If you delve into the world of tea, you will find that from tea leaves to tea sets, there is also a lot to be said for drinking tea, so many types of tea, and so many details of drinking tea.
The reasoning is the same as you and espresso and regular coffee. From coffee beans to coffee machines, you can find methods of preparation for different people, as well as coffee flavors.
So, in principle, actually drinking coffee and making tea is similar (not the same), so is there a coffee appliance that can also make tea? Of course, there's more than one way.
If you are a refinish, you may not be able to accept a coffee pot to make tea, why? Because coffee pots are designed for coffee! If it is acceptable, please keep reading.
Tea Brewing Methods
The way to make tea will vary depending on the type of tea leaves and the choice of tea sets. Here, we share the steps of making tea, so that we can learn the seven steps of making tea correctly.
1、Boiling water
The water used for making tea is soft water such as mountain spring water, pure water, and mineral water as the best. Whether you need 176 °F or 194 °F hot water to make tea, you must first boil it and then dry it to a suitable temperature.
2、Wash the cup
Fill the teapot, bowl, cup, and cup with hot water, which is called a scalding pot and washing cup to clean the tea utensils and raise the temperature of the tea utensils, which is also conducive to inducing tea fragrance when making tea. Note that you need to pour off the water quickly.
3、Pouring tea
Generally speaking, the ratio of tea to water is 1:30~50, that is to say, pour 0.11oz of tea and at least 5 fl oz of water, which can be determined according to personal taste, those who like to drink strong tea can throw more tea leaves, those who like to drink light tea can add more water appropriately.
4、Brewing
When filling water for brewing, pay attention to the "phoenix three nods", that is, the teapot will be tilted down and up three times, "a nod to the guests", but also can make the concentration of tea soup even. Note that the tea poured seven minutes full, poured too full when the end of the tea is easy to burn.
5、Pouring tea
The brewed tea soup is generally poured into the tea sea first, the tea sea is also known as the fair cup, meaning the fair share of tea. Then poured from the sea of tea into the tasting cup, with the meaning of tea tasting.
6、Tea serving
Teacups need to be placed on the tea tray and then handed to the tea guest, pay attention to the front of the tea guest's right hand. After handling the tea, you also need to use your right hand to make the posture of inviting tea.
7、Tasting tea
After picking up the cup of tea, do not rush to drink it, first smell the aroma and then taste the flavor. Take a small sip of tea, let the tea stay in your mouth for a few seconds, feel the aftertaste and sweetness of the tea, then slide it down your throat and swallow it.
What are the cautions for making tea?
1, with insulation cup tea: steeping tea with ceramic pots, and cups, should not use an insulation cup. Because of the insulation cup bubble tea, tea for a longer period to maintain a high temperature, tea in part of the aromatic oils escape, so that the fragrance is reduced; leaching of tannic acid and theophylline too much, there is a bitter taste, and therefore also lost part of the nutrients.
2, tea with boiling water: tea with boiling water, will destroy many nutrients. For example, vitamin C, P, etc., in a water temperature of more than 80 ℃ will be destroyed, but also easy to dissolve too much tannic acid and other substances, so tea with a bitter and astringent taste.
Therefore, the water temperature for making tea should generally be mastered at 158 °F-176 °F. Especially green tea, such as the temperature is too high, the tea is ripe, turned into black tea, it will lose the original green tea fragrance and a cool taste.
3, brewing tea for too long: tea steeping 4-6 minutes after drinking is the best. Therefore, 80% of the caffeine and 60% of other soluble substances have been soaked out. If the steeping time is too long, the tea will become bitter and astringent.
4, used to brewing strong tea: brew a cup of moderate concentration of tea, generally needing about 0.35oz of tea. Some people like to make a strong tea. Tea is too thick, leaching too much caffeine and tannic acid, and too much gastrointestinal irritation. After brewing a cup of tea can be refilled and then brewed into 3-4 cups.
When you see this, will you feel that the steps of making tea are beyond your comprehension? There are a lot of people around who feel that it is okay to steep tea leaves or tea bags in hot water for a few minutes and then drink it. This is indeed also drinkable, but it is just harder to drink the unique flavor of the tea leaves.
Should You Make Tea in A Coffee Maker?
After understanding the seven steps of making tea, you can understand that making tea in a coffee pot is not a good choice, but badly does not mean you can't. Yes, if you want to make tea in a coffee pot, my top recommendation is still a French press pot.
Why is it not recommended?
First of all, if you buy an espresso machine, you need to grind the tea leaves as fine as the coffee powder, at this time, the bitter compounds in the tea leave tea polyphenols, theophylline, and caffeine easier and faster into the water, rather than slowly released through the number of brewed tea leaves, so the tea made in this way will be more bitter and more astringent. And the amount of tea leaves is not easy to control. So it is not recommended to use an espresso machine to make tea.
Secondly, if you buy a fully automatic coffee machine, it brews coffee by letting the water flow over the coffee powder at the top of the machine for extraction. By the same token, by letting the water flow over the tea leaves, you would have to increase the number of tea leaves by 2 times to extract the flavor.
Why? As we mentioned above, brewing tea requires time to steep, so if you simply let the hot water flow over the tea leaves, the contact time with the tea leaves will be too short to extract the normal flavor of the tea leaves.
So what coffee machine can accomplish this "contact time"? There are, for example, our French press pots.
How to Make Tea by French Press Coffee Maker?
You will be surprised at how easy it is to brew coffee with a French press pot. You will also be amazed at how good the coffee pot is! It is a household necessity! Let's see how to make tea with a French press pot.
Step 1: Warm up the pot
First, brew the French press pot once with hot water at around 176°F to heat the pot, because too much temperature difference will affect the flavor of the tea, which is the same reason as brewing coffee.
Step 2: Add tea leaves/tea bags & hot water
Depending on the capacity of your French press pot, put in the corresponding amount of tea leaves, normally I would put in about 10 ounces of tea leaves. Pour hot water of around 90 degrees into the container. Let the tea steep for 2-6 minutes, depending on the type of tea.
Step 3: Slowly push the plunger down into the container
If you are putting it in a tea bag, you can stir it first before pushing it down into the container. This is to allow the tea bag flavor to be released better.
Note: Do not steep the tea leaves in water for a long time, otherwise the hot water will release the bitter compounds from the tea leaves.
It's that simple, doesn't require much skill, and the French press pot is easy to clean and can separate the tea leaves from the tea very well, it's just too convenient, enjoy the fun of making tea!
Conclusion
Whether you are brewing tea or coffee, there are ways to do it without difficulty. You can choose a professional brewing method, or you can choose a simple and casual way. As long as we have the right tea leaves, the right water temperature, and the right amount of tea leaves to grasp, we can brew tea and drink it just the same.
Remember, perfectionists, are not allowed to brew coffee in a coffee pot. In addition, the coffee pot after brewing tea must be cleaned, otherwise, the next time you brew coffee, you will get a cup of coffee with a very "rich" taste.
