Finally – I brewed my first liter of cold brewed iced tea of the season! I picked this one to start off with because I always enjoyed Snapple Peach iced tea, but now find it much too sweet. I also loved the peach flavor of this hot, but found the tea base a little rough sans additions, and did not find the idea of adding milk to this appetizing.
I let it steep about 15 hours in the refrigerator, added 4 teaspoons of simple syrup, and YUM! It’s delicious, refreshing, and the cold brew took care of the astringency/bitterness issues I was having with the hot tea.
(Note about cold brewing: I usually save the teas that are too strong/bitter for my liking for cold brewing. If you love a tea exactly as it is hot, you will probably have better luck hot brewing double strength and icing rather than cold brewing – you may find the cold brew too weak. For example – I love Golden Monkey iced, but I’d never cold brew it.)
Right now I have some of my Earl Grey Melange + Tippy Yunnan cold brewing. That Tippy Yunnan can put hair on your chest, so I think it’s a good candidate for cold brewing. Will report back on what happens!
