The Secret To Cold-Brewing Tea

It might come as a surprise that aside from water, tea is the most widely consumed beverage on the planet (via National Geographic). While it's loved by nearly every culture in the world from Russia to Japan to South Africa, tea does have some drawbacks. For one, it can be very acidic, which may cause problems for people with heartburn. 

However, there's a method of tea preparation which will drastically reduce the amount of acidity, and that's cold-brew. Tannins, the component of tea which causes it to be acidic, require heat to be introduced to the water, and so cold brewing your tea will result in a lighter and more subtle flavor (via The New York Times). Another benefit of making tea this way is that the caffeine content in cold-brew will be lower, so a cup of cold-brew at night shouldn't be a huge deal (unless you're super sensitive to caffeine).

This cold-brew method is quite easy, but it does require some time to complete so don't assume that you'll be able to whip up a batch of cold-brewed tea immediately. While this is a good recipe to begin with, like all recipes, you are welcome to fiddle with it to best fit your taste. 

For every quart of water, you'll want to use two tablespoons of a tea of your choice (via PopSugar). Mix them together in a clean glass jar and refrigerate it for eight to 10 hours. If you like your tea on the stronger side, you can leave it in for even longer. Letting it brew for fewer than eight hours will result in an extremely light flavor, so it's best to use eight hours as the minimum. Once it's finished brewing, strain out the tea leaves, and enjoy.