Can You Make Tea In A Keurig Coffee Maker?

When you don't have a dedicated kettle, teapot, and other equipment to make tea, you may be tempted to turn to shortcuts when you crave a cup. However, while it may make sense to use your Keurig coffee maker, this is perhaps one of the worst ways to steep your tea. Sure, you can get pods of tea designed for the machine, but you're not going to get the highest-quality infusion for a couple of reasons.

Whether you have supreme loose leaf grown by a specialty provider or an affordable, mass-produced bag you wouldn't mind experimenting with, temperature control is crucial. Why? Because boiling water ruins most teas, like delicate green or white varieties, which need something closer to 160 to 175 degrees Fahrenheit. However, Keurigs only run at around 192 degrees Fahrenheit, so they simply aren't equipped to produce the right temperature of water. If your temperature is too low, you fail to fully extract the leaf's flavor. Too hot, and you overdraw its tannins, creating something bitter and chalky that leaves your mouth feeling dry.

Unlike coffee, tea needs to truly steep in hot water, rather than just get a brief rinsing à la the Keurig. This rehydrates the leaves, allowing the flavor to be fully extracted. If you just run water over them, you'll end up with a weak cup, almost as if you reused your tea bags too many times. Brewing tea is a bit of an art; while a Keurig excels at delivering a quick caffeine fix, it lacks the finesse required for a proper steep.

Tea presents itself as something fairly simple (dry leaves in warm water), but it can be deceptively complex to bring out its best flavor. Still, provided you have a mug, a method of heating water, and a thermometer, all that's left is knowledge.

Kettles, whether electric or stovetop, are the best way to heat water because they're quick, affordable, and last for years. However, there's nothing wrong with simply heating water in a saucepan or warming individual mugs in the microwave. All of these methods allow for proper steeping, so even the much-debated microwave approach is still far better than a Keurig. Flexibility in heating water, or letting it cool to your desired temperature, makes brewing delicious tea far easier and is definitely worth the added hassle rather than trying to shortcut the process with your coffee maker.

Tea color is not only a good indicator of how hot your water should be, but also how long to steep the leaves. A stiff cup of dark, caffeinated Earl Grey needs at least three minutes, but can stand up to five before growing bitter. Green tea, on the other hand, not only requires cooler water, but also only about two minutes to fully develop its flavor. If you want a stronger cup, it's generally better to use more leaf rather than steep longer.