Kouridashi: Japanese Cold Brewing Tea

Tea is not just a word but holds eternity in it. For many of us, it is our morning culture to sip a cup of tea and head to face the world. There are so many varieties of tea we have had and hands down, our love for iced tea knows no limits. Let us take you through the Japanese method of tea brewed in ice that too without any complex teaware or any complicated technique. Kouri means ice and dashi typically refer to a broth or any other extracted liquids which were meant to draw out umami flavours that are generally labelled to be a bit savoury. 

Let us take you through a little about cold brewing. It is actually brewing tea at room temperature or in cold water and not at all exposing the tea into hot water. Some studies say that cold brewing is a great way of extracting more delicate flavours in order to get a smoother brew in the cup of tea. If you have heard of cold brew coffee, this is the same thing and the only difference is that it has tea leaves. Not everybody but the elite tea lovers are fond of it.

Kouridashi is a Japanese way to cold brew tea and this method is loved mostly by the tea drinkers who consider themselves calm and patient. We are saying this because it takes some hours to prepare a cup of tea in this way but after the long wait, you will not regret putting your time into it. Now, other cold tea brewing methods are not much different from the kouridashi brewing method. One just has to steep tea without hot water until they see some more subtle flavours start to emerge.

Since we told you that cold brew tea from the Kouridashi process takes longer, you need to be patient. This is actually reserved for high-quality tea, delicate teas like first flush Darjeeling. Traditionalists actually recommend letting this ice melt at its natural pace. They believe that umami flavours are achieved only when the ice slowly melts inside the Kyusu teapot. The longer time it takes, the finer and bolder flavour will emerge. This is actually amazing how surprising flavours come up in the end. A large number of tea enthusiasts follow this Kouridashi method and it is, hands down, a great method to make delicious iced tea during summer. Let us show you how you can make it. 

Method

  • Take a glass or small mug and add a teaspoon of tea leaves. 
  • Fill the top to top with ice cubes. 
  • Now, if you like your tea a little stronger, you can add a second teaspoon of tea leaves to your cup. 
  • Wait until the ice melts completely.
  • Once the ice melts, strain the tea and get this cold brewed tea made down your throat.

Tips 

  • You can also use a cocktail shaker instead of a glass or mug as it gets a little easier to strain the tea.
  • You can use regular ice cubes or it is even better to have larger ice cubes.

Let us know if you liked this cold brewed tea. Also, tell us if you know any other method of cold brewing tea.