Coffee vs. Tea

[Eben Stone]

I drink both coffee and tea daily. At home I make espresso/latte in the mornings and red or green tea at night, and at work I make very strong coffee. For a few years I would drink espresso/latte at night, before going to sleep. I've tried a few times to switch over completely to tea but it just doesn't work out for me. I managed to go an entire month of tea at work before I quit and switched back to coffee. Even if I make the tea extra strong it tastes watery and seems like something is missing.

 

[mtcn77]

Even if I make the tea extra strong it tastes watery and seems like something is missing.

Home made tea and good tea are different preparations. Good home made tea is when the steeping taste is equalized by pouring boiling hot water on top of the leaves - that makes a clean taste. On the other hand, good tea is actually prepared by putting the tea leaves over the hot water and letting them steep on their own. This releases the tea slower and makes tea stronger.

 

[hairless wonder]

Home made tea and good tea are different preparations. Good home made tea is when the steeping taste is equalized by pouring boiling hot water on top of the leaves - that makes a clean taste. On the other hand, good tea is actually prepared by putting the tea leaves over the hot water and letting them steep on their own. This releases the tea slower and makes tea stronger.

It depends on the kind of tea you're drinking. Oolong tea made the way you described would not be good tea.

The best way to make oolong tea (to my knowledge) is to have a clay teapot (preferably from the Yixing region), clay teacups, and a clay tea serving pot.

Using water that's about 205° F, pour the water into the teapot, teacups, and the serving pot then dump the hot water out. Next, spoon enough tea leaves to cover the bottom of the teapot. Fill the teapot 3/4 full and let it sit for about 15 seconds then gently swirl the water in the teapot to rinse the dust from the leaves. Pour the water from the teapot into the serving pot and teacups then pour out the water. Next, fill the teapot with more hot water and let sit for about 25 seconds then pour the tea into the serving bowl, making sure to drain the teapot. Use the serving bowl to pour the tea into the teacups when serving.

When drinking the tea, slowly sip (do not slurp) the tea, making sure to get some air along with the tea. As with wine tasting, the air helps aerate the tea and opens up the aroma and the flavors more. After swallowing the tea (and depending on the type of leaves used), gently inhale through your mouth and let the air run down your throat. Some (not all) oolong teas will leave a sweet trail.

It should be noted that the water should be cooling off throughout the process. This means the water actually used to brew the tea should be lower than 205° F. Do not use water that is still 205° F to brew the tea.

That said, when I make tea for myself, I'm lazy. I rarely will pull out all the stops and make tea as described above.

 

[mtcn77]

Fill the teapot 3/4 full and let it sit for about 15 seconds then gently swirl the water in the teapot to rinse the dust from the leaves.

Hi, dousing the boiling water over the leaves takes care of that problem. The dust burns at >95°C, the heat works on the dust faster than the tea flakes. This leaves behind no off taste. Its only detriment is the tea tastes well rounded, but flat.

It should be noted that the water should be cooling off throughout the process. This means the water actually used to brew the tea should be lower than 205° F. Do not use water that is still 205° F to brew the tea.

Yes, heating the teapot while the brew is still going on is a bad idea, it makes the taste imbalanced. The leaf sap comes out and it has a funny aroma. Just not what we are trying to achieve with boiling water trying to clarify the taste profile in the first place.

What I always notice is, the more amount of tea I brew at once, the less it comes out as bitter. Trying to steep tea for longer to reach a similar brew consistency is a sure fire way to lose the best qualities of a tea. Heat kills the active ingredient, theophylline, quite remarkably. It should never take more than 5 minutes for a tea, unless you are concocting my asthma medicine weight burning stimulant doping agent.
Once tea breaks down into its tannins and phytates, who knows what the black goo contains...

 

[StillShaving]

I drink both coffee and tea daily. At home I make espresso/latte in the mornings and red or green tea at night, and at work I make very strong coffee. For a few years I would drink espresso/latte at night, before going to sleep. I've tried a few times to switch over completely to tea but it just doesn't work out for me. I managed to go an entire month of tea at work before I quit and switched back to coffee. Even if I make the tea extra strong it tastes watery and seems like something is missing.

The missing mouth feel makes a big difference to me. Even coffee brewed through a paper filter fills thick on the tongue when compared to tea. I like tea but it feels more like drinking water.

 

[mtcn77]

The missing mouth feel makes a big difference to me. Even coffee brewed through a paper filter fills thick on the tongue when compared to tea. I like tea but it feels more like drinking water.

French press has these weird bubble shaped oils that develop after steeping for a long time. The extraction changes as time goes on, I like it.

 

[Ad Astra]

Have to give a shout-out to Milo's tea.

Milo's is a chicken-finger chain here in the south, but the tea is more widely available than the restaurants. Anyways.

I've figured it out- the tea has some emulsifier, I think, that makes it very smooth and adds to drinkability. Maybe the PH of the water. All I know is, I buy the stuff. And when northern relatives visit, they fall in love with the Milo's too.

Cue up Joan Jett:

AA

 

[OkieStubble]

I used to be a big coffee drinker. Espresso, French Press, Pour Over, Percolator, Cowboy Coffee, I enjoyed just messing’ around with it and drinking it. Was even trying Turkish.

But I developed this bad angina. Severe stabbing pains in my heart. Thought I was having a heart attack. After passing all kinds of heart tests with flying colors, they sent me to an allergy guy who found out I was allergic to the oils in coffee beans.

Dammit!

I can still drink hot instant coffee, but after having some of the best brews to be had, who wants a cup of that hot do doo?

So I am now imprisoned for life drinking instant ice vanilla coffee instead or hot tea.

English Breakfast, Chai, Herbal. I can drink all kinds of hot tea. But I want coffee!

 

[shavefan]

1 cup-o-joe in the morning, then tea in the afternoon/evening

 

[Dominic]

Have to give a shout-out to Milo's tea.

Milo's is a chicken-finger chain here in the south, but the tea is more widely available than the restaurants. Anyways.

I've figured it out- the tea has some emulsifier, I think, that makes it very smooth and adds to drinkability. Maybe the PH of the water. All I know is, I buy the stuff. And when northern relatives visit, they fall in love with the Milo's too.

Cue up Joan Jett:

AA

I only knew about their tea. A Milo's tea plant? factory? (what do you call a place that makes and bottles tea?) recently opened a few miles from me. I got to see Joan Jett when I was young. She opened for Robert Plant.

 

[emily666]

The only liquid I drink is tea ,British black tea ,morning noon and night , sneaky 3 am brews sometimes,nothing compares to tea. Coffee to me is to heavy as an all day drink.

 

[hairless wonder]

I used to be a big coffee drinker. Espresso, French Press, Pour Over, Percolator, Cowboy Coffee, I enjoyed just messing’ around with it and drinking it. Was even trying Turkish.

But I developed this bad angina. Severe stabbing pains in my heart. Thought I was having a heart attack. After passing all kinds of heart tests with flying colors, they sent me to an allergy guy who found out I was allergic to the oils in coffee beans.

Dammit!

I can still drink hot instant coffee, but after having some of the best brews to be had, who wants a cup of that hot do doo?

So I am now imprisoned for life drinking instant ice vanilla coffee instead or hot tea.

English Breakfast, Chai, Herbal. I can drink all kinds of hot tea. But I want coffee!

Have you tried cold brewing the coffee? I'm not sure, but I think it may expel less oil than the usual hot brewing methods. Also, if you can out the coffee in the refrigerator for a while, you might be able to scoop up the oils that gather at the top. I'm not sure if that will work, but it's worth considering if you want to have something other than instant coffee.

 

[StillShaving]

I used to be a big coffee drinker. Espresso, French Press, Pour Over, Percolator, Cowboy Coffee, I enjoyed just messing’ around with it and drinking it. Was even trying Turkish.

But I developed this bad angina. Severe stabbing pains in my heart. Thought I was having a heart attack. After passing all kinds of heart tests with flying colors, they sent me to an allergy guy who found out I was allergic to the oils in coffee beans.

Dammit!

I can still drink hot instant coffee, but after having some of the best brews to be had, who wants a cup of that hot do doo?

So I am now imprisoned for life drinking instant ice vanilla coffee instead or hot tea.

English Breakfast, Chai, Herbal. I can drink all kinds of hot tea. But I want coffee!

I wonder if a Chemex coffee maker + filter could work, as the filter paper produces a cleaner cup. Maybe even the type of coffee bean could help. But then again no use causing yourself problems.

I often think the articles are not very helpful, as they are all over the place in terms of the positives and negatives on drinking coffee. But looks like they had a large sample size.

Cardiovascular health may influence coffee consumption

New research suggests that heart symptoms may influence how much coffee people drink, rather than the other way around.

www.medicalnewstoday.com

 

[mtcn77]

I wonder if a Chemex coffee maker + filter could work, as the filter paper produces a cleaner cup. Maybe even the type of coffee bean could help. But then again no use causing yourself problems.

I often think the articles are not very helpful, as they are all over the place in terms of the positives and negatives on drinking coffee. But looks like they had a large sample size.

Cardiovascular health may influence coffee consumption

New research suggests that heart symptoms may influence how much coffee people drink, rather than the other way around.

www.medicalnewstoday.com

Heart patients have no direct significance to regular people's coffee habits, the goal is always to avoid any potential side effects. The health markers will falter if you try to accelerate a broken pump.

 

[OkieStubble]

Have you tried cold brewing the coffee? I'm not sure, but I think it may expel less oil than the usual hot brewing methods. Also, if you can out the coffee in the refrigerator for a while, you might be able to scoop up the oils that gather at the top. I'm not sure if that will work, but it's worth considering if you want to have something other than instant coffee.

It's worth a try. Thanks for the brilliant idea!

 

[OkieStubble]

I wonder if a Chemex coffee maker + filter could work, as the filter paper produces a cleaner cup. Maybe even the type of coffee bean could help. But then again no use causing yourself problems.

I often think the articles are not very helpful, as they are all over the place in terms of the positives and negatives on drinking coffee. But looks like they had a large sample size.

Cardiovascular health may influence coffee consumption

New research suggests that heart symptoms may influence how much coffee people drink, rather than the other way around.

www.medicalnewstoday.com

Good read and relatable. The link definitely describes my angina symptoms. It's been 3 years now, since I quit drinking brewed coffee. I can get the angina symptoms to start recurring again with as little as a cup of brewed coffee over a two day period, so it has to be more of an allergic reaction imo, then it would be from a faulty heart.

 

[OkieStubble]

Heart patients have no direct significance to regular people's coffee habits, the goal is always to avoid any potential side effects. The health markers will falter if you try to accelerate a broken pump.

I know the allergist said it was most likely the oils from the coffee beans themselves. I don't think there is a way to separate the oil from the beans other than the freeze dried method and crystalization of instant coffee. Is there?

I know it isn't caffeine, because I can drink tea, soda and instant coffee with no problems.

 

[mtcn77]

Good read and relatable. The link definitely describes my angina symptoms. It's been 3 years now, since I quit drinking brewed coffee. I can get the angina symptoms to start recurring again with as little as a cup of brewed coffee over a two day period, so it has to be more of an allergic reaction imo, then it would be from a faulty heart.

Food allergies intolerance just causes diarrhea I think, have to check. Since coffee is a stimulant, it 'could' constrict your vessels. Since it is a long half life active ingredient, it could precipitate a narrowed vessel. Don't know, just that I studied it very recently. New York Classification dictates you check all the way from whether you can do sports to going through with your daily chores without developing signs of fatigue in a 1 to 4 scale.

 

[OkieStubble]

Food allergies intolerance just causes diarrhea I think, have to check. Since coffee is a stimulant, it 'could' constrict your vessels. Since it is a long half life active ingredient, it could precipitate a narrowed vessel. Don't know, just that I studied it very recently. New York Classification dictates you check all the way from whether you can do sports to going through with your daily chores without developing signs of fatigue in a 1 to 4 scale.

I have passed both physical and chemical stress tests with flying colors, I dunno?

 

[mtcn77]

I have passed both physical and chemical stress tests with flying colors, I dunno?

Not so, we need to perform a challenge test with coffee!
If you needed a chemical test that might also be an indicator. Sympathetic drive slows down when developing old age. It is normal.