Someone on the FoodWar group on Facebook started a cold brewed tea post that resulted in other members experimenting with cold brew tea and posting their results. Isn’t that wonderful? A group that triggers and encourages food experiments always win points from me.

I saw the postings a bit late, and since the supermarkets were shut at that time on Saturday night, I worked with what I had at home. Which is not a bad thing, because I always have stuff I like at home; I just couldn’t make the refreshing-sounding recipes I found online like the Iced Tea with Plums and Thyme (no fresh thyme or plums at home) or Tarragon-Spiked Lady Grey Iced Tea (no fresh tarragon and lime at home).

I did use those recipes as a base to make my own cold brewed Earl Grey tea. I like my tea unsweetened, and not too strong. Aroma is also an important sensorial experience for me. I used the Golden Earl loose tea leaves from Paper and Tea for this recipe.

Cold brewed Earl Grey tea

Ingredients:

• 4 teaspoons Earl Grey loose tea leaves, in a tea bag
• 8 cups 80C very hot water
• 4 cups filtered water, at room temperature
• 2 teaspoons of fresh orange juice
• the peel of 1 large orange

Instructions:

• Pour the very hot water over tea in a heatproof pitcher and let it steep for 5 minutes, then discard tea leaves.
• Cool tea completely.
• When tea is completely cool, pour into a pitcher that you’ll refrigerate the tea in.
• Add the 2 teaspoons of orange juice, the 4 cups of room-temperature filtered water and the orange peel.
• Refrigerate for a minimum of 8 hours; I left mine overnight.
• To serve, you can discard the old orange peel and slice fresh orange peels for the servings. Enjoy!

If you prefer your tea sweet, I suggest adding a sugar syrup to it, or honey.

Ada anggota grup FoodWar di Facebook yang posting tentang cold brewed tea, jadi deh semua orang pada ikut bereksperimen dan posting hasil bikinan mereka. Asyik ya, ada grup yang memberi ide untuk members-nya ber-eksperimen. Seneng deh ada grup seperti gini, daripada grup yang members-nya doyan trolling.

Saya ngga mau ketinggalan, tapi emang keburu telat ngeliat postingan-postingan cold brewed tea tersebut, jadi supermarket sudah tutup dan saya bikin dengan bahan seadanya di rumah. Sayangnya emang karena ngga nyimpen buah plum dan jeruk nipis segar, serta herbs segar seperti thyme dan tarragon, saya ngga bisa bikin resep-resep cold brewed tea yang saya temukan di Internet seperti Iced Tea with Plums and Thyme dan Tarragon-Spiked Lady Grey Iced Tea.

Ya, ngga apa-apa, saya pakai resep-resep tersebut dan yang lainnya untuk bikin resep teh saya ini. Saya suka teh saya tawar dan ngga terlalu pekat rasanya. Untuk resep ini saya menggunakan daun teh Golden Earl dari Paper and Tea, tapi asal pake daun teh sih, kudunya resep ini oke untuk merk dan jenis teh lain.

Cold brewed Earl Grey tea

Bahan:

• 4 sendok teh daun teh Earl Grey, saya taruh di dalam tea bag
• 8 cups 80C air panas
• 4 cups air minum, suhu ruangan
• 2 sendok teh air jeruk yang baru diperas
• kupasan kulit jeruk dari 1 jeruk besar

Cara membuat:

• Tuangkan air panas pada daun teh yang sudah ditempatkan ke container tahan panas. Biarkan selama 5 menit, lalu buang daun teh.
• Biarkan teh sampai benar-benar mendingin hingga suhu ruangan.
• Kalau si teh sudah adem, tuangkan ke dalam container yang nanti akan dimasukkan kulkas.
• Tambahkan air jeruk, air minum, dan kupasan kulit buah jeruk.
• Taruh di kulkas selama minimal 8 jam; saya sih ninggalin semalam penuh.
• Ketika akan dihidangkan, buang kupasan kulit jeruk lama dan gunakan kupasan kulit jeruk baru yang sudah diiris tipis.

Kalau lebih suka teh manis, saya anjurkan untuk menambahkan sirup gula atau madu.

Selamat menikmati!