Suitable for Cold Brewing
Some teas cold brew well and some do not. Gathered here are the ones that give up their contents in cold water without turning astringent.
Because the water never heats up, catechin is slow to come out and sweetness and umami arrive first. The teas that benefit are the ones with concentrated contents to begin with and with astringency that is fine rather than coarse. Heavily roasted teas, and teas designed to release their flavor at high temperature, do not show what they have when brewed cold.
White tea and black tea made from wild trees, and white teas with a high proportion of buds, suit this especially well.
Suitable for Cold Brewing
Dong Ding Oolong Qing Xiang 凍頂烏龍茶 清香型
From Zhushan, near Dongdingshan. Lightly fermented, with a clear, bright aroma of orchid.
From ¥1,400 (50g)
Tian Chi Li Shan Cha Special 天池梨山茶 Special
A rare tea from one plot of the Tianchi Lishan garden at 2,600m. Something you meet only once in ten or twenty years, with a tropical fruit aroma layered with citrus and a note suggesting matsutake.
From ¥10,300 (50g)
Wen Shan Bao Zhong 文山包種茶
The most lightly fermented of Taiwan's oolongs, Wen Shan Bao Zhong sits between green tea and oolong in its fresh character. A gentle aroma of orchid.
From ¥1,600 (20g)
Tsukigase Asamomi Sencha 月ヶ瀬浅揉み煎茶
A sencha made to HOJO's specification with rolling kept to an absolute minimum, so that the fresh aroma lost to the heat of rolling survives. Fresh and floral.
From ¥1,400 (50g)
Gyokuro Okumidori 玉露おくみどり
A rare true gyokuro from Asahina in Okabe, Fujieda, Shizuoka, made by the traditional method of shading with straw. The single Okumidori cultivar gives it a full, generous body.
From ¥2,100 (30g)
Jasmine Silver Needle 茉莉銀針
A custom-made jasmine tea using ancient tree Silver Needle, made by an ethnic minority in Yunnan Province from naturally grown old trees.
From ¥2,800 (50g)
Jasmine Pearl 茉莉龍珠
A green tea from the first spring flush in Yunnan, plucked one bud and one leaf, rolled into pearls and scented with fresh jasmine blossom.
From ¥1,900 (50g)
High Mountain White Tea 高山白茶
From a semi-wild garden at around 2,300m. Leaves bitten by the leafhoppers that thrive there develop a sweet honey aroma as the tea ages. A clear, gentle body.
From ¥2,200 (50g)
Silver Needle ( Bai Hao Yinzhen ) 白毫銀針
A rare white tea from naturally grown old trees in Yunnan, quite unlike garden-grown tea. Only the new shoots are used, and plucking is laborious because the buds are uneven and the trees large. A soft, long finish with a sweet aroma.
From ¥1,700 (20g)
Phoenix Oolong Lao Cong Jiang Mu Xiang 2025 鳳凰単叢 老欉姜母香 2025
From old trees 80 years old at 1,200m in Guizhuhu village, Wudong. Raspberry brightness in harmony with galangal, and a concentrated aftertaste.
From ¥2,300 (15g)
Phoenix Oolong Ya Shi Xiang 2022 鳳凰単叢 鴨屎香 2022 No.2
From Pingkengtou village at around 1,000m. A tropical aroma suggesting mango, with a soft mouthfeel and a long finish to enjoy.
From ¥1,500 (15g)
Da Xue Shan Wild White Tea Cake 2022 大雪山野生白茶2022 餅茶
A white tea made from wild Camellia taliensis. Aromas of Shine Muscat, honey and raisin, with an intensely long finish. Very highly recommended cold-brewed.
From ¥3,600 (50g)
Bi Luo Chun 碧螺春
A Chinese green tea with a long finish, grown without agrochemicals or fertiliser on East Dongting mountain. A sweet aroma of flowers and citrus with a fresh body.
From ¥3,200 (20g)
Phoenix Oolong Lao Cong Jiang Hua Xiang 2023 鳳凰単叢 老欉姜花香 2023
From Guizhuhu village, Wudong, at 1,200m, trees 60 years old. A spicy, bright ginger-flower aroma layered with white peach.
From ¥2,500 (15g)