Tag Archives: infusions

How to Make Tea Without Hot Water – Cold Brew

What is Cold Brew?
I have been receiving some queries from my tea friends on how to properly cold brew tea.

Personally I am a big fan of this tea brewing method as it gives you a unique tasting experience and you get to know a different, relaxed side of your favorite tea.

When you brew tea hot, over 400 different components are released into the water and some of them are released quicker at higher temperature. You will have noticed that if you brew a hot tea at a too high temperature or for too long it becomes bitter. Not so with cold brew tea, which will be more mellow, more balanced and sweeter as the high temperature components are less dominant.

Cold brewing gives you a whole new range of preparing tea. But you will need patience, as this is not your quick tea bag dunk for 2 minutes. Good cold brew tea will take several hours, if not even overnight to release the wonderful magic that is cold brew tea.
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Meet an Amazing Infusion: Neavita’s Peach and Mint

Infusions are relatively new to me. When I was a kid, everything was tea to me. When I would get sick, tea was the cure. I had a cough and a few minutes later I was given tea with mostly herbal ingredients. I got the flu, I got some Chamomile. I had a stomach pain, I would get some Melissa. It would always be served with some lemon or honey in it and was quite comforting.

Neavita’s Peach and Mint

In Germany, tea (or so I thought) is sold in pharmacies. I saw tea always as a medicine and closely linked to health benefits. In the US you don’t see this so much and tea is mostly sold in supermarkets in tea bags but is not so closely linked to health benefits.

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“Why Do You Like Tea So Much?” The Backstory

I often get asked the question: Why do you like tea so much? I can best sum it up by looking at my tea past, present and future.

Past

image from trains-worldexpresses.comWhen I was a little kid we often would take the train from Berlin, East Germany to St. Petersburg, Russia, – a two day journey. On this trip it had been my job to get the tea for the family and I remember this procedure vividly: a strong black tea in a glass mug in a heavy iron casing with a long piece of sugar. I had to make a few trips, for a little kid in a fast moving train not an easy task. But it left something in me, a sort of family tradition. Continue reading