By Jazeera Aitzhanova

Tea sommelier & founder Humming Cup Premium Organic Tea

It’s finally summer and it’s a perfect time for refreshing cold iced tea. Many people know how to make iced tea but if you would like to achieve even better taste and health benefits, we have some tips for you. Your first tip is choosing a high-quality loose tea. Humming Cup organic tea sachets could be your best choice because they contain a better-quality tea compared to conventional tea bags and they are very easy to use.

This season we would like to share with you two methods of making iced tea: cold brew and hot brew. Some people prefer the cold brew method because it reduces the amount of tannins that can lead to astringency and a little bit of a stronger taste. To make a cold brew tea you will need more time, about 6-12 hours for brewing in the refrigerator.

If you want to make iced tea fast then hot brewing is your best option. It takes about 2-15 minutes to brew your tea and about 10-30 minutes to cool it down for iced tea. Now that you know your options, let’s get started.

You can use any of Humming Cup Premium Teas for your iced tea Organic Wild Blueberry tea, Organic Strawberry Green tea or English Breakfast.

Ingredients for hot & cold brew tea:

• Tea
• Spring or filtered water
• Optional to garnish: orange or lemon zest, fresh mint leaves, berries.
• Optional sweeteners: sugar, stevia, maple or agave syrup.

Pro tip: Always use filtered or spring water. Tap water contains too much chlorine and it will worsen the taste of your tea.

Hot Brew Method Instructions:

1. Boil filtered or spring water.
2. Add 1 tea sachet for 1 person or 6 tea sachets per 1 gallon of tea.
3. Steep 1 tea sachets for 2-5 minutes. Brew 6 tea sachets for about 10-15 minutes. Longer brewing will release more tannins and caffeine. Remove and strain your tea.
4. Allow your tea to cool down completely at room temperature. Do not add ice instantly because fast cooling will create undesired cloudiness in your tea. Slower cooling method allows your tea to stay clear.
5. Fill your container with ice and add your tea.
6. Now it’s time to play and experiment with garnishing your teas. You can add mint, lemon pieces, orange zest, berries such as blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries.
7. Sweeteners are optional. You can add agave or maple syrup, stevia or sugar to taste.

Cold Brew Method Instructions

1. Fill your container with spring or filtered water
2. Add 1 tea sachet for 1 person or 7 tea sachets per 1 gallon of tea.
3. You can add lemon or orange zest and fresh mint leaves to your tea for more freshness.
4. Refrigerate your tea for 6-12 hours or overnight.
5. Fill your container with ice and add your steeped tea.
6. Optional. Garnish with berries, lemon pieces, fresh mint leaves and sweeten to taste.

Pro Tip: Longer brewing will lead to a stronger astringent taste, so remove your tea when you achieve desired taste or add more water to dissolve the astringency.

Enjoy your refreshing and healthy tea!

Dedicated for your wellness,

Jazeera Aitzhanova, tea sommelier and founder of Humming Cup Premium Organic Tea