Refreshing Cold Brew Orange Rosemary Iced Tea for a hot day, what could be better?

Is anyone of you familiar with the Nestea powdered iced tea? They sell them in cans, big cans and they’re powdered and ready to drink by simply mixing it with water.

It was a popular drink when I was growing up in the Philippines, and maybe until now. I think even now they still have them in the market but I cannot remember the last time I bought them. Definitely not in the last 13 years that I had been here in Canada. It was convenient and quick to make and it taste really good. It is literally drinking diluted sugar, it was almost 70% sugar and you can see it from the powdered granules. Quick, easy and delicious, this drink comes with a price of loaded sugar. For a kid like me back then, who cares about lots of sugar, the more the better! bring it on!

Gone are those days. I have to admit I still think of as a fond childhood memories. Glass of iced cold iced tea after a long day playing under the sun. Life happens, and here I am, no longer a kid. Maybe kid at heart 🙂

Summer is the time of the year where I go crazy making cold drinks. From milk drinks, iced tea, lemonade, smoothie, Slushie and shakes. Iced tea always comes on top of my list as a quench thirsting drink for Summer. Ever since I tried making cold brew tea at home, I never looked back doing it the old way. Cold brew tea taste less bitter and grassy, as I call it. The long hours of steeping the tea from tap or cold water releases the flavor slowly thus avoiding a bitter taste. Bitter taste happens when you steep the tea for so long in hot or boiling water. Because cold brew uses tap or cold water, it produces a milder lighter tasting tea. It’s worth the wait, trust me.

There’s so many variations you can make for an iced tea, so many that 4 months of Summer is not enough for me to share what I want to share and try. For this reason, I’ll start with my favorite, and those that require simple ingredients and the one that is easy to make.

Let’s start with an Orange 🍊 flavored iced tea. Orange although seasonal is not that difficult to find. Worst comes to worst, you can use a ready to drink Orange juice in a carton or bottle. The citrus flavor of Orange mixed with the cold brew tea is a great match, but let’s make it fresher and better by adding fresh herbs. A sprig of fresh Rosemary please, or other herbs like Mint (lots of it!) or Basil will work too. Use fresh herbs that have great aroma so that it adds better flavor. I have a rosemary plant in my garden which is very handy for use in my drinks and cooking. Growing my own herbs so something that I like doing now whenever I can. Nothing beats fresh herbs from the garden, not to mention it is budget friendly and less waste.

What is cold brew tea? 

Cold brew tea is tea steeped in cold or room temperature water for an extended period of time. The cold brew steeping process brews the tea slowly, using time rather than temperature to release the flavors.

Cold brew tea vs hot tea, what is the difference?

• Taste: Aside from cold brew uses room temperature water or cold water plus longer steeping time, the difference between the two lies greatly in the taste. Cold brew tea tends to be milder and sweet tasting tea without a trace of bitterness in it. When room temperature or cold water is used to steep tea, there is very little (or non at all) heat to release the tannin and caffeine in the tea, resulting in a smooth sweet tasting tea.
• Transparency – Cold brew tea are usually crystal clear
• Less Caffeine – Although it still contains caffeine, it has less in it compare to hot tea or iced tea
• No bitter taste – because it has less tannin which makes it less astringent, cold brew tea do not have bitter taste like when you over steep a hot tea.

How To Make Simple Sugar Syrup

Simple syrup is simply dissolved and lightly reduced sugar + water. The basic ratio is 1:1, meaning 1 part sugar to 1 part water (i.e 1 cup sugar: 1 cup water), it is basically an equal portion of sugar and water.

However, if you like it thick and sweeter, you can do a 1:2 ratio (i.e 1/2 cup water : 1 cup sugar). The yield will be less, but it is thicker and sweeter which use you use less of it.

You can make sugar syrup using granulated white sugar for a clear syrup OR light or dark brown sugar for a darker syrup. The darker syrup are great for coffee or dark tea based drinks as this will not affect the color of the drink that much.

The clear syrup are best for drinks that you want to retain the original color without making it brownish in color. The clear white syrup tends to be sweeter than the brown sugar, but brown sugar have that light caramel flavor from the molasses in the brown sugar. In the end, it all boils down to preference.

4 Ingredients Cold Brew Orange Rosemary Iced Tea

This Milk Drink uses only 3 ingredients, Beets, sugar and milk and is very easy to make. You can flavor it or leave it plain, the choice is yours.

• Water – Tap/filtered or cold water, do not use hot water as this defeats the purpose of doing a cold brew
• Rosemary – Lightly rub the Rosemary before using. This releases the flavor. You can also use mint (my favorite) and Basil.
• Tea Bags – I’m using Earl Grey, you can use other mild neutral tea. Camomile or green tea are ok too.
• Orange – fresh sweet Orange 🍊. Can be substituted with Lemon, grapefruit or Lime
• Liquid Sweetener – Honey acts as the sweetener for the tea. You can also use sugar syrup which is basically just sugar dissolved in water. Watch the short video to see how to make Simple Sugar Syrup, it’s so easy.

How to Make Cold Brew Orange Rosemary Iced Tea

Making a cold brew tea is not difficult at all. Although it is not as quick and ready to drink as compared to steep iced tea, but it is totally worth it. You’ll start by filling a jar with room temperature or cold water instead of boiling water. Then leave the tea bags submerge in the water for about 4 -6 hours or overnight if you have time. Because of the length of time needed to make cold brew tea, it is recommended to make it at night and leave it in the fridge overnight. This way, you don’t have to count the hours waiting for it. Go to bed, sleep and wake up with a glass of col new tea waiting for you the following day. Once you have the tea bags submerge, pour in the sugar sweetener (or honey) which is basically a sugar syrup. A combination of water and sugar. You can also use honey but make sure to dissolve the honey in hot water and let it cool before pouring it in the tea mixture. You can also use any plant based sweetener of your choice. Add in slices of fruit and fresh herbs like mint, rosemary or basil leaves, this will give a nice infused flavor, but you can also have it plain. Let sit and chill in the refrigerator overnight. When ready to serve, pour in a glass with ice cubes and more sliced fruits and fresh herbs as desired.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups tap or filtered Water
• 1 cup Orange Juice
• 1/3 cup Honey
• 2 Tea Bags ( i.e. Earl Grey, Chamomile, Green Tea, Orange Pekoe, etc.)
• 1 sprig of Rosemary (can be substituted with Basil, Mint)
• fresh Orange Slices
• Ice Cubes

Orange Syrup Ingredients:

• 1 cup granulated Sugar
• 1/2 cup Orange Juice ( can be substituted with water)

Orange Syrup Instructions:

Pour Orange Juice or water in a pan. Add the sugar and stir until the sugar is almost dissolved. On medium heat, bring to a simmer for 3-5 minutes. Transfer in a container and let cool completely. It is advisable to make this at least a day ahead to allow the syrup to thicken. You can also make a big batch for future use.

Cold Brew Tea Instructions:

1. Make the cold brew tea: Pour Water and honey in a glass with a lid. Shake to dissolve the honey.You can also microwave the mixture for 1 minutes to make the honey dissolve faster. Add fresh rosemary, orange slices and tea bag. Leave overnight. You can make a big batch for use in larger serving.
2. Serve: Add sweetner (optional), ice cubes, fresh slice Orange, fresh rosemary and cold brew tea in a glass. Cover and shake or stir. Pour freshly squeeze orange juice or any liquid orange juice you prefer. Garnish with fresh or frozen sliced Orange and fresh Rosemary.

Serves 2

Nutritional Information

Nutritional Information was calculated using Veryfitwell Recipe Calorie and Nutrition Calculator. For details about Nutritional Information in this website, please read the Disclaimer page.

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