Summer has arrived to our part of the world and with it the demanding heath.
Very hot weather and high humidity scream for something refreshing and that is why in Japan is very common to drink cold tea during this season.
Every restaurant that usually serves you houjicha with meals, will give you now a cold one.
Every place that serves matcha, will give you the option to order it with ice.
Every household in tea areas will have a refill of cold brew tea always ready in the fridge.
Preparing a mizudashi is actually very easy and convenient, let’s see how:
- Choose a tea that you like
- Fill in a tea bag with more or less 10 grams of tea leaves
- Put it in a 1.5 lt bottle or jar full of cold water
- Store it in your fridge for a good few hours or overnight
Very slowly the tea will steep and the result will be very refreshing and mild!
Can it be done with matcha? Of course!
But you can also do it as it is usually done in Kyoto’s tea houses: prepare your matcha whisking it in a chawan just as it is done usually, then just add some ice on it.
Easy peasy!
Try playing around with different teas and see which one you prefer.
Probably by looking at the photo you can spot that our choice is… all teas!
Houjicha for a casual drink (in the tall glass), sencha for very pleasant umami and no bitterness at all (in the champagne flute), genmaicha for a bit of sparkly character (in the wine glass), kyobancha for the smoky spiciness of a whiskey without the alcohol effect (classy whiskey glass) and finally an always well received matcha (in the glass chawan).
Which one will you start brewing first?