Iced tea doesn't have to come in a glass bottle, nor does it have to be purchased in powdered mix format either. A little bit of high-quality loose tea will go a long way, and might even make you rethink your preferred tea temperature! A lot of people - especially in the summer months - ask us whether the tea leaves they bought at Golden Teahouse can be used to make iced tea. But not only is this simply 'doable', the results are fantastic and the methods very flexible! Meaning, you don't have to apply much science in order to get a great glass of iced tea. Here are a few ideas that we enjoy immensely to get you started:

1. Iced Long Jing green tea in a tall 500ml glass: Pour in a tiny amount of hot water (less than an inch or 2cm of 80 celsius 176 fahrenheit). Add in 3-5g of leaves (an equally tiny amount!) and give it a slight swirl as you take in the fresh and fragrant smell. Once the aroma is well developed top up the glass with less-than-boiling water and leave out in the open to cool down. Once it is near room temperature chill in the refrigerator. Enjoy cold when thirsty, no ice necessary! Can be increased to make a pitcher, but always be sure to use glass that can withstand the temperature!


2. Iced Da Hong Pao in a tall 500ml glass: The steps here are roughly the same as with Long Jing, but you start by heating the glass with hot water, then adding the 5g of leaves to the empty glass. Pour on boiling water straight to the top and leave to cool naturally before refrigerating.


3. An alternative approach to iced tea is used sometimes here in China for producing an accurate but chilled version of the same tea that goes through a tea ceremony. The idea here is two-fold: Not wasting great tea that could serve many people while hot, and also keeping the the iced version as similar as possible to what it should taste like hot. Making iced tea in this way simply involves pouring off a certain amount of each infusion to a second pitcher on the side, while enjoying a great tea gongfu-style. At the end of making the tea, take the second pitcher and chill in the refrigerator for a treat later on.
   

We will go into more detail on gongfu tea-making in the future, so stay tuned!