As a coffee lover, there is a high possibility that you will have a French press at home, or at least you must have heard of French press pots, or have tasted French press coffee in restaurants outside. Suppose, the world's popular coffee pot and the world's popular drink - Tea, what kind of surprises will be combined?
So how should we choose the tea and how to brew it? Let's come together to discover!
How Does The Coffee Press work For Brewing Tea?
I love the French press, it is a multifunctional product that can not only make coffee but also brew tea, make flower tea, froth milk, and so on. Hope you can also have a French press pot that you like, so let's see, how to make tea with a French press maker.
The steps for brewing tea and coffee are the same, we do not need to grind the tea leaves here, instead, we put the loose-leaf tea directly into the French press pot. For the specific French press pot brewing process, please review my past articles.
Read: French Press-Who Invented It and How to Use It
Points to note for making tea in a French press
Note-1: When pressing down on the plunger, please do not push the plunger directly to the bottom, which is the practice for making coffee, but not for making tea. If you keep pushing it to the bottom, it can easily lead to the risk of squashing or breaking the tea leaves. If you repeatedly brew the tea and crush the tea leaves, the next cup of tea will taste more and more bitter.
Note-2: Coffee tends to over-extract when left in the pot for long periods, and tea leaves can have similar results. The result is "bitterness". So what to do? It is very simple, just pour all the water in the pot onto the drinking cup. Without water to continue steeping the tea leaves, it is less likely to over-extract the tea leaves.
So, we can choose a French press pot with the right capacity according to the number of people enjoying it, and that will solve most of the problems!
How We Categorize Tea
Compared to the category of coffee, tea is much richer, and the history of tea can span thousands of years, while coffee is only a few hundred years old. Therefore, we cannot use the same water temperature to brew tea. For higher requirements, we even need a different brewing tea set to do so.
If we brew common teas with a French press pot, how should we brew them?
#1 Oolong Tea
Oolong tea, which belongs to green tea and semi-fermented tea, is rich in variety and can be subdivided into many different categories of tea. Oolong tea contains more than 450 organic chemical components and more than 40 inorganic mineral elements. After tasting, it leaves a fragrant taste on the cheeks and a sweet aftertaste. Oolong tea's pharmacological effects are mainly in the decomposition of fat, weight loss, and beauty, also known as "beauty tea", let's see how to brew it.
- Water temperature: 180-195ºF
- Steeping time: 2-4 minutes
- Caffeine: 15-60 mg
#2 Red Tea
Red tea is a fully fermented tea that has a rich, full-bodied flavor and a gentle mouthfeel. It is a common type of tea in North America and has a high caffeine content compared to other teas. After brewing its aroma is fresh, pure, and clear, with a strong honey and fruit aroma, a red-orange or red-bright soup color, clear and bright, and a mellow and fresh taste.
- Water temperature: 195-205ºF
- Steeping time: 3-5 minutes
- Caffeine: 20-80mg
#3 Green Tea
Green tea is a non-fermented tea, and because of its characteristics, it retains more of the natural substances within the fresh leaves. Among them, tea polyphenols and caffeine retain more than 85% of the fresh leaves, chlorophyll retains about 50%, and vitamin loss is also less. The taste of green tea is fresh and crisp, the taste is mellow, the aftertaste is sweet, the color of the soup is bright and clear, the aroma is rich and persistent, the mouth is full of freshness after drinking green tea, the throat is smooth and full, and the mouth is fragrant after drinking.
- Water temperature: 170-180ºF
- Steeping time: 2-3 minutes
- Caffeine: 15-40mg
#4 White Tea
White tea is a micro-fermented tea, only 0-2% of white tea leaves are oxidized, rich in amino acids, tea polyphenols, flavonoids, and other substances, and has the characteristics of the more it ages, the more fragrant it becomes. It is rich in amino acids, polyphenols, flavonoids, and other substances.
- Water temperature: 160-175ºF
- Steeping time: 2-3 minutes
- Caffeine: 10-30 mg
As you may have discovered, different teas require different temperatures to brew. Therefore, it is especially important to have a kettle with a thermometer.
Final Thoughts
If you also dislike buying something to sit around at home all the time, get out your French press pot, it has so much more to offer!
It's such a great time to make coffee and brew tea with your family, friends, and yourself.
If you have more ideas, please share them with us!
