Early autumn has arrived, yet the heat remains intense. In such sweltering temperatures, are you still brewing your Pu'er Tea with boiling hot water?

That would be too monotonous. To make the most of the last days of summer and allow those who enjoy refreshingly cool beverages to indulge in healthy and delicious Pu'er tea, why not try making a cup of Pu'er using the Cold brew method?

The refreshingly sweet tea will undoubtedly become the most invigorating flavor of early autumn.

Add some fresh, sweet fruit, and it won't fall short of the beloved Xicha that young people adore.

What is Cold Brew Pu'er and how do you make it?

Many people are more familiar with cold brew Coffee, where coffee beans are soaked and extracted slowly over hours using cold water, resulting in a refreshing and well-balanced cold brew coffee.

The same method can be applied to our Pu'er tea.

During the cold brewing process, the low temperature makes it difficult for Caffeine and polyphenols to be released from the tea leaves, reducing bitterness and astringency.

However, amino acids and polysaccharides dissolve in water, ensuring that the tea remains fresh and sweet, with its aroma infused into the liquid, offering a rich taste and mouthfeel.

The process of making cold brew Pu'er is not complicated but requires patience as it takes time.

Raw Pu'er tea is more suitable for cold brewing, with a clean sweetness and ample fragrance, which is also conducive to adding other ingredients later to enhance the flavor.

The ratio of tea to water for cold brewing is roughly 1 gram of tea per 100 milliliters of water, which can be adjusted according to personal taste and the characteristics of the tea.

There are several methods depending on the equipment available:

Method One: Before brewing, rinse the tea once with hot water.

Then take a large glass container or purchase a cold brew pot or cold brew coffee maker with a filter. Place the rinsed tea leaves in the container, add the appropriate amount of water, and place it in the refrigerator for 3-4 hours. A delicious pot of cold brew Pu'er tea will be ready.

Method Two: If you have an ice drip coffee maker at home, you can use it to make ice drip Pu'er.

Place the rinsed tea leaves at the bottom of the ice drip pot and add an appropriate weight of ice cubes to the top. Allow the ice to melt and drip onto the tea at room temperature. After 3-4 hours, you'll have a cup of ice drip Pu'er tea.

Method Three: If you don't have a large glass container or ice drip equipment, you can use a common fairness cup for cold brewing.

Place the rinsed tea leaves and an appropriate amount of ice in the fairness cup and let it sit at room temperature for an hour. You'll get a delicious cold brew, and because the fairness cup is smaller, the ice melts faster, making the tea broth richer.

Cold brew Pu'er is very convenient and doesn't require much skill. For tea lovers who want to enjoy a cold beverage during the heat of summer, cold brew Pu'er is definitely a good choice.

Sugars in the tea dissolve preferentially in cold water; under low temperatures, bitter substances are difficult to release completely, so cold brew tea tastes sweeter with little bitterness or astringency.

Compared to hot tea, cold brew tea has a more refreshing and delicate color, with a unique, cool, refreshing taste, fragrant water, and a lingering aftertaste.

Creative Ways to Enjoy Cold Brew Pu'er

Peach Pu'er: Cut a peach in half, use one half to make juice and keep it aside, and cut the other half into aesthetically pleasing slices.

Take out the pre-made cold brew raw Pu'er tea and pour peach juice into the cup first, followed by an appropriate amount of cold brew tea broth. Add fresh peach slices and finally decorate the cup with fresh herbs.

Ice Drip Citrus Pu'er: Using the second method mentioned earlier, replace the tea leaves with a whole citrus Pu'er and add more ice cubes. After patiently waiting, you can enjoy a refreshing and healthy ice drip citrus Pu'er tea.

Original article published in the August 2025 issue of Pu'er Magazine

Author | Wang Yanran

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