Optimal amount of leaves and brewing time for cold brewing green tea
I buy my tea from Upton. All decent loose leaf. Whenever I try cold brewing, regardless of the tea, it comes out bitter. I usually place about 8 heaping tablespoons of green tea leaves in a large pitcher of tap well water (i’m guessing close to a gallon) and brew for at least 8 hours in the fridge. I usually stir it quite a bit to make the tea uniform but it always seems to come out somewhat bitter. AM I brewing too long? Using to much tea? I’d like to be able to iced green tea that is not bitter. Thoughts are appreciated.
For cold brewing in a 1 liter Handy Cooler from Lupica I use four perfect teaspoons full (the Teavana perfect teaspoon or from other places is actually a little more than a teaspoon) of leaves. I brew overnight not worrying about the specific time and it doesn’t get bitter. But I am usually brewing black teas. The general rule of thumb is one teaspoon of leaves per 6 to 8 oz water.
8 large spoons for a gallon does not sound to too much and 8+ hours is normal for cold brew. Maybe it is just the leaves not being ideal for cold brew. You could try either tea from other vendors, checking with them if the leaves are suitable for cold brewing, or you could brew the tea hot, filter the leaves out and then refrigerate it.
I would try chilling your water before adding the leaves. The water from the tap may be too warm, and by the time its down to the temperature of the fridge, the leaves might already be oversteeped. Just a thought :-)
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