What is cold brew tea
Cold brew tea doesn’t mean just to brew tea with cold water. the point of cold brewing is to provide a brewing environment at a constant low temperature.Compared with the regular hot water tea, cold brewing method of water temperature requirements not so strict, most of the tea is applied; And it’s extremely simple to make, and the only troublesome step needs a long wait.
What is the difference between cold brew tea and hot tea
The amount of tea nutrition ingredient dissolving and the taste
Brewing tea with hot water, the ingredients of tea will dissolve into the water in a short time. So hot tea always has a huge aroma, and taste strong.When brewing with cold water, the nutrition ingredient contained in the tea will be dissolved at a very slow speed. The amino acid molecules which dissolved first are sweet, while theophylline and caffeine dissolve much more slowly.
Therefore, the taste of cold brew tea is much sweeter than that of hot brewed tea, without the bitterness and strong fragrance that hot brewed tea has.
Different degree of the nutrition ingredient retained
In the traditional tea brewing method, the temperature of the water will be controlled between 70℃ and 95℃. This will make the nutrients in tea dissolve faster, but some nutrients are also easy to be destroyed by high temperature.The ingredients of cold brew tea have a slower rate of dissolution, with the fastest rate of dissolution in the first 2 hours, and then slowly decreases and remains at a lower rate. After 8 hours, the amount of all nutrients other than caffeine dissolved was similar to that of hot tea.
In one study, green tea was steeped for 20 minutes at 90℃ or 24 hours at 4℃ to test its dissolved matter content.
It’s worth mentioning that the caffeine content of cold brew tea is about 30% less than that of hot tea because the caffeine and tannin in tea are the slowest to dissolve at low temperatures.
“HOT VS. COLD WATER STEEPING OF DIFFERENT TEAS: DO THEY AFFECT ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY?”. FOOD CHEMISTRY. 119 (4)
The preparation time is different
This is the biggest difference between hot brew tea and cold brew tea. A cup of hot tea often takes no more than 3 minutes to make, while the cold brew tea needs to be refrigerated for 4-8 hours after brewing to get the best taste.So if you want to enjoy cold brew tea, you need to prepare half a day in advance.
The benefits of cold brew tea
A cup of correctly made cold brew tea has most of the benefits of hot tea. The special advantage of cold brew tea lies in the different dissolution speed of the main ingredient in tea, which brings different effects.First, brew tea with cold water can reduce the dissolution of tannin contained in tea, which will reduce the bitterness and astringency of tea.
Because the temperature of the human body is higher than that of cold brew tea, ketone with fragrance molecules will gradually evaporate, and the aroma of tea will slowly form in the mouth, bringing different taste enjoyment.
Secondly, tea contains a kind of polysaccharide, which can metabolize excessive sugar in the blood. The polysaccharides can be destroyed if brewed with hot water, and it will not happen on cold brew tea. So cold brew tea also has a certain control effect on diabetes.
What is most importantly, cold brew tea is very low in caffeine contented. Drink cold brew tea need not worry about the caffeine in tea make nerve hyperactivity, affect sleep quality. For insomniacs, they can also enjoy this fun.
What type of tea is not suitable for cold brewing
Almost all types of tea are suitable for cold brewing.Usually, the low-degree fermented tea, such as green tea and oolong tea, are more suitable for cold brewing. They are less processed and retain more of the natural ingredients of tea leaves, used to make cold brew tea, will bring out more its fresh aroma and sweet taste.
However, some types of tea are not suitable for cold brewing, not because they do any harm, but hot brewing can make them more valuable.
The tea made from old tea leaves
The tea made from old tea leaves is not suitable for brewing at low temperature. It is rich in cellulose, the cell wall is not easy to be destroyed, and it is difficult to dissolve nutrients at low temperature. Can not get the real taste.The over-baked tea
The same reason as the old tea. the over-baked tea has a carbonized skin and gets a baking aroma. But the carbonized surface will make the ingredient hard to dissolve. Also only to brew with hot water can bring the baking aroma.
The tea with a huge aroma
Such as the jasmine tea, brew it with cold water is ok. But the aromatic esters are hard to dissolve at a low temperature too. So, why should we drink the jasmine tea if without the charming aroma?The aging tea
Such as dark tea, usually goes through a long time of natural oxidation, and some micro-fermentation is carried out inside the tea, to carry out some natural transformation.After fermentation, the tea inside produces some microorganisms beneficial to the human body, which is the main reason why the old tea is precious. And these microorganisms are at low active at the low temperatures, brew it with hot water will lose its nutrients value.
How to make cold brew tea
- Prepare covered bottles, cold water, and some loose tea
- Put the loose tea and water in the bottle at a ratio of 1:50 (the ratio can be adjusted according to taste), cover, and refrigerate for not less than 4 hours (do not over 10 hours)
- After refrigerating a long time enough, filter out the tea leaves and taste
- Making cold brew tea, loose tea and tea bag are all feasible options. The loose tea is easier to release flavor, especially CTC black tea. Because the tea bag is blocked by the cloth bag, the taste is relatively difficult to release. However, if you are out, it is the most convenient choice to use the tea bag to make cold brew tea.
- Cold brew tea is also a good base for other beverages. Try adding juice, sugar or other ingredients to cold brew tea to make a charming flavored drink.
- Although the cold brew tea is hard to go bad, it’s best to enjoy it as soon as possible.
No comments:
Post a Comment