ICED TEAS, TISANES & INFUSIONS
Because World PARTEA only sources premium quality loose leaf 100% natural ingredients, many of our Teas, Tisanes & Infusions can also be served iced to make a sumptuously delicious and refreshing cooling drink. Perfect for summer; enjoyable all year.
Black & Green teas can be iced as well non-caffeine Rooibos or a range of herbal tisanes. For children iced fruit blend infusions, with added slices and chunks of fresh fruit, are a wonderful natural alternative to soft drinks or sugary cordials.
Basically you brew your favourite tea, tisane or fruit infusion as you would normally in a teapot or heat proof container using an infuser, to the strength you prefer (generally 1 teaspoon (2g) per 200ml cup, adjust to suit your personal taste (see Tea Tip 4 below). Then leave to steep for 3-5 minutes and remove the infuser (or strain the brew if not using an infuser) and pour into a glass pitcher, or separate glass jars, and refrigerate for 2-3 hours. Instead of sugar, if you prefer a sweeter drink, use honey. Simply add a few teaspoons of raw honey to a cup and add some boiling water and stir to dissolve. Add this liquid to your cold brew just before drinking, add ice to a glass and pour your ‘tea’. Add a slice of lemon, orange or mint or whatever takes your fancy.
Here are some additional tips for brewing ICED ‘TEA”
Tea Tip 1 : fresh ingredients Opt for loose tea rather than tea bags, as tea leaves need room to expand to release their flavours. If you use tea bags use larger ones shaped like pyramids which give the leaves more room to bloom, as recommended by World PARTEA (NB some our blends have biodegradable pyramid tea bags as an option – they are filled with the same high quality loose leaf ingredients.)
Tea Tip 2: Filtered tap water brings out the best in loose leaf teas & blends. Tap water generally tends to taste ‘flat’ … try filtered and you will taste the difference.
Tea Tip 3: Water temperature Use boiling water (212°F) to brew black & herbal tisanes & fruit infusions. Use cooler water (170° to 180°F) to brew green, white and lighter oolongs teas to avoid bitter flavours.
Tea Tip 4: . Use just enough. Use approximately 1 teaspoon (2g) per cup (200ml) or teas with denser, compact leaves, such as most black teas. Use around 2 teaspoons (4g) per cup of water (200ml) when brewing blends with bigger leaves or flowers, like green tea or chamomile and fruit infusions. If you want to make iced tea and don’t have time for the tea to cool down, brew it double-strength to compensate for the resulting water from melting ice cubes. Or cool it to room temperature and refrigerate until cold.
Tea Tip 5: brewing time. Steep long enough to release flavours but not so long that tannins and other bitter tasting compounds dominate. Heartier teas, like black teas and darker oolongs, should steep for 3 to 5 minutes, while green, white and lighter oolong teas need just 2 to 3 minutes. Herbal tisanes and infusions are caffeine-free as they do not contain tea leaves so have less tannins (if any), so less risk of over-steeping have fewer tannins, so there’s less risk of over-steeping.
Tea Tip 6 – healthy flavonoids. Regardless of the variety of ‘tea’ you brew, maximise the power of its flavonoids by drinking it freshly brewed. If you want to keep a batch of cold tea in your refrigerator, “add a little lemon, lime orange juice, The citric acid and vitamin C help preserve the flavonoids.
Flavonoids: The secret to health benefits of drinking black and green tea. Tea has high amount of flavonoids (e.g. flavanols including catechins, flavonols, theaflavin & thearubigin). Black or green, hot or iced, tea is gaining in popularity as more and more scientific research and reports confirm the long known health benefits – many of which are linked to heart and blood vessels. There are no known downsides to drinking a cup or two of tea a day. Now that is refreshing news.
