Green tea is a healthy beverage with great taste. Some people like it hot, while others like it cold or iced. But is it healthy to drink cold green tea? Can you drink cold green tea?
Yes! It is okay to drink cold green tea. Although the taste of the tea when cold may be slightly different from how it tastes when hot, it is still the same tea when it comes to benefits.
Whether it should be served cold or hot depends on individual preferences.
Is there a difference between hot green tea and cold green tea?
Well, obviously, one is served hot while the other is served cold.
However, when it comes to taste, hot green tea boasts of a great aroma and flavor. Steam, which carries the aroma of your green tea in the form of volatile compounds, rises from the teapot and engages your nose before you even taste the tea.
Heat makes the aromatic compounds in green tea vaporous, which allows the aroma to reach your nose. Besides, it influences the taste of the tea.
On the other hand, when you drink cold green tea, the aromatic compounds vaporize less, thereby meaning less fragrance. This can be helpful in the sense that since the aroma is not influencing your tea drinking experience, you will be able to perceive other aspects of tea, especially the texture and the flavor.
The texture is easier to perceive when drinking cold tea, not only because it is not influenced by the aroma, but also because it is difficult to sip large amounts of cold green tea. With cold green tea, you can swirl the tea in your mouth to experience the texture of the tea without worrying about getting burned.
Related Article: Why Hot Tea Cools You Down on a Sweltering Summer Day
So, Should You Drink Hot Green Tea or Cold Green Tea?
As we said earlier, this is down to individual preferences. During summer, most people prefer to make iced tea, while in cold seasons, people prefer hot beverages. This is pretty self-explanatory.
In terms of benefits, the main benefit of drinking hot green tea is that it has a stronger caffeine content than cold tea. As of other benefits such as weight loss, hot green tea will do better (you can read more about green tea for weight loss in this guide). However, it is important to point out that these properties are still present in cold green tea, but not as effective as in hot tea. This is mostly down to how the tea is brewed.
Green tea is sensitive to heat. When you are brewing it, it should be extracted by water of 80 degrees Celsius and steeped for about three minutes. Keep in mind that higher or lower temperatures can result in bitter tea.
If you want to go the cold-brew way, you can use a quicker method, whereby you pour your double-concentrated tea, which you prepared in a Gaiwan teapot, to a larger glass full of ice then shake or stir to cool down the tea.
Pour your cold tea into your favorite Chinese cups and enjoy it. Keep in mind that when preparing tea using this method, either double the amount of green tea leaves you use or double the steep time to make your tea stronger. This because ice will diffuse your green tea further.
Therefore, to achieve the desired flavor of your cold brew, double the steep time or double the amount of green tea used.
Which Teaware Do You Need to Make Hot or Cold Green Tea?
As we mentioned earlier, green tea is very sensitive to water temperature. This is because it is made from tender leaves, which can easily get overcooked when water temperature is too high.
For this reason, the best teaware to brew green tea are those with thin-walls such as porcelain clay teapot or glass teapot. These teapots retain less heat and thus will not make your green tea to over steep.
A Gaiwan teapot with white interior or a clear glass teapot will allow you to see how the leaves are steeping and the color of your brew.
When serving green tea, glass teacups or porcelain teacups are the best.
Apart From Green Tea, Which Other Tea Can You Drink Cold?
In most cases, you can drink virtually any other tea cold. It is all down to taste more than the health benefits you will derive. When it comes to tea, keep in mind that it is always right to follow the right brewing procedure, whether you are brewing it cold or hot.
Final Thoughts: Cold Green Tea or Hot Green tea?
Both cold green tea and hot green tea are healthy. The only difference between them is that hot tea has more intense flavor and taste than cold green tea.