Living through hot St. Louis summers, the babes at Big Heart Tea Co. know the importance of staying cool when the temperature rises. Cold brew tea is an easy way to take your favorite steamy cuppa into your hot summer nights.
The Cooler Cold Brew
Cold brew coffee and cold brew tea have a lot of mutual friends: smoothness, brightness and natural sweetness. Cold brew tea gives you the brew without the buzz: all the health benefits of tea steeped in a way that leaves the bitterness out of the relationship. Using the same idea of slowly steeping the herbs and leaves in cold water, cold brew tea has all the ease of coffee with all the health benefits of tea, and all that.
Traditional iced tea is brewed with boiling water before it’s chilled. This process often over steeps the tea and creates a bitterness that needs dulling with sugar. One of the benefits of cold brew tea is the use of chilled water over a long period of time, allowing the tea to steep slowly. The result is a smooth, naturally sweet tea. The different steeping process also allows for a slightly different flavor profile. It’s the same Big Heart Tea Co. you love in the winter, but ready to go with you to the pool.
Seriously, Easy Cold Brew
Cold brew tea is a cost effective way to treat yo’self. Brew a larger batch and let it chill in the fridge for up to four days for a refreshing week. Seriously, leave it in the fridge so it doesn’t oxidize on your counter, not even ice can make that cool.
Save the earth tho, eliminate the take and toss cups and long drive through lines. This gives you more time to do what you love and frees up another plastic cup in a landfill. Mother Earth will be especially grateful if you brew your tea in a reusable container like a glass jar. Plus, our tea bags are compostable and plastic-free, so your easy cold brew recipe goes easy on the planet too.
Endless Summer? Endless Cold Brew
Homemade cold brew is adaptable for, like, every occasion. Any Big Heart Tea Co. tea can be easily brewed in the fridge, but here are some of our favorites to make all your summer tea dreams come true, babe.
Familiar flavor, with heart
Malawi 413 is our signature iced tea from Satemwa Tea Estate in Malawi. It brews up all the nostalgic flavor of your mom’s iced tea, but like, way better. Traditional black iced teas source ingredients by price and rely on additives to adjust flavor and color. Big Heart Tea Co. sources ingredients by quality and fair labor practices. Our black tea is single origin and direct sourced so the color and flavor are dependent on plants, not chemicals. Cold brew black iced tea allows the tannins to process slowly resulting in a clear, smooth tea that’s all that over ice.
Look at the world through rose colored glasses.
Big Heart Tea Co. Cup of Love is legit lovely. When brewed warm, this tea is floral and aromatic. Cold brewed herbal tea allows more subtle floral flavor extraction, perfect for hot summer night strolls or dreaming up a perfect garden. Plus, she’s easy on the eyes ya’ll. Roses gently float to the top while your tea chills in the fridge. You’ll have more than a perfect glass of tea to look forward to when your 24 hour wait is up.
Iced tea or are you just happy to see me?
Our Blushing tea is loaded with sweet hibiscus and Vitamin C to deliver a smooth, naturally sweet iced tea. Cold brew is the best method for this particular blend because hibiscus is sensitive to heat and can turn bitter if exposed to super hot water - can’t we all. Give Blushing the tenderness she needs with a homemade cold brew. The tang of Vitamin C will give you all the good feels inside, toss in some lemon if you want to get real citrusy.
A cold brew that’s mint to be.
Chamomile Mint is a family affair here at Big Heart Tea Co. Designed by our OG Boss Babe, Lisa Govro and her mom, this refreshing blend is meant for ice. Like really, they made it for you to drink cold. Natural apple sweetness joins forces with the cooling power of mint and the soothing nature of chamomile. Caffeine free, this easy homemade cold brew is perfect for front porch sipping both day and night. PSA: Avoid mint if you’re a nursing mama - it tends to dry out the girls.
Hail the sunshine.
Cup of Sunshine is a lot like most of us: a bit spicy when put under fire and softer around the edges when chilled. Hot water brings out the cinnamon and peppercorn in the blend because they need a little heat to have a good time. Cold water and a little vacay in the fridge brings out the tulsi and turmeric making a more gentle and floral tea. If you’ve enjoyed Cup of Sunshine during the winter, this is a great opportunity to know its cooler side. Have little babes at home? It’s also a great way to serve turmeric to kids without the heat.
Note that herbal tea will stay longer in the fridge and maintain a flavor, color and clarity a bit longer than black tea.
Like the Way You Work It: Bagged or not
In terms of flavor, homemade cold brew isn’t picky about loose or bagged tea. It is more about personal preference or brewer experience than flavor profile.
Loose tea leaves are messier. They require a mesh sieve or cheese clothe to strain the blend before serving. However, loose tea gives herbs more room to expand as they steep allowing them to release as much flavor as possible into the tea. It’s involved, but in a good way. If you’re more of a romantic, we’d recommend loose tea leaves, lova.
Bagged tea is a fast, easy way to make cold brew tea at home. Once the blend has steeped, simply remove the bags and throw them away or repurpose them for a natural cleaning spray. Don’t worry, we know about herb expansion and made our bags extra big so you still get all the flavor without the straining. Our tea bags are fully compostable so you don’t have to feel guilty about making life a little easier, ya’ll.
HOW TO: COLD BREW TEA
For recipe sake, we’re showing you how to brew up a soothing pitcher of Chamomile Mint cold brew, it’s meant to be over ice, after all. These steps are easily adaptable for all Big Heart Tea Co. teas, just be sure to check out the box for exact ratios.
WHAT YOU NEED:
Glass container 2 liters or larger
2 liters cold, filtered water
¼ cup loose tea or five tea bags Big Heart Tea Co. Chamomile Mint
Wire mesh strainer or cheesecloth
HOW TO:
- Add tea to glass pitcher.
- Pour in filtered water.
- Place in the refrigerator and steep. For white, green and herbal teas: steep 12 hours. For black and oolong teas: steep for 24 hours.
- Remove tea bags. If using loose tea leaves, strain into another vessel using a mesh sieve or coffee filter.
- Keep refrigerated.
- Enjoy.
Stay cool, babes.
Come sit with us!
Big Heart Tea Co. is a women-owned tea company, and we’re looking out for our babes. Come our way for single origin tea, certified organic tea or a friend to remind you you’re awesome. Sold in packaging not meant to last, our oversized, plastic free tea bags ensure your tea is steeped in love, not mico-plastics.