Tea Blog

The History of Iced Tea

ICED TEA & THE COLD BREW CONTINGENT

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Before ice was cool it was water

June is National Iced Tea month and in honor of this holiday we'll be offering some deep knowledge and deeper discounts to help keep you intellectually and actually insulated in the impending summer months. So, while your sipping on that sweaty beverage we offer you some fodder from the pages of history. We're going to unearth how tea went from hot to cold in two easy moves. The story behind iced tea's transformation from Midwest flare to world class fare.

The idea of icing this beverage is as old and celebrated as the union of this fair country.  However, the advent and origin are wildly debated. Cookbooks and confederacies touted the incorporation of cold cubes and crisp flavors as early as the 1840's. The Kentucky Housewife was one of the first periodicals to preach the gospel of this lovely libation calling it "Cold-Tea" and even articulating a recipe calling for "scalding" your kettle and then adding 2 teaspoons of green tea to it. Hard to believe given we see so much black tea these days, but then Chinese and Japanese green dominated the market prior to World War I & II.

However, the most widely distributed tout of truth brings us nearly half a century later at the St. Louis fair where, Richard Blechynden, director of the East India pavilion, became frustrated as he tried to offer samples of the hot stuff in the midst of the sweltering Midwest summer. His idea had not yet inoculated this beverage with sub-zero cubed delight; instead he channeled his brewed benevolence through a series of lead pipes immersed in ice resulting in a cool, refreshing beverage that tamed the tongues of fair goers alike.

Today, the newest of iterations have begun to emerge in the way of something known as "cold brewing". This is an idea that incorporates steeping the leaves of the tea for longer periods of time and at much lower temperatures to abide a full-strength non-ice necessitating refreshment. The resulting infusion lends itself to a softer, silkier palate and at full strength. Zhi Tea is proud to have been an early originator providing cold brew at zhitea.com since 2011 and we are overjoyed to see the trend taking off with a swift "can't stop won't stop" attitude.

As the summer season opens up and we find a revitalization in the newness of our own lives, perhaps cleansing the palate with the crisp and fervent flavors of an icy libation becomes necessary; something that reminds us of backyard barbeques, new beginnings and better times to come.

Go Green! Choose Gyokuro green tea

Japanese Green Tea Gyokuro Organic

Green!

The color of spring. Have you caught a glimpse of the oncoming season? Here in Texas, we’ve seen hints of winter’s end earlier than most of our tea loving friends across the country.

To celebrate, we’re drinking even more green tea than before. Here, we’d like to invite you to enjoy one with us: Gyokuro.

Gyokuro is a rare green tea from Japan. Not to be confused with sencha, gyokoru has its own harvesting, processing, and steeping methods which yield a distinctly different cup. The name “gyokuro” means “jade dew,” referring to the pale, whispy green color of the infusion.

If you like the grassy notes of sencha, you’ll love gyokuro. Before being harvested, gyokuro tea leaves are shielded from the sun for at least two weeks. This step heightens the naturally occurring photosynthesis of the plant. Here, the levels of both l-theanine and caffeine increases and there’s plenty of reasons to celebrate that effect! Plus, it gives gyokuro a distinct aroma and a slightly sweeter flavor from this covering process too.

Steep this delicate green tea at a lower temperature than most, and for less time. Experiment to find your perfect steep. Get lucky!

 

 

Recipe Box: Zhi’s Sparkling Jasmine Iced Tea

 

Aromatic and subtle, this effervescent iced tea is a luxurious compliment to summer memories.

The recipe below makes a ½ gallon pitcher and can be enjoyed as a mocktail or cocktail.

 

 

 

 

Sparkling Jasmine Iced Tea

5 minutes, makes 8 servings.

Ingredients:

  • 4 tablespoons dry Jasmine Green Zhi Tea
  • 1 cups steaming water
  • 6 cups sparkling water or sparkling wine
  • ice
  • honey syrup *optional

Teaware:

  • teapot or strainer
  • half gallon pitcher
  • cups

Directions:

1        Fill half gallon pitcher with ice.

2        Steep 4 tbs of dry Jasmine Green Zhi Tea in 1 cup of hot water for 3 minutes.

3        Pour steeped tea into your half gallon pitcher over ice. Stir to chill

4        Add 6 cups of sparkling water or wine to the pitcher of tea.

5        Taste. You can sweeten further using a honey syrup if you like.

6        To make a honey syrup, simply melt 2 parts honey to 1 part hot water.

7         Now, your pitcher of iced tea is complete.

8         Pour over cups filled with ice and enjoy!

9         Garnish with whole strawberries.

Introducing, Tropical Green Iced Tea Kits!

It’s hot. Cold steep!

Designed especially for pitcher-perfected iced tea, this innovative steeping method makes a flawless batch every time.

Haven’t cold steeped before? No worries!

Easy to follow directions are included on every kit. Plus, cold steeping automatically avoids over-steeping and temperature errors. With our easy to use Iced Tea kits, there’s no measuring or hot kettle needed either!

While every Zhi Tea can be enjoyed hot or iced, our cold steeping kits include our top six favorite iced teas. Our newest addition is a modification of our current top-selling Tropical Green. You’ll love this tea’s fruity, flavorful nature with tons of pineapple notes.

Catch the latest tea trend and get ready to cold steep all summer long. Available in six decadent teas, including our brand new Tropical Green!  Read more about Zhi’s summer line of seasonal iced tea here in the Austin Chronicle.

Have you cold steeped before?

Science time! Green tea extract eradicates cancer tumors.

A study published in the journal Nanomedicine offers more proof to the medicinal benefits of green tea.

Scientists from The University of Strathclyde injected cancerous tumors with a concentrated green tea extract that had been studied before. This was the first time researchers have managed to get positive results from such an experiment.

By using targeted therapy, researchers were able to deliver the green tea compound direct to the tumor. One type of human skin cancer showed 40 percent of tumors disappeared after a month of treatment!

Not only is green tea completely delicious, but it’s clear that all the hype has some real science behind it: green tea really can be a life saver.

Read the entire amazing article here!