On a hot Australian afternoon, a glass of iced tea is hard to beat. But iced tea and cold brew are not quite the same thing.
This guide draws on Wikipedia's articles on iced tea and cold brew tea, and on the Sri Lanka Tea Board's iced tea lemonade recipe.
- Iced tea: any tea that has been chilled or cooled
- Earliest printed recipes: 1870s
- Cold brew: steeped 16–24 hours in cold or room-temperature water
- Cold brew origin: Japan
- Herbal teas are often served iced too
Iced tea vs cold brew
| Iced tea | Cold brew | |
|---|---|---|
| How it's made | Tea brewed hot, then chilled or poured over ice | Tea steeped in cold or room-temperature water |
| Time | Minutes, plus chilling | Typically 16–24 hours |
| Leaf quantity | Often brewed strong to allow for melting ice | Needs much more tea to extract enough flavour |
Making iced tea
Wikipedia describes iced tea as a form of cold tea — usually served over ice, but the term can refer to any tea that has been chilled or cooled. It may be sweetened or not. One common home method recorded in Wikipedia is putting a large amount of ice into a small amount of strong hot tea, or refrigerating hot tea for some time.
The Sri Lanka Tea Board's iced tea lemonade recipe follows the same pattern: bring water to the boil, add tea leaves for 3–5 minutes, strain, then add cold water, cooled sugar syrup and lemon juice, and serve over ice.
Making cold brew tea
According to Wikipedia, cold brew tea uses time rather than temperature to release flavour. It is a practice that comes from Japan, where it is believed to extract flavour gently, as hotter brewing can scorch the tea and make it bitter. The tea is usually left in the refrigerator or at room temperature for 16–24 hours, and requires a much higher quantity of tea than hot brewing.
Cold tea around the world
- United States: iced tea makes up about 85% of all tea consumed; heavily sweetened "sweet tea" is popular in southern states.
- Indonesia: es teh manis (sweet iced tea) is one of the most popular drinks in the country.
- China: iced tea gained widespread popularity in the late 1980s; iced herbal teas are popular in hot summers.
- Vietnam: iced tea is an integral part of street culture.
Herbal teas are often served cold too — hibiscus drinks are a classic example.
A little history
Wikipedia records that as early as 1823 Marguerite, Countess of Blessington, wrote of sipping iced tea in Naples, and that the oldest printed recipes for iced tea date back to the 1870s.
