Cold Brew Pure, Single Estate Tea

Hot tea in the summer is perfectly fine, but cold tea in the summer is much more appealing.  Cold brew method is best for pure, single estate tea because it heightens both the sweetness and smoothness of the chilled leaves. 

When tea is immersed in cold water instead of hot water it'll offer a different taste profile because cold water extracts different properties from tea than hot water.  Darker tea types will take longer to cold brew, so if you are short on time start with a White tea, then Green, Oolong and Black from light to darker teas in that order. 

Cold brew is simple, you don't need to use a kettle or be mindful about specific water temperature and it's surprisingly delicious.  The tea in the photo here is Silver Needle Tea Co.'s High Mountain Oolong and we love how cold brew created a smooth finish with heightened milky and floral notes.  

 

Serves 8/Preparation time:  4-10 hrs

An iced-tea pitcher or any glass jar, preferably with a top that will filter the leaves.  Note, we prefer not using a strainer because the best result for cold brew is when leaves are fully immersed in cold water.

Add 1.5 x the recommended amount of leaves used to brew hot tea.  For example, we suggest adding 3 grams/1 teaspoon of whole tea leaves to 6 oz water for hot tea.  Accordingly for cold brew, it would require 1-1/2 teaspoon for every 6 oz of cold water.  For eight people it will need 36 grams/12 teaspoons of whole tea leaves and 48 oz/6 cups of cold water.

Again, depending on the type of tea you are using, the time to cold brew will vary as suggested above.  We find it easiest to prepare it the night before and leave it in the fridge over night so you can enjoy it anytime the next day.

Recommended time according to tea type:   
White: 4-6hrs/ Green: 4-8hrs/ Oolong: 6-10hrs/ Black: 6-10hrs

Tea-Cured Salmon

in

This dish makes a fantastic starter for dinner parties...we promise it'll keep your guests satisfied before dinner.  We used Silver Needle Tea Co's Beautiful Golden Eyebrow, a lapson souchong tea perfect to add smokiness to the salmon.  
And so easy to make -  three ingredients in three steps!

Recipe is from tastingtable.com
Originally published on June 17th, 2013

Serves 8/Preparation time:  10 mins

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons of Silver Needle Tea Co.'s Golden Beautiful Eyebrow
¼ cup kosher salt
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
One 1¼-pound piece center-cut, skin-on salmon, pin bones removed

Preparation:

1. Cure the salmon: To a spice grinder or coffee mill, add the Lapsang souchong tea and pulverize until very fine. Transfer the ground tea to a small bowl and stir in the salt and sugar. Pour half of the tea cure into an 8-inch container. Set the salmon on top, skin side down. Pour the remaining tea cure over the salmon and pat lightly to evenly coat the surface. Cover the container and refrigerate for at least 8 hours and up to 12 hours.

2. Remove the salmon from the refrigerator and rinse it under cold water, letting the water remove the excess tea cure (don't rub the salmon to remove the cure). Blot the salmon dry with paper towels and set it on a cutting board.

3. Use a very sharp knife to slice the salmon paper-thin on a bias and against the grain. Arrange on a platter and serve.

Enjoy!