Mizudashi Sencha: Japanese Cold Brewed Iced Tea

As summer approaches and the kitchen fills with sunshine, it's time to let the steaming teacups rest for a while. But that doesn't mean we stop drinking tea here at Nekko Kitchen. On the contrary.

One of our best summer drinks is mizudashi sencha: Japanese green tea slowly brewed with cold water. The result is a light green, refreshing iced tea with soft umami, natural sweetness, and significantly less bitterness than many hot-brewed green teas.

Here, we explain what mizudashi is, why the method is so suitable for sencha, and how you can easily make Japanese cold brew iced tea at home.

What does mizudashi mean?

Mizudashi is written 水出し in Japanese. Mizu (水) means water, and dashi (出し) roughly means to extract, bring out, or draw out. In the context of tea, mizudashi therefore means that flavor is extracted from tea leaves with cold or cool water.

The opposite is oyudashi, or o-yu dashi, written お湯出し. O-yu (お湯) means hot water. When sencha is brewed in the usual way with heated water, it is a form of oyudashi: the tea's flavor is extracted with heat instead of cold and time.

Both methods have their place. Hot-brewed sencha provides more immediate aroma, clearer structure, and a classic tea feel. Mizudashi yields a softer, cooler, and more thirst-quenching cup where sweetness and umami take a more prominent role.

If you want to understand sencha more fundamentally, you can read our guide on sencha as everyday Japanese tea. For a broader overview, our page on Japanese tea is also available.

Why cold brew sencha?

1. More smoothness, less bitterness

When green tea is brewed with hot water, flavor compounds are released quickly. This can result in a beautiful cup, but also bitterness if the temperature is too high or the steeping time too long.

With cold water, extraction is slower. This makes the flavor rounder and milder. Sencha's green freshness remains, but bitterness is held back. For many who find green tea easily bitter, mizudashi is a very simple way to discover a softer side of Japanese tea.

2. Simpler than hot brewing

Mizudashi is almost ridiculously simple. Place tea leaves in cold water, put it in the fridge, and let time do the work.

You don't need to monitor temperature, timer, or precise pouring. That's why cold-brewed sencha is so rewarding during the summer. You can prepare a pitcher in the evening and wake up to ready-made Japanese iced tea the next morning.

3. Perfect with food and on warm days

Cold-brewed sencha pairs well with rice dishes, salads, grilled food, cold noodles, and light summer lunches. The flavor is clean and refreshing, but not flat. It still has the green, Japanese character that makes sencha so special.

If you want to try it with our tea, we recommend Uogashi Sencha, which works both hot and cold-brewed.

Basic recipe: mizudashi sencha in the fridge

You will need

• 1 liter of cold, fresh water
• 10 to 15 grams of Japanese sencha
• A glass bottle, pitcher, or carafe with a lid
• Optionally, sliced fruit, herbs, or citrus

Instructions

1. Place the tea leaves in the bottle or pitcher.
2. Pour in cold water.
3. Refrigerate for at least 3 hours.
4. Taste. If you want a deeper flavor, let the tea steep longer.
5. Strain the leaves and serve ice cold.

For a mild and elegant taste, 3 to 4 hours is often enough. For more intensity, you can let the tea steep for 6 hours or overnight.

How much tea should you use?

A good starting point is 10 grams of sencha per liter of water. If you want a clearer iced tea with more body, you can increase it to 15 grams.

If you use a lot of ice when serving, it might be wise to brew the tea a bit stronger, as the ice will dilute the flavor as it melts.

Flavorings that pair well with mizudashi sencha

Pure mizudashi sencha is beautiful on its own, but it also lends itself well to flavoring. Think subtly. Green tea has a delicate flavor, so the goal is to complement, not mask.

Peach

Peach provides soft fruit sweetness and a summery aroma. Slice ripe peach and add it with the tea leaves, letting it steep in the fridge.

Lemon or Yuzu

Citrus adds freshness and a more distinct iced tea feel. It's best to add lemon or yuzu towards the end of the brewing, especially if the peel is included. This prevents the white pith from contributing too much bitterness.

Cucumber and mint

Cucumber and mint make the drink extra cooling. This is particularly suitable on warm days when you want something clean, green, and thirst-quenching.

Swedish strawberries and kiwi

Strawberries and kiwi provide a lovely summer feeling and a light berry note. It creates a beautiful fusion between Japanese green tea and Swedish summer.

Which tea is best for cold brewing?

Sencha is a natural choice for mizudashi because it has freshness, umami, and a green flavor profile that becomes very pleasant when cold. A clear, pure sencha works best.

You can also try other Japanese teas. Genmaicha yields a rounder and nuttier cold brew, while hojicha becomes softly roasted and almost caramel-like even when cold.

If you want to compare several varieties, a Japanese tea tasting box can be a good way to find your favorite.

Frequently asked questions about mizudashi sencha

Can you cold brew sencha overnight?

Yes. It's fine to let sencha steep in the refrigerator overnight. The flavor will be fuller, but still softer than with hot brewing.

Does cold-brewed green tea become bitter?

It can become slightly astringent if you use too much tea or let it steep for too long, but mizudashi is normally significantly less bitter than hot-brewed green tea.

How long does mizudashi last in the fridge?

Drink cold-brewed tea the same day or within 24 hours. Store it cold and strain out the tea leaves when the flavor is where you want it to be.

Do you need to add sugar?

No, not if you use a good sencha and let it brew slowly. Cold brewing brings out the tea's natural sweetness, so the drink usually feels round without sugar.

A pitcher of Japanese summer in the fridge

Mizudashi sencha is one of the easiest ways into Japanese tea. It requires no special equipment, no precise technique, and no lengthy preparation. Just tea leaves, cold water, and a little time.

For us, this is a drink that belongs to summer: a bottle in the fridge door, a glass with ice, perhaps a few slices of peach or strawberries, and the clean green flavor that makes sencha so easy to return to.