea I generally will scoop 4 tsp. of tea into a pitcher, dump 32 oz. of cold water onto it, and leave it in the fridge overnight. You really can't oversteep when cold brewing, in fact you can reuse the leaves!

In regards to the ice cube method, I am clueless.

[Chip]

There is no right or wrong way, just whatever way works. I have room temp brewed as well.

Ice cube method, tea in, ice in, it is done when the ice is melted. I have seen vendor photos of doing this with a kyusu, but I would be a bit fearful of messing up the screen especially if it is sasame.

Mugicha or barley tea is a staple in some areas of Japan and Korea. I like it so much that I often roast my own barley for this really cheap and enjoyable cup.

There are no rules with it, I mix it sometimes with hme roasted genmai ... and have even had this in Korean restaurants.

[Robert Fornell]

Hey Rob and John, what is mugicha? I've not heard of it before.

Also, since no one has posted any details, what are the various cold infusion methods? ie - how would I go about trying this? I'm curious about standard cold brewing as well as this 'ice cube' method that has been mentioned.

Thanks.
Cheers.

Hi Seeker,

We brew mugi-cha in our house on the stove top (traditional Japanese method?) by bringing H20 to a boil in a kettle then remove it from the heat and toss in a bag of mugi-cha. Let it steep for 30 min or so then refridgerate..... Drink cold or on the rocks. Mugi-cha is quite inexpensive here, around $5 for 20 bags of fairly good quality tea.

Off to Tokyo tomorrow...... maybe I'll see Mr. Lum.

Best,
R

[cindyt]

Cold brew - I do it all the time, especially in this 90F weather.

My favorite for cold brew is Taiwanese oolong, especially the greener ones. I've also tried darjeeling and it works well too.

[TubbyCow]

Finally tried cold-brew mugicha thanks to this thread, and that is amazing. Sweet, delicious, refreshing. I just discovered my new favourite iced - thanks guys!

Den's is having a promo where if you buy 3+ packages of their cold-brew tea, you get a free iced tea teapot. Definitely going to have to snatch that one up.