Cold brew green tea is quickly becoming a popular and healthy alternative to sugary soft drinks and spirits. Research has found that the decline in soda and alcohol sales has been the result of growing public awareness about the negative health effects (like obesity, diabetes, and depression) that come with drinking sugar‐sweetened beverages. As a result, people are now searching for healthy alternatives like Japanese Sencha tea recipes and other delicious green tea blends which have positive health benefits and come in a wide range of flavors and combinations.
The Ikeda Tea World team loves to experiment with different beverage mixes, especially when that 3-o'clock slump hits. The spring rain brought full blooms of fragrant jasmine all over our Southern California HQ, and we were inspired to make a delicious cold brew green tea using some of our premium bulk Sencha tea.
While we were inspired by the aromatic Jasmine in our garden to create this green tea cold brew, it is important to note that some Jasmine plants, like the bright yellow Carolina Jasmine, are poisonous! Sources like the University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources (UCANR) include the common star jasmine (pictured above) as one of the Jasmine varieties listed as safe for people, and sources like Gardner’s World provide detailed information about the plant’s safety. However, these sources don’t mention toxicity as a result of pesticides which can harm people and pets.
For maximum safety, we recommend buying safe, dried jasmine flowers for herbal tea which can be found at your local farmer’s market or online.
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Directions:
We love the balance of earthy flavors that come with this Sencha tea recipe, and jasmine flowers give our bulk green teasubtle sweet notes and a fragrant aftertaste that we just can’t get enough of. A semi-sweet treat is the perfect complimentary snack to this delightful cold green tea brew – ahem, strawberry shortcake cookies, anyone?
