I started to use an automatic coffee maker a friend left at my house to brew my Bengal spice (chai with roasted chicory instead of black tea). I put my tea bags in the glass pot.
I began setting it so it sat for an hour. Then for my birthday my son got me a new coffee machine that keeps the pot hot for 4 hours, now I steep my tea for about 2 hours.
Depends on the tea. Some I leave the leaves in all night and top it up if it looks a bit sorry. Some bagged black tea I remove the bag after like 20 seconds.
No, most of my tea is loose leaf stuff and the flavors that come from longer steeps are not as good.
Yes, but only if I’m making iced tea. The tannins in black tea seem to go well with ice and sugar, my test monkeys say approvingly, “Oh, that’s strong.”
Does it count if I make tea, but forget and leave the bag in until its cold?
I do that with herbal teas when it is after sundown (I drink almost all of my herbal teas cold) and I cannot make sun tea.
(Preface: I embrace and support the “you do you” attitude I’ve found among Tea People. So I won’t say anything you’re enjoying is wrong even when I wouldn’t do it that way myself!)
Steeps are traditionally short to avoid extracting unwanted flavors that come out of the leaves more slowly. I suggest preparing two smaller pots steeped for different times and taste-test them side by side, to know what difference time makes and which you like better.
Before i started to use the automatic coffee maker to brew my tea I would brew it while cooking my dog’s breakfast. It got to brew 5-15 minutes usual and it always felt weak. I found myself using more and more tea bags to get enough flavor for me.
You must really like bitter tea. Steeping for a long time brings out lots of tannins. No thank you says I.
Not bitter, and afaik chicory does not have tannins.
You know, my eyes ran right over chicory and didn’t even see it. I have no experience with chicory so ignore my remarks.
Oh wow, me too. Just read ‘chai’ and started typin’.
I started drinking it vs chai because even decaf chai had too much caffeine for me.
Depends on the tea.
We have a local gathered tea (sold on stores in Manitoba), made from nettle, goldenrod, and labrador tea. That one we could steep for days if we wanted to, and it only gets better.
My SO likes to add sour fruit in the last minute, after a long steep. Sometimes lingonberry or buckthorn or something, to make it super tart. It’s like turning tea into sangria haha.
That tea sounds delicious as-is.
It’s like turning tea into sangria haha.
Have you ever tried Sangria Zinger? It is my absolute favorite tea.
