Can You Brew Tea in a French Press

Can You Brew Tea in a French Press

You can use many of your favorite kitchen appliances for more than just their intended purpose. For example, your beloved coffee grinder can grind spices and even wheat for you.

If you’re like most coffee drinkers, you can’t even think about starting your day without a cup of coffee. But sometimes, coffee isn’t what you’re in the mood for, and you’re craving a warm cup of tea. While you can boil water on the stove and steep the tea bag, there may be another way to make your tea.

Can You Use a French Press to Brew Tea?

This may come as a surprise to you, but you can brew tea in your french press! The process is relatively similar to brewing a cup of coffee, but there are some things you’ll want to take into consideration before steeping tea leaves in your french press.

Can You Use Tea Bags in a French Press?

While tea bags are a simple way to make a nice cup of tea, if you’re looking to brew a cup in your french press, you do not want to use teabags. You’ll want to purchase loose tea leaves to make it in the French press.

What to Do Before Brewing Tea in a French Press

Brewing tea in a French press is not a difficult task by any means. But before you can get brewing, you’ll need to do some cleaning first.

Since you probably only use your French press for coffee, it’s going to need to be cleaned thoroughly before you even think about brewing tea in it. You’ll want to wash the French press according to product instructions and wipe it down with a dry paper towel after.

Once you’ve cleaned your French press, if you can still smell any coffee remnants, keep cleaning. It may seem like a tedious task, but no one wants their herbal tea to have any taste of coffee. You may have to repeat this process a few times to ensure all the coffee oils are completely gone.

When you have a coffee-free French press, you can start brewing your tea. It’s important to read the instructions on your loose tea leaves to see what the recommended water temperature should be.

Sticking to or as close to the recommended water temperature as possible will make sure you have a delicious cup of tea. Water that’s too hot can turn the tea bitter, and that’s not what anyone wants. If you have a thermometer, this is the perfect reason to use it.

The general rule of thumb is to use about 2.5 grams of loose tea leaves per eight ounces of water. If you want more than one cup of tea, you’ll need to add more tea leaves and more water. If you don’t have a food scale, 2.5 grams is around one to two teaspoons.

While one to two teaspoons should bring you close to 2.5 grams, using a food scale would be better. A food scale will get you to exactly 2.5 grams. Tea leaves come in all shapes and sizes, so getting exactly 2.5 grams with a teaspoon may be difficult.

How to Make Tea in a French Press

Now that you have a clean French press and have measured out your tea leaves and water, you can start brewing. Begin by heating water on your stove. Most teas require a temperature of 180 degrees Fahrenheit. When it reaches the correct temperature, remove the water from the heat.

You can do this step while the water is heating up or once it has heated. The second step is to pour your measured tea leaves into your french press. Once the water is heated, pour the water into the French press, covering the tea leaves.

You’ll then want to set a timer for two minutes or however long the tea needs to steep. Let the tea leaves and water work their magic for a few minutes. When the timer goes off, pour the tea through a strainer to remove the leaves and enjoy!

Can You Brew Iced Tea in a French Press?

There’s nothing like a refreshing glass of iced tea on a hot day. If you want a glass of iced tea, you can use your French press to make it.

To brew iced tea in your French press, you’ll need to use double the number of tea leaves or half of the amount of water. So for one eight-ounce glass of iced tea, you’ll use five grams of tea leaves and eight ounces of water.

You’ll follow the same process as hot tea after measuring more tea leaves. When it’s done steeping, pour over ice or refrigerate it for an hour before serving over ice.

Pros and Cons of Brewing Tea in a French Press

As with anything in life, there are pros and cons. Here are a few of the pros and cons of using a French press to make tea.

Pros

Brewing tea in a French press requires you to use loose tea leaves. Typically, loose tea leaves are of better quality than tea in teabags. So, when you’re brewing tea in your French press, you’ll often get a better-tasting cup of tea.

Brewing tea in your French press eliminates the need for a tea kettle. You can use this appliance for more than just coffee, making it a definite benefit to brewing tea with a French press.

Cons

This may not be a con to some people, but the cleaning process before brewing tea in the device can be tedious. If you don’t mind cleaning your French press more than one, you may not find this to be a con.

Another con with using your French press for tea is that if you don’t measure your tea leaves properly or use the correct water temperature, your tea may taste bad. It can take some trial and error, but once you’ve figured it out, you’ll be using a French press for tea all the time.

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You might be able to brew tea in an espresso machine as well.

Can You Make Tea in an Espresso Machine?