The Best Iced Tea (Cold-Brewed Iced Tea) Recipe

The Serious Eats Team
The Best Iced Tea (Cold-Brewed Iced Tea) Recipe
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  • Yield:Makes 1 quart (about 4 servings)
  • Active time:2 minutes
  • Total time:5 hours

[Photograph: Vicky Wasik]

As Kenji's tests have shown, there's really no reason to brew your tea in the sun, and hot tea chilled down with ice can taste mulch-y and bitter. Cold-brewed iced tea is naturally sweet, clean-tasting, and refreshing. This hands-off method is easy as can be, and works well whether you're tossing in regular ol' tea bags or stepping it up with fancy loose white, green, or oolong teas. You can even re-steep the same leaves in a second round to get the most out of your investment.

Why It Works

Forget sun tea. The best iced tea brews in your fridge. Read the Whole Story
  • Cold-brewed tea is milder in flavor than tea made with hot water, with more aroma and less astringency.
  • Brewing tea in the fridge is safer than leaving it in the sun at a temperature that's ideal for bacterial growth.

Ingredients

  • 1 quart (1L) water (see note above)
  • 4 tea bags, or 1 tablespoon (8 to 10g) loose tea

Directions

  1. 1.

    Add water and tea bags or loose tea to a resealable container. Seal and refrigerate 5 hours (see note above).

  2. 2.

    Remove tea bags (or strain with a fine-mesh strainer to remove loose tea). Serve over ice.

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