How to Make Cold Brew Tea

If you’ve never tried Cold Brew Tea, you’re seriously missing out on one of the most refreshing, smooth, and naturally sweet drinks you can make at home. This homemade Cold Brew Tea takes almost zero effort just tea, cold water, and patience and delivers a taste that’s miles ahead of regular iced tea. No bitterness, no astringency, just pure, clean, silky flavor.

In this guide, I’m going to show you exactly how to nail the perfect Cold Brew Tea recipe, share every tip and trick I’ve learned, and answer every question you’ve ever had about this magical method.

How to Make Cold Brew Tea – Step-by-Step

This Cold Brew Tea recipe couldn’t be simpler. No special equipment, no timing stress, no hot water involved. Just follow these five easy steps.

Step 1: Choose Your Tea & Container

Start by selecting your tea. If this is your first time making cold brew tea, I recommend beginning with a high-quality black tea or green tea both produce consistently excellent results and are widely available.

For your container, choose a glass jar, glass pitcher, or any food-safe container with a lid. A 32-ounce (1-liter) mason jar is perfect for a single-person serving, while a 64-ounce (2-liter) glass pitcher is ideal for a household or entertaining.

Why glass? Glass doesn’t absorb flavors or odors the way plastic does, which means your cold brew tea will taste cleaner. It also lets you see the beautiful color of your brew as it steeps — deeply satisfying visual progress!

Make sure your container is clean and completely odor-free. Even faint residual smells from previously stored food can transfer to your tea.

Step 2: Add Tea Bags to Cold Water

Place your tea bags or loose-leaf tea directly into your clean container. Pour your cold, filtered water over the tea.

For regular-strength cold brew tea, use:

• 1 tea bag per 8 oz (240ml) of water

For concentrate (extra strong), use:

• 2 tea bags per 8 oz (240ml) of water then dilute 1:1 with water, milk, or a milk alternative when serving

Give everything a gentle stir or swirl to make sure all tea bags are fully submerged and saturated. At this stage, you can also add any optional flavor boosters fresh mint, ginger slices, citrus, cinnamon, etc.

Do not add sweetener at this stage. It’s far easier and more effective to sweeten your cold brew after it’s finished. Adding sweetener now can sometimes slightly affect the extraction process.

Step 3: Cold Brew in the Refrigerator

Seal your container with a lid (or cover with plastic wrap if your container doesn’t have one) and place it in the refrigerator.

Recommended Steeping Times:

• White Tea: 6–8 hours
• Green Tea: 6–8 hours
• Oolong Tea: 8–10 hours
• Black Tea: 8–12 hours
• Herbal/Fruit Tea: 8–12 hours
• Rooibos Tea: 8–12 hours

Most people find it easiest to set up their cold brew in the evening before bed and wake up to a perfectly brewed pitcher of cold brew tea the next morning a genuinely exciting thing to look forward to!

You can absolutely go longer up to 24 hours without the tea turning bitter, thanks to the cold extraction process. However, very delicate teas like white tea and green tea can start to taste slightly flat if brewed for much longer than 12 hours.

Step 4: Strain & Transfer

Once your cold brew tea has finished steeping, remove the tea bags or strain out the loose-leaf tea.

If you used tea bags, simply lift them out no mess, no fuss.If you used loose-leaf tea, pour the cold brew through a fine mesh sieve, a nut milk bag, or a coffee filter placed over a bowl or second pitcher. This catches all the fine tea particles and gives you a crystal-clear, beautiful cold brew.

Do not squeeze the tea bags or press down on the leaves. This extracts excess tannins and can introduce some bitterness into your otherwise smooth cold brew.

Transfer your strained cold brew into a clean glass container or pitcher for storage.

Step 5: Sweeten, Serve & Enjoy

Your cold brew tea is ready! Now it’s time to make it exactly how you love it.

To sweeten: Stir in simple syrup, honey, or agave to taste. Start with 1 tablespoon per 8 oz (240ml) and adjust from there. Remember, cold brew tea is naturally sweeter than hot tea, so you’ll likely need less sweetener than you expect.

To serve: Pour over a glass full of ice. Add a slice of lemon, a sprig of fresh mint, or a few fresh berries for an elegant garnish.

To make a Cold Brew Tea Latte: Pour your cold brew concentrate (made with double the tea) over ice and top with your favorite cold milk whole milk, oat milk, almond milk, and coconut milk all pair beautifully.

To make a Cold Brew Tea Soda: Pour your cold brew over ice and top with sparkling water. Add a squeeze of citrus for a refreshing, sophisticated soda alternative.