Korean Iced Green Tea

This post was created in partnership with the Korea Agro-Fisheries and Food Trade Corporation. Usually after my cup of green jasmine tea first thing in the morning I drink gallons of plain green tea before I switch to water or mint tea after lunch, but as the temperature climbs I’ve found a new favourite drink that is super refreshing and super easy to make: cold brew Korean Iced Green Tea.

Just like regular cups of green tea it just involves steeping tea bags in water, contains no added sugar, but is so, so delicious (and a beautiful bright green colour) in this heat. I’ve taken to making a bottle up to drink every morning to sip while I write out on the patio, and when I first tested this and loaded it into my Swell bottle to take to a blistering hot London with me small sips revitalised me far quicker than plain old water would have done.

So why ‘Korean’ green tea rather than any other green tea? Well, even though the only thing we’re adding to the iced green tea aside from slices of lemon and lime, and lots of ice, that does not mean we can’t change the flavour profile of our green tea a little! Whenever I see it on a restaurant menu I always order Korean brown rice green tea, literally with a bit of toasted brown rice mixed in as it gives a beautiful toasty flavour. Here, I’ve used equal parts regular green tea and Korean brown rice green tea to give a bit of depth to the iced tea.

You can buy Korean brown rice green tea from Amazon or OrientalMart, and while you’re down the Korean green tea route, it is worth picking up some Korean green tea matcha powder too which yes, Korea produce even though I’m sure most of you will be more common with the Japanese version. It is worth having on hand because while usually some matcha is just good for drinking, it is a matcha that is excellent for baking too, still holding its flavour and colour in cakes, biscuits, bread dough and desserts. For the best quality look out for Korean green tea powder (or indeed any Korean green tea) from Jeju, a volcanic island famous worldwide for their high quality teas.

Once you’ve made your first batch, you can play around with the proportions: you might love the brown rice flavour and want to make up a bottle of just brown rice green tea (it is particularly good with all the lemon slices, though as it is summer I tend to just throw in whatever is already sliced in the fridge), or just a very plain, pure green tea. It is up to you! All you need to remember is you need 1 teabag per 200ml of cold water.

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Korean Iced Green Tea

  • Author: Rachel Phipps
  • Prep Time: 2 minutes
  • Brewing Time: 6 hours
  • Total Time: 6 hours 5 minutes
  • Yield: Serves 3-4 1x
  • Category: Drinks
  • Method: Cold Brew
  • Cuisine: Korean
  • Diet: Low Fat

Description

This super easy cold brew Korean Iced Green Tea is super refreshing, perfect to make ahead to serve over ice with slices of fresh lemon and lime.


Ingredients

Scale
  • 2 green tea bags
  • 2 Korean brown rice green tea bags
  • 800ml (3 1/3 cups) cold water
  • lemon and lime slices, to serve
  • ice cubes, to serve

Instructions

  1. Pour the cold water over the tea bags in a jug or water bottle. Refrigerate for 6 hours.
  2. Remove the tea bags and serve over ice with lemon and lime wedges. Store in a bottle in the fridge for up to 3 days.

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