Cold-Brewed Tea In Just Minutes

Cold-brewing Sencha in a glass at room temperature

What’s cold-brewed tea? And how is it different from iced tea? The main difference involves temperature. Cold-brewed tea is the steeping of tea in cold or room temperature drinking water for an extensive period of time, while iced tea is hot tea that is then cooled down. The flavours in cold-brewed tea are mainly extracted not with temperature but with time.

Why Cold-Brew Tea?

• Less bitterness and astringency: Studies have shown that polyphenols and caffeine, the two key compounds in tea will take longer to dissolve in water if at low temperature. Due to the leaves not steeped in hot water, significantly lower level of polyphenols and caffeine will be extracted leaving a sweeter and smoother cup of tea.
• A full-body ‘iced tea’: As cold-brewed tea is already cold or cool, there is no need to top it up with ice. Therefore, every sip of your cold-brewed tea will be real tea and not diluted tea.
• Rediscovering your tea: Brewing your tea cold or at room temperature instead of hot will produce a very different chemical profile for your cup of tea. In general, you will find cold-brewed tea more refreshing and cleaner tasting.

Brewing It the Conventional Way

1. Add 1 heaped teaspoon of loose leaf tea (or 1 tea bag) to a container.
2. Pour 240 ml or 8 oz of cold or room temperature drinking water over the tea leaves.
3. Refrigerate (= Wait!!) for 2–8 hours. It is suggested to keep in the fridge to prevent the forming of bacteria.
4. Strain and serve.

The Qi Aerista Way

With Qi Aerista, cold-brewed tea will be ready in minutes and NOT hours!

1. Add 1 heaped teaspoon of loose leaf tea (or 1 tea bag) to the infuser.

3. Select tea type — “Cold Brewing”.

4. Select strength — “Light” (8 mins), “Medium” (10 mins) or ”Strong” (12 mins).

5. Press “Brew”.

Left: Cold-brewing Sencha in Qi Aerista for 8 mins; Right: Cold-brewing Sencha at room temperature for 20 mins

Left: Second infusion of Sencha from Qi Aerista; Right: Third infusion of Sencha from Qi Aerista

Here, we are only demonstrating cold-brewing of Sencha, but definitely you can cold-brew any types of tea. With Qi Aerista, you don’t have to wait for hours before you can enjoy a cup of naturally sweet, smooth and refreshing cold-brewed tea!

Join the Qi Aerista Community Today!

Qi Aerista, the revolutionary smart tea maker, will be launching on Kickstarter on Nov 15. Don’t miss the 50% off early bird specials by signing up at www.qi-aerista.com today! Also, join our Facebook Supporter Group and be a part of the growing Qi Aerista tea lover community!