Cold Brew Loose-Leaf Tea: A Simple Refrigerator Method

Cold brew tea uses cool water and time instead of a hot infusion. It is a useful method for green, white, oolong and black tea when you want a smoother refrigerated drink with minimal equipment.

Basic Cold Brew Recipe

1. Add 5–8 g of loose-leaf tea to 500 ml / 17 oz of drinking water.
2. Cover and refrigerate for 6–10 hours.
3. Strain the leaves completely.
4. Taste before adding ice or more water.

Start at the shorter end for delicate green tea and the longer end for larger or more robust leaves. The product and your refrigerator temperature can change the result.

Which Tea Works?

• Green tea: fresh and light; begin with a shorter brew.
• White tea: soft and gentle, often with a longer extraction.
• Oolong tea: aromatic and a good choice for repeated testing.
• Black tea: fuller and easy to serve over ice.

Compare the available categories in All Tea. For a green-tea-specific selection guide, use the iced green tea guide.

Troubleshooting

• Too weak: add leaf before extending the brew far beyond 10 hours.
• Too strong: dilute in the glass or shorten the next batch.
• Flat aroma: try fresher tea, a higher ratio or filtered water.
• Cloudy appearance: judge by aroma and taste; fine particles can pass through some strainers.

Basic Handling

Use clean equipment and drinking water. Keep the tea refrigerated while it brews, strain it when the flavor is right, and serve it promptly. Discard a batch if its smell or appearance seems abnormal.

Continue with the Brewing Guides

Cold brewing changes the extraction method, but leaf amount and water still matter. Compare TeaStart’s tea brewing temperature guide, use the loose-leaf ratio guide when scaling a batch, and review the water-for-tea guide when the same recipe tastes different with different water.

Choose a tea for your first cold brew