How to Cold Brew Tea at Home: Ratios, Times and Best Teas
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If you have ever made iced tea that turned bitter or cloudy, cold brewing is the fix. Here is how to cold brew tea at home in one sentence: put loose tea in a jar of cold, fresh water, refrigerate it for 6–8 hours (or overnight), then strain. No kettle, no timer, and a smoother, naturally sweeter pitcher of tea by morning.
Below you will find ratios, times for each type of tea, the science of why cold brew tastes softer and fixes for the common problems.
Key takeaways
- Use roughly twice the leaf you would for hot tea: about 4–6 g per 12 oz (350 ml), or 10–15 g per liter.
- Steep in the fridge for 6–8 hours for most teas; delicate greens can be ready sooner.
- Cold water extracts bitter catechins and caffeine more slowly, so cold brew tastes smoother.
- Herbal, fruit and rooibos blends cold brew beautifully and are naturally caffeine free.
In this article
- How to cold brew tea: the basic method
- Ratios and times by tea type
- Why cold brewed tea tastes smoother
- Flavor ideas
- Troubleshooting
- FAQ
How to cold brew tea: the basic method
Makes: 1 liter (about 4 glasses) · Hands-on: 5 minutes · Steep: 6–8 hours
- Choose a clean container. A 1-liter (1 quart) glass jar or pitcher with a lid works well. Wash it with hot, soapy water first.
- Add the tea. Measure 10–15 g of loose tea, about 4–6 heaped teaspoons. Use the lower amount for fluffy white and herbal blends, the higher for dense black tea and fruit blends.
- Add cold water. Pour in 1 liter (about 4 cups) of fresh, cold filtered or tap water. Stir gently so all the leaves are wet.
- Cover and refrigerate. Steep in the fridge for 6–8 hours, or overnight. Taste after 4 hours if you are using green tea.
- Strain. Pour through a fine strainer or remove the infuser. Do not squeeze the leaves.
- Serve. Pour over ice, or drink straight from the fridge. Sweeten with simple syrup or honey dissolved in a little warm water, since sugar will not dissolve well in cold tea.
Keep the finished tea covered in the fridge and enjoy it within a day or two, while it tastes fresh.
Cold brew tea ratios and times by tea type
| Tea type | Leaf per 1 liter | Fridge time | What to expect |
|---|---|---|---|
| Green tea (jasmine, mint green) | 10–12 g | 4–8 hours | Sweet, savory, almost no bitterness |
| Black tea (English breakfast) | 12–15 g | 6–8 hours | Smooth, malty, less astringent than hot-brewed iced tea |
| White tea blends | 10–12 g | 6–8 hours | Light, floral, fruity |
| Herbal and fruit blends | 12–15 g | 6–8 hours | Juicy, vivid, caffeine free |
| Rooibos | 12–15 g | 6–8 hours or overnight | Sweet, rounded, caffeine free |
Longer is not always better. Leaves left for a full day can turn flat or woody, so strain once the tea tastes right.
Why cold brewed tea tastes smoother
The compounds that make hot tea bitter and astringent, mainly catechins such as EGCG, and caffeine, dissolve much more readily in hot water. A 2018 review by Manami Monobe of Japan’s National Agriculture and Food Research Organization summarized research on cold-water brewed green tea:
- After 1 hour in cold water at about 10°C (50°F), the brew contained roughly 20% of the EGCG and about 50% of the caffeine of green tea brewed at 80°C for 2 minutes.
- In iced water, caffeine fell below 20% of the hot-brew level.
- Amino acids such as theanine, which taste sweet and savory, were extracted at around 80% of hot-brew levels.
Because the bitter compounds are held back while the sweet, savory ones still come through, cold brewed green tea tastes noticeably softer. Those measurements were made on Japanese green tea over short steeps; longer fridge steeps extract more, and other tea types behave differently. The same principle explains why cold brew coffee tastes rounder than hot coffee poured over ice.
Cold brew vs hot-brewed iced tea
| Cold brew | Hot-brewed, then iced | |
|---|---|---|
| Time | 6–8 hours | About 10 minutes plus cooling |
| Bitterness | Low | Moderate to high if over-steeped |
| Cloudiness | Rare | Common when chilled quickly |
| Caffeine (for the same leaf) | Generally lower | Generally higher |
| Best for | Make-ahead pitchers | Iced tea right now |
Flavor ideas to try
- Peach and rose: a fruity herbal blend with peach and cranberry, plus a few fresh peach slices in the jar.
- Mint green: green tea with mint, served with lemon and fresh mint leaves.
- Color-changing blue tea: butterfly pea flower turns from blue to purple when you add lemon juice, a fun trick for guests.
- Spiced rooibos: rooibos with cinnamon and orange, finished with a splash of apple juice.
- Arnold Palmer style: half cold brew black tea, half lemonade.
Troubleshooting cold brew tea
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Weak and watery | Too little leaf or too short | Add 2–3 g per liter or steep 2 hours longer |
| Flat or woody | Steeped too long | Strain at 6–8 hours |
| Bitter (rare) | Very fine leaf or tea dust | Use whole loose leaf and shorten the steep |
| Off or sour smell | Container not clean or tea kept too long | Discard, wash the jar well and make a fresh batch |
| Sugar sits at the bottom | Sugar does not dissolve in cold liquid | Use simple syrup or honey thinned with warm water |
Our teas that cold brew well
Several of our loose-leaf teas list cold brewing on the pack: steep in cold water in the fridge for 6–8 hours. Peach Paradise is a caffeine-free herbal blend with peach, cranberry and rose. Moroccan Mint pairs green tea with fresh mint. Butterfly Blue blends butterfly pea flower with white tea, pineapple and peach and turns purple with lemon. Hibiscus Berry is a sweet, full-bodied, caffeine-free blend with low astringency. Explore the full tea collection.
FAQ
How long should I cold brew tea?
Most teas take 6–8 hours in the fridge. Green tea can be ready in about 4 hours; taste and strain when you like it.
How much tea do I use to cold brew?
About 10–15 g of loose tea per liter of water, roughly twice what you would use for the same amount of hot tea.
Does cold brew tea have less caffeine?
Generally yes for the same leaf and time. Research on green tea found cold water extracts caffeine more slowly than hot water. Herbal and rooibos blends have none.
Can I cold brew tea bags?
Yes. Use about 4–6 bags per liter. Loose leaf usually tastes better because the leaves have room to open.
Can I cold brew tea at room temperature?
Brewing in the fridge is the safer, cleaner option. Keep the jar covered and refrigerated throughout.
Sources
- Monobe M. Health Functions of Compounds Extracted in Cold-water Brewed Green Tea from Camellia sinensis L. JARQ, 2018.
Facts checked in October 2026.
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