Cold brew tea is one of the best things you can make at home, and once you know how to make cold brew tea, you'll wonder why you didn't start sooner. It's smoother than hot-brewed tea, naturally sweeter, lower in bitterness, and you can do it in a million different ways depending on your mood, your tea, and what's in your fridge.
The best bit? It takes about two minutes of actual effort. The fridge does the rest.
What Is Cold Brew Tea?
Cold brew tea is tea steeped in cold liquid instead of hot. Rather than using heat to extract flavour quickly, cold brewing uses time - steeping for 4–12 hours in the fridge to slowly draw out the flavour compounds from the leaves. The result is smoother, sweeter, & less bitter than the same tea made hot.
What You Need
The essentials:
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Your chosen loose leaf tea - 5–6 heaped teaspoons per 750ml
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Cold water or your liquid of choice
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A Cold Brew Tea Bottle with built-in infuser, or a jug with a fine mesh strainer
Our Cold Brew Tea Starter Kit includes a Cold Brew Bottle plus four of our bestselling cold brew blends, it’s the easiest way to get started.
How To Make Cold Brew Tea: Step By Step
Step 1 - Choose your tea
Almost any loose leaf tea works brilliantly cold brewed. Our cold brew tea collection contains blends specifically chosen for how well they perform cold. For our honest picks, see the best teas for cold brewing.
Step 2 - Measure your tea
Add 5–6 heaped teaspoons of loose leaf tea to your Cold Brew Bottle or infuser. This is more than you'd use for a hot brew as cold water extracts more slowly, so you need a little more leaf to get a full-flavoured result.
Step 3 - Add your liquid
Fill up with 750ml of cold water or whatever liquid you're using. See the liquid guide below.
Step 4 - Steep in the fridge
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Tea type |
Steeping time |
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4–8 hours or overnight |
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4–8 hours or overnight |
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4–6 hours |
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4–8 hours |
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4–8 hours |
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2–4 hours maximum |
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4–6 hours |
Black tea needs the most care so keep it to 2–4 hours to avoid bitterness. Fruit teas and herbal blends are almost impossible to over brew so you can leave them overnight with confidence.
Step 5 - Strain and serve
Remove the infuser or strain through a fine mesh sieve. Pour over ice & enjoy. Cold brew tea keeps in the fridge for up to 3 days.
The Liquid Guide
Water - The classic starting point. Lets the natural flavour of the tea shine through completely.
Lemonade - Our most popular alternative. Strawberry Lemonade Tea cold-brewed in lemonade is exceptional. Note: if using sparkling lemonade, let a little pressure out of the lid periodically.
Oat milk - Brilliant with flavoured black teas. Chocolate Digestives Tea cold-brewed overnight in oat milk tastes like the most indulgent iced latte you've ever had.
Coconut milk - Our go-to with chai blends. Sticky Chai cold-brewed in coconut milk is a revelation.
Sparkling water - Adds lightness and fizz. Great with MojiTEA or Lemon Sherbet Tea.
Gin or vodka - Fruit teas cold brewed in gin make super effortless and impressive drinks for hosting. Add sparkling water to dilute when serving.
Tips For The Best Cold Brew Every Time
Don't rush it - The difference between a 4-hour cold brew and an overnight one is noticeable. Make it before bed and it'll be ready for the morning.
Start with fruit teas or herbals - These are the most forgiving & produce the most immediately impressive results.
Reuse your leaves - One of the brilliant things about cold brewing is that the leaves often have a second or even third infusion in them. After your first cold brew, add fresh liquid & leave for another round.
Batch brew - Cold brew keeps for up to 3 days in the fridge. Making a full bottle and keeping it ready means you always have something refreshing on hand.
Shop our cold brew tea collection
Tag us in your cold brew creations @birdandblendtea - we absolutely love seeing what you make.
5 comments
I’ve got a few of your fruit teas and usually cold brew them in summer. Poured over ice they make a delicious drink on a hot day
Hello Cat,
We have never tried it in Bird & Blend but would be interested to hear your feedback if you have tried this out. I am sure lots of our Teabirds would appreciate this.
Love B&B
Hello Janis,
Great question! What is great about fruit teas is that they are suitable for both hot and cold teas so you have the best of both worlds.
Happy Brewing!
Are any of your fruit teas suitable for hot drinks? Thank you.
Just curious! Would your cold brew bottles also work for cold-brewing coffee? Really we’d love one bottle to do both since we’d love to enjoy your tea and our favourite coffee bean blend as well in this summer heat.