Cold Tea

Three ways to make it: flash it, brew it or push a button.

Whether you're behind bar or at home, there are a few reliable methods for making cold tea—each with its own benefits. There are three main ways to make cold tea:

1. Flash Chilled
2. Cold Brewed
3. Iced Tea Machine (foodservice)

You can use any tea. You just need the right setup—and a little forethought.

Make it hot. Cool it down fast.

Flash chilling is simple, brew hot tea and pour cold water over it. This works because cool water stops the extraction process, locking in flavor while quickly cooling the liquid. The result: a bright, aromatic tea with the clarity of hot extraction and the refreshment of a cold one.

How to Flash Chill:

• Loose leaf (single cup): Steep 2.5g in 6 fl oz (350ml) of 205°F water for 5 minutes.
• Sachet (quart-sized): Steep 1 sachet in 16 fl oz (946ml) of 205°F water for 5 minutes.
• After steeping, dilute 1:1 with cool filtered water.
• Pour over ice to serve.

Pros:

• Fast
• No special equipment
• Preserves aromatics
• Great for service or single-cup prep

Cons:

• Requires timing and precision
• Can be inconsistent without training
• Dilution must be managed

Steep it cold from the start.

Cold brew is a slow infusion—tea steeped in cold water over several hours. It’s low-extraction and low-risk: easy to batch, hard to mess up. The result is a soft, smooth tea with little bitterness. Not the most aromatic, but clean and dependable.

How to Cold Brew:

• Loose leaf: Combine 2.5g with 12 fl oz (350ml) cold, filtered water.
• Sachet (quart-sized): Combine 1 sachet with 32 fl oz (946ml) cold, filtered water.
• Steep overnight in the fridge (8–12 hours).
• Strain (if using loose leaf) and serve over ice.

Pros:

• Easy to execute
• No equipment needed
• Smooth and approachable
• Great for prep ahead of time

Cons:

• Requires long lead time
• Lower aromatics
• Not as expressive as hot-brewed methods

Cold tea on tap.

Food service brewers (like the Curtis G4 or Bunn ITB) make cold tea in bulk using preset cycles. These machines brew hot, and dispense into a holding vessel. Once dialed in, they’re consistent and scalable. If you are serving more than 3 gallons of iced tea a day, you should use an iced tea machine.

Pros:

• High output
• Easy to train and scale
• Holds well in cold storage
• Works well for black teas, oolongs, or fruit blends

Cons:

• Requires commercial equipment
• Less flexibility across tea types
• Often less nuanced