Mar. 13, 2025

How to Make Sparkling Tea at Home

Sparkling tea is one of my favorite discoveries lately. Imagine the elegance of drinking champagne, coupled with the aromas and tastes offered by tea. And to top it all off, it's non alcoholic. If you want to bring your tea drinking to the next level, this is traditional tea with a refreshing and sophisticated twist. It's surprisingly easy to make at home.

You can make any tea sparkling, but I personally really enjoy the contrast of a warming, roasted tea against the cooling, tangy sensations of carbonation. That's why I've selected a roasted tieguanyin for this recipe. It's the perfect choice for the transition between winter and spring, when the days start to get warmer.

Tasting Notes

Sparkling Tieguanyin brews a light amber liquor, with a sweet fruity and floral aroma, refreshing zing, and incredibly smooth and foamy body. This is followed by a deep aftertaste of roasted oolong, and tingling sensations on the tongue. Energizing and hydrating. It drinks like a light beer or a sparkling wine. A wonderful experience for the senses.

Brewing Considerations

There are two methods to make sparkling tea: Hot brewed tea concentrate topped with soda water, or cold brewed directly in soda water. While the hot brew is faster to produce, the cold brew is more bubbly. I've chosen the latter.

Cold brewed tea works slower in soda water than in still water, requiring 1-2 days. I cold-brewed for 1 day, using a high ratio of tea leaves to water.

The brand of soda water (also referred to as seltzer, or carbonated water) will impact the resulting taste. I've used Singha soda water as it's readily available where I live and I like the taste, but Perrier carbonated water works too.

The bottle you use for making sparkling tea must be airtight to maintain the bubbles. Ikea has an airtight bottle and mason jar series (called "Korken").