Summer Tea Party

ICY TEAS, COOL OFFERS / Summer, 2024

Reading time: about 10 minutes

Tea is a wonderful beverage we all know as a refreshing, delicious, hot drink. But in the heat of summer, we are not always in the mood for a warm drink. Luckily, there are several ways to enjoy tea, even if the weather is hot. Let’s learn about how to make cold teas!

Information that is covered:

Matcha, made cold
Seasonal iced matcha
Iced loose leaf teas
Mizudashi - cold brew loose leaf teas
Recommended tea tools

Matcha made cold

In general, matcha is usually made with hot water. The ideal temperature of the water is essential to make matcha foam well. But there are some matcha teas created with a special technique (freeze-drying) that allows these matcha powders to still foam even if prepared with cold water.

Marukyu Koyamaen offers:

Matcha Awaraku
Thanks to its freeze-dried producing technology Awaraku does not need to be sifted before making tea, and even though it is suitable for hot matcha, it is more recommended to prepare cold. It has a grassy, fresh taste.

☞ 20 g Branded CAN > $11.88
☞ 40 g Branded CAN > $21.60
☞ 5 x 1.5 g one-cup pouches > $7.56

Matcha Suzukumo
Similar to Matcha Awaraku, Suzukomo was made with freeze-drying technology, needs no sifting, and is best enjoyed when made cold. It is creamy with floral notes.

☞ 20 g Branded CAN > $16.20
☞ 40 g Branded CAN > $30.24
☞ 5 x 1.5 g one-cup pouches > $9.72

We also offer sweetened green tea powders delicious for ice soft drinks:

Matcha sweetened with sugar is characterized by a light, sweet, yet rich flavor. Especially good for cold soft drinks like Matcha Latte or Matcha Lemonade.

Sweet Green Tea by Hekisuien

☞ 120 g Sazen BOX > $8.10
☞ 1000 g BULK > $54

Sweet Green Tea Stick by Hokoen

☞ 10 x 20 g sachets > $12.96
☞ 20 x 20 g sachets > $24.62
☞ 100 x 20 g sachets > $116.64

Sweetened Matcha – Designed For Milk by Marukyu Koyamaen

☞ 5 x 10 g sachets > $4.32
☞ 10 x 10 g sachets > $7.02
☞ 200 g Branded bag > $8.10
☞ 250 g Branded can > $12.96
☞ 1000 g Branded bag > $32.40

➤ HOW TO MAKE COLD MATCHA

1 ➢ Put 2 g (0.4 US tsp, 1 teaspoon, or 2 chashaku scoops) matcha powder into a suitable chawan (tea bowl).
2 ➢ Pour about 80 ml (2.5 fl oz) cold water or once boiled but cooled down water over the matcha powder.
3 ➢ Whisk with a chasen (tea whisk) until foamy.
4 ➢ Add some ice.

➤ HOW TO MAKE SWEET GREEN TEA

1 ➢ Put 20 g (4 US tsp) sweetened matcha into your cup.
2 ➢ Pour in about 150 ml (5 fl oz) of cold water (or any kind of milk you like, e.g. normal, soy, almond, etc.).
3 ➢ Mix well and add ice.

TIP: For matcha lemonade, prepare it with still water or soda and add mint, herbals, or lemon juice to taste.

Seasonal iced matcha

Every year, some matcha makers come out with seasonal matcha blends inspired by the summer. These matcha teas are made with hot water then poured over ice, and are only available in summer.

Yamamasa Koyamaen offers:

Reiyou Matcha
Matcha with a pleasantly refreshing, creamy taste. The manufacturer also recommends it prepared with cold water.

☞ 30 g Branded CAN > $16.20

Horii Shichimeien offers:

Matcha Seseragi no Shiro
Usucha grade matcha blend created by Horii Chōjirō, a highly respected tea master and owner of Horii Shichimein. It has a smooth, well-rounded taste.

☞ 30 g Branded CAN > $23.76

Matcha Seseragi no Mukashi
Koicha grade matcha was also created by Horii Chōjirō. Seseragi no Mukashi is made of Samidori cultivar. It is a higher grade than Seseragi no Shiro, with a more complex, sweet, fruity, smooth flavor.

☞ 30 g Branded CAN > $35.64

HOW TO MAKE ICED MATCHA

1 ➢ Put 2 g (0.4 US tsp, 1 teaspoon, or 2 chashaku scoops) sifted matcha powder into a tea bowl.
2 ➢ Pour 30 ml (1 fl oz) of about 40℃ (104°F) water over the matcha powder.
3 ➢ Whisk with a chasen (tea whisk) until foamy.
4 ➢ Put ice cubes into the ready matcha and enjoy it cold.

Recommended tools:
Hira chawan or glass chawan and Shin Chasen Kubo Sabun

Iced LOOSE-LEAF tea

Loose-leaf teas are usually made hot, but some are exceptionally delicious when you cool them down with ice. They have a more intense flavor with a fresh, astringent touch.

Recommendations from SAZEN's original selection:

Chiran Tokujō Fukamushicha ⎼ Japanese Green Tea
This premium fukamushicha is made of high-quality green tea leaves exposed to direct sunlight. After the harvest, the tea is steamed longer, which results in fine leaves, more tea dust, rich umami, and a relatively high caffeine level.

☞ 100 g Sazen BAG > $19.44
☞ 200 g Sazen BAG > $37.80
☞ 500 g BULK > $86.40

Matcha iri Genmaicha Genmyo ⎼ Japanese Green Tea Blended with Rice
A special gourmet blend of sencha leaves, powdered green tea, and roasted brown rice. Tea bushes are exposed to direct sunlight, therefore the taste is characteristic and refreshing with a very pleasant roasted aroma of brown rice. It is a well-vitalizing tea with a nice fragrance.

☞ 100 g Sazen BAG > $9.72
☞ 200 g Sazen BAG > $18.36
☞ 500 g BULK > $41.04

Yame Koucha ⎼ Japanese Black Tea
This tea is rich in flavor and has a pleasant, sweet, fruity aftertaste.
Yame is mostly known for its Gyokuro, but the area is producing excellent black teas as well, cultivated from native Japanese tea cultivars. These cultivars are famous for being sweet without any lingering bitterness. A charismatic tea that is also exceptionally rich in antioxidants.

☞ 50 g Sazen BAG > $9.72
☞ 100 g Sazen BAG > $17.82
☞ 500 g BULK > $77.76

Kabusecha Akamine ⎼ Japanese Green Tea
Kabusecha means "shaded tea". About a week before picking tea leaves, tea fields are directly covered to protect them from the sunlight. Thanks to this method, kabusecha has a sweet and mellow taste with refreshing green notes.

☞ 100 g Sazen BAG > $19.44
☞ 200 g Sazen BAG > $37.80
☞ 500 g BULK > $86.40

Uji Karigane Wakatake ⎼ Japanese Green Tea
Karigane is a tea where tea leaves and tea stems are mixed.
It contains more vitamin C than other types of green tea and has a mildly bitter, slightly creamy taste. Uji Karigane is made of Sencha when the tea bushes are exposed to direct sunlight, that is why its taste has a characteristic refreshing flavor with a nice ‘green’ aftertaste.

☞ 100 g Sazen BAG > $10.80
☞ 200 g Sazen BAG > $21.60
☞ 500 g BULK > $48.60

HOW TO MAKE ICED LOOSE LEAF TEA

1 ➢ Put 8 g (2 US tsp) of tea leaves into a large teapot.
2 ➢ Cool down boiled water to 85℃ (185ºF) and pour 250 ml (8.5 fl oz) into the teapot.
3 ➢ Steep for 50 seconds.
4 ➢ Fill a large pitcher (about the capacity of half a liter) and pour the tea over it.
5 ➢ Make another infusion, with 200 ml (6.7 fl oz) water, 50℃ (122ºF) water, and 1-minute steeping time.
6 ➢ Pour it into the same pitcher to mix the two infusions and enjoy it cold.

Recommended tools: Ocean Rich Tea Dripper

A stylish and modern tea dripper, great for busy mornings, lazy afternoons, and office tea sessions. Also convenient for everyone who has just started their tea journey. The dripper is a must-have in summer. Just put ice in a pitcher or a large cup, let the tea dripper do its job, and your iced tea is ready!

Mizudashi - cold brew

Mizudashi means cold-brew tea in Japanese. Teas can have multiple characters. Tea prepared with cold water is amazingly refreshing with taste notes and aromas we might not get brewing them in hot water. Cold-brew tea is generally pleasant, mild, and sweet, especially compared to teas prepared with the above-mentioned iced tea method.

For this technique, we recommend Japanese, Chinese, and Taiwanese teas as well.

Recommended Japanese Teas for cold brewing:

Gyokuro Takamine
Green tea from shaded tea fields with a rich umami flavor, produced in Ujitawara, the southern part of Kyoto.
Gyokuro Karigane Ayatake
Tea stems blended with tasteful green tea from shaded tea fields in Kyoto, Japan. As a Karigane, it has a milder, sweeter taste.
Tongu Asutsuyu
Single-origin green tea cultivar with a roasted sweet potato aroma.
Tongu Saemidori
Single-origin green tea cultivar with a rich and sweet flavor, a fresh, grassy aroma, and a lemongrass aftertaste.
Ureshino Kamairicha
Characteristic pan-fried green tea from Saga Prefecture, Japan
Sencha Houjicha
Sencha Hōjicha is a roasted green tea made exclusively from first-flush green tea leaves, and this is very much palpable in its freshness. It has a wonderful roasted taste.
Koucha Houjicha
Roasted black tea. It is fruity and amazingly sweet, with candy cane and honey notes present in both the fragrance and the flavor.

Recommended Chinese Teas for cold brewing:

Mo Li Hua Cha
Green tea produced in Fujian Province, scented 8 times by quality, fresh jasmine flowers.
Bai Mudan (White Peony)
A refreshing, rich, and sweet-tasting white tea from Fujian Province, made from only the freshest tea buds and 1 or 2 of the leaves right under the bud.
Feng Huang Dancong Mi Lan Xiang
Oolong tea from the Phoenix Mountains. The fragrance recalls orchid flowers with the thick aroma of flower honey and the forward note of passion fruit that appears a little later but stays the longest.
Meng Ding Lan Fei
This tea is harvested on the Meng Ding Mountain, at an over 1000 meter altitude. Meng Ding Lan Fei is a silky, sweet, and floral tea with a lasting spicy and verdant aftertaste. Lan Fei's leaves are already a sight to behold and it is generally famous for standing out with its strong magnolia aromas.
Dong Ting Bi Luo Chun
Dong Ting Bi Luo Chun from Suzhou City, Jiangsu Province is known as one of the great representatives of Chinese green tea because of its rich aromas, sweet aftertaste, and stunning appearance.

Recommended Taiwanese Teas for cold brewing:

Dong Fang Meiren Superior (Oriental Beauty)
Rare Taiwanese oolong tea made in only one tea farm in Taiwan and picked within one week in early June. Has the aroma of ripe fruit and honey, with a flavor like red tea.

HOW TO MAKE ICED LOOSE LEAF TEA

1 ➢ Put 10 g (2 US tsp) of tea leaves in a large tea maker.
2 ➢ Fill your vessel (or tea maker) with cold water (about 800–1000 ml).
3 ➢ Put the vessel in the fridge and wait for at least 4 hours and enjoy it cold.

TIP ★ Prepare it in the evening before going to bed, so you can start the morning with a refreshing cup of mizudashi iced tea.
TIP ★ Flavor it with mint, lemongrass, etc.
TIP ★ You can make one more infusion, steeping time: 1–2 hours.

Recommended tools: HARIO Mizudashi tea maker or Tea drip and Pine Needle Teacup

Recommended tea tools for making cold tea

To bring the best out of your summer tea, you need suitable tools. Some of them are summer tools by function, some by design, but they are all delightful addition to your summer tea time.

Hira chawan
“Hira” refers to the shape of the chawan: broad and flat. This shape, with its wide and open mouth, helps the matcha cool faster. With ice in it, it makes the perfect summer matcha.

Glass chawan
Cold touch and cool sight, a glass chawan brings a little extra to the summer tea times, especially when you add some ice to it.

Gokuhira and Hiramaru Kyusu
These flat teapots are ideal to make cold loose leaf tea. Either you prepare it with hot water and then cool it down, or you make mizudashi with the ice slowly melting and dripping on the leaves, these teapots are great additions to any tea lover’s collection.

Futanashi Kyusu
Futanashi kyusu is a lidless teapot. Without a lid that keeps the steam in, the tea can cool down faster. Also, since you can see the tea leaves opening, you know when your tea is ready.

HARIO Mizudashi tea maker and Tea dripper
HARIO Mizudashi tea maker and Tea dripper are both excellent tools to make mizudashi tea for a larger group of people. Excellent for tea parties.

Twistea
The perfect tool to make iced tea on the go. All you need is a twist to separate the tea leaves from the water. This way, you can make several infusions.

Accessories

Glass - Find the best glass accessories to make your summer tea time perfect.

Trays - Serve teas on beautiful wooden trays for elegance.

Teacups - No tea time can be complete without the perfect teacup, regardless of the season.

Yuzamashi (pitcher) - Use a yuzamashi to cool down the water and make the most delicious teas.

Summer decorations

Summer is a season of lots of colors and delight. Some of the popular summer motives are summer plants such as Ajisai (hydrangea), Aomomiji (green maple leaves), Kikyou (bellflower), Asagao (morning glory), Himawari (sunflower), Yanagi (willow), natural elements like Mizu (water) and Nyuudougumo (thunderhead), summer ornaments like Fuurin (windchimes), summer festival funs like Hanabi (fireworks) or Senkōhanabi (firecracker), and animals like Hotaru (firefly), Kingyo (goldfish), Semi (cicada), and Kaeru (frog).

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