The scorching summer heat is here, and it feels like we're melting in the sun! To cool off during the hottest days of summer, there's a refreshing solution: a Cup of cold-brewed Tea, perfect for staying calm and refreshed.

This season, what we really need is a cup of cold-brewed tea to cool down and release the heat. One sip, and the sultry stickiness of summer seems to fade away.

In this hot season, cold-brewed tea has become incredibly popular, challenging the traditional method of brewing tea with boiling water by using cold water instead. It's visually appealing, tastes great, and is wonderfully refreshing.

Interestingly, the origins of cold-brewed tea can be traced back to the Song Dynasty. In the poem “He Dexiu Sets Up Iced Tea” by the Song official Li Ruoshui, the line “Clear ice poured over fresh tea, a wonderful drink for all four corners of the table” describes a similar practice to today's cold-brewed tea.

So, what exactly is cold-brewed tea? It's important to note that it's completely different from letting hot tea cool down and then drinking it iced. Cold-brewed tea is not simply chilled tea.

Cold-brewed tea refers to the method of steeping tea leaves in cold, icy water, or with ice cubes for an extended period of time. This process extracts the natural sweetness of the tea, allowing tea polysaccharides to be released more stably, and removes any bitterness, resulting in a sweet and refreshing flavor that is both fragrant and flavorful, with an outstanding taste profile.

Whether you're at work, in class, driving, or hiking, as long as you have access to bottled water, you can enjoy delicious cold-brewed tea wherever you go.

When tea is cold-brewed, less tannic acid is released, which reduces the bitterness and enhances the taste, making it pleasantly sweet without any bitterness.

Cold-brewed tea contains lower levels of caffeine in the tea infusion, which can reduce the stimulation of the stomach. Therefore, it's suitable for people with sensitive constitutions or weak stomachs and has a lesser impact on sleep.

The chemical components in cold-brewed tea increase with longer steeping times, with the most significant changes occurring within the first two hours. However, after a certain point, the amount of solubles doesn't change much. After eight hours of steeping, many nutrients are actually higher in concentration than in traditionally brewed tea.

Teas that are lightly oxidized are more suitable for cold brewing, such as green tea, lightly oxidized Oolong tea, and white teas like Bai Hao Yin Zhen (Silver Needle) and Bai Mudan (White Peony). The lighter the oxidation, the more fragrant and sweet the cold-brewed tea will be.

Cold-brewed tea can be made using the ice-drip method, where ice is placed directly on the tea leaves and allowed to slowly melt and infuse the tea for 2-3 hours.

Alternatively, you can simply brew the tea with cold water and refrigerate it. Typically, the brewing time ranges from 3 to 8 hours, depending on the type of tea.

For the best results when cold-brewing tea, use new tea leaves to achieve a rich and aromatic flavor. So, on these scorching summer days, why not enjoy a cup of cold-brewed tea?