Why We Brew Coffee and Tea Differently
When it comes to making coffee , you have a lot of options, and for tea, fewer. Why? After all, these are delicious drinks that many of us use to start the morning and relax during a busy day. It turns out it all comes down to what scents you’re trying to get from each plant.
What goes into the aroma of a cup of coffee or tea is a huge topic, so let’s just dive into the process of making the differences. The main difference in the process is which part of the plant we process, since ground coffee beans are more water soluble than tea leaves.
Coffee is usually prepared either by drip or immersion, and different filters, grinds and containers are used to extract different flavor notes. Serious Eats explains the factors you can change to influence the flavor of your Joe Cup:
… By keeping in mind the behavior of the coffee components, we can control the taste of the finished cup by influencing the dissolution rate of these soluble substances. We do this by playing with five main variables: coffee to water ratio, coffee grounds size, brewing time, water temperature, and degree of agitation during brewing.
When it comes to tea, you have one option for extracting flavor: dipping (also known as steeping). Although there are different types of pots or other soaking containers, filters and other accessories used in coffee preparation are not often used. One of the reasons for using a simple tea brewing technique is to give the essential oils time to move from the leaf to the water so that you get the delicate flavor and aroma they bring. You should also give the tea leaf time to reabsorb the water, and in cases where you soak full leaves, it takes time for them to unfold and expose a large surface.
Even though I drank three to five cups of tea a day and watched my boyfriend make coffee every morning, I never wondered why the brewing processes got the way they are, and why they are so different. Knowing I’ll end up with a less tasty cup of tea (these essential oils add so much flavor!) If I speed up the steeping process, I’m more motivated to give my drink the time it takes to brew it.
More Than One Way To Make A Pot: Why Tea And Coffee Are Different | Serious food