These days, coffee is a sort of lifeblood to folks living in the working world. Most of us need that first hit of caffeine in the morning to feel alive after waking up, and we all need it throughout the day to stay conscious, especially during the afternoons when time seems to come to a halt. But some people prefer a cup of tea every now and then. This leads us to ask how to make tea in a coffee maker? Let’s take a look.
Brewing Tea In A Coffee Maker
Coffee machines are fully able to brew tea just as well as they brew coffee. The only trick is to remove all the coffee taste from the machine by cleaning it first; if you do not, your tea will not taste good at all.
It is essential to try to imitate the coffee-making cycle as closely as you possibly can when using a coffee machine to brew tea. You can do this by brewing loose tea leaves instead of tea bags.
The process of brewing tea in a coffee machine takes around the same amount of time as when you brew coffee. It can take anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes.
Before you start brewing tea, clean your coffee maker of any coffee residue that may be inside the machine, and there is probably quite a bit. If you do not do this, the tea will taste acidic, similar to very old coffee.
Add about half a cup of vinegar into the machine’s water carafe and pour it into the coffee maker the same way you would when actually making coffee. Throw the vinegar out and run some hot water through the machine’s system to remove any remaining vinegar and coffee taste.
Does It Taste Good?
The factor that you are likely most concerned about is whether or not your tea is going to taste good when you brew it in a coffee maker. The first thing to keep in mind is that the flavor of the tea you make with a coffee maker will depend on what type of tea you are using, and whether the tea is in bags or loose leaves.
You should avoid putting loose tea leaves in the coffee machine’s reservoir at all costs, as they will end up clogging its tubes. The key to a good cup of tea is to have the water be boiling before you add it to the tea, and coffee makers do not boil water hot enough to boil it – they heat water to about 98 degrees, which is just below water’s boiling temperature.
Coffee machines heat water to this temperature only because it creates the best coffee without extracting any unnecessary bitter flavors. Tea is brewed using boiling water to extract as much flavor as possible, and using water that is just under the boiling point will result in a less flavorful cup of tea.
While brewing tea in a coffee machine will not result in any damage to any mechanisms, the flavor of the tea will likely be imparted onto the tubes of the machine, which will influence the flavor of future coffee brews, often negatively.
Types Of Coffee Makers for Brewing Tea
Here are the two most popular coffee makers to use when brewing tea.
Vacuum Brewers
The idea behind a vacuum brewer was that water was heated in a lower chamber until its contents were forced through a tube into the upper vessel which contains coffee grinds.
When the bottom vessel is empty and enough brewing time has passed, the heat is removed and the vacuum draws the coffee that has brewed through a strainer into the lower chamber, from which it could be decanted.
French Press
A cafetiere requires coarser ground coffee than what a drip brew filter does, because finer grounds will pass through the press filter and end up in your coffee. Coffee is brewed by putting the water and coffee together, then stirring it and allowing it to brew for a couple minutes. Lastly, you will press the plunger to keep the coffee grounds at the base of the coffee beaker.
Final Thoughts
Brewing tea in a coffee machine is actually more straightforward than it might seem, however, if you are after a cup of tea with as much flavor as possible, you are better off using more traditional tea brewing methods. Follow the steps above, and you’ll be brewing tea and coffee as the pros do.
