If you thought that your Keurig brewer is only for making coffee or espresso-based beverages, you’re wrong. You can still make a hot cup of tea using your Keurig for a less intense caffeine boost. But first, you need to know how to brew Keurig tea the right way if you want good quality tea.
Does Keurig make tea work?
Making tea in a Keurig works, even though this beverage is traditionally brewed in teapots and kettles instead. The most common way of brewing tea in Keurig brewers is using Keurig K-Cups.
Can You Make Tea in a Keurig?
Yes, it’s possible to make tea in a Keurig. While most tea lovers prefer to heat the tea for steeping tea inside a kettle, a Keurig coffee maker is just as effective, if not better. In fact, Keurig units are able to heat water to high temperatures significantly faster than most kettles.
To make tea using a Keurig, you need the following supplies and equipment:
– Tea K-Cup pods/tea bags/loose-leaf tea
– Tea mugs
– Whole milk or skim milk (optional)
– White sugar or your preferred liquid sweetener
– Sieve
– My K-Cup reusable filter
How to make tea with a Keurig?
Here is a step by step procedure on how to make tea with a Keurig coffee machine
Pick the right tea
Keurig units heat water to about 192 degrees Fahrenheit, which is great for brewing coffee, green tea, black tea, and oolong tea. However, other types of tea such as herbal tea are best brewed at lower temperatures.
What’s more, there are types of green tea and herbal tea that need to be steeped to bring out the most of their flavor and character. As such, they aren’t recommended for Keurig brewing since a Keurig doesn’t steep the tea but simply passes hot water through the tea.
Fill the water reservoir
To brew tea in a Keurig coffee machine, first, remove, empty, rinse, and fill the water tank with fresh water. Reinsert the tank and power on the Keurig unit to start heating the water.
Brew your K-Cup tea
Meanwhile, take your preferred K-Cup tea pod and insert it into the K-Cup holder. Also, place a tea mug on the drip tray under the outlet. Close the brew head and press the brew button to start brewing.
Add hot milk (optional)
If you own a Keurig model that features a frothing section and would like to try some milk tea, pour some milk into the frother. Then press on the ‘froth’ button to heat and froth the milk. Once done, mix the milk and the brewed tea in a larger mug and enjoy your milk tea.
Run a rinse cycle
After brewing your K-Cup tea, ensure you run a water-only cycle to rinse off any residual tea leaves that might clog the brewer’s needles. The residual tea can also contaminate your next coffee brew, resulting in a strange taste.
To run a water-only/rinse brew, ensure that there’s no K-Cup inside the Keurig pod holder and place a mug on the drip tray. Then, open and close the handle before pressing the ‘brew’ button.
How to make Keurig tea with tea bags/pods
You can still make Keurig tea even without K-Cup tea pods by using your Keurig unit as a hot water dispenser. Simply follow the steps detailed below:
i. First, ensure there’s no used coffee K-Cup inside the K-Cup pod holder. That’s because the coffee will affect the flavor of your tea, resulting in blended flavors that you might not like.
ii. Next, run a water-only brew to rinse out any coffee grinds that might have stuck to the Keurig unit’s internal parts during the previous brew. Such residual coffee grinds can also contaminate your tea and affect its quality and flavor.
iii. Fill the water reservoir with water and power on the Keurig unit. Meanwhile, place a tea mug on the drip tray and insert a tea bag into the mug. Open and close the handle and start brewing.
iv. Add your favorite sweetener and stir the cup of tea to complete your beverage. You can remove or leave the tea bag inside the mug as you drink; the choice is yours. You can also add steamed milk if you prefer milk tea.
How to make Keurig tea with loose-leaf tea
Loose-leaf tea is a tea that’s not packaged into tea bags, pods, or K-Cups. It’s believed to deliver a more intense flavor than K-Cup tea or tea bags, as the tea is directly steeped in hot water to extract more of the flavors. To make tea using a Keurig unit and loose-leaf tea, follow the steps outlined below:
i. Place broken loose-leaf tea leaves inside a tea mug and place it under the drip tray. The recommended ratio is 1 teaspoon of tea leaves for every 6 ounces of hot water. Therefore, if you’re brewing a 10-ounce cup, add 2 teaspoons of tea leaves.
ii. Heat water inside the Keurig unit. Open and close the handle without placing a K-Cup inside the pod holder. Start brewing.
iii. Let the hot water dispense into the mug containing the loose-leaf tea, and let the tea steep for about a minute or two.
iv. Then place a sieve on top of a second, empty tea mug. Now, transfer the tea from the original to the second mug while sieving out the loose-leaf tea grinds. Add a sweetener and steamed milk (optional) and stir to complete the beverage.
How to make Keurig tea with reusable K-Cups
Though not recommended by the Keurig brand, you can put loose-leaf tea inside a reusable K-Cup pod to brew tea inside a Keurig unit in the same way you brew coffee. Follow the process detailed below to steep tea inside a reusable K-Cup
i. Fill the Keurig water tank with fresh water and turn on the unit to start heating the water.
ii. Pour broken loose-leaf tea inside a My Reusable K-Cup and insert it inside the pod holder. Close the brew head and start the brew cycle.
iii. Top off the drink with steamed milk, froth, and your choice of sweetener. Enjoy!
How to make iced tea with Keurig
The best way to make iced tea using a Keurig coffee machine is by using tea K-Cups. There are some that are specifically formulated for brewing iced tea and iced tea lattes.
Simply brew the K-Cup tea using the K-Cup method described earlier. The only difference is that you should add ice cubes to the tea mug before placing it on the drip tray. This will cool down the drink to make iced tea.
Which teas are suitable for brewing in Keurig?
The most suitable types of tea for brewing in Keurig units are chai tea blends and broken loose-leaf tea. Tea varieties with short steeping times are also recommended as Keurig’s brew is rather fast.
Chai tea
Chai tea is a special tea blend that combines crushed tea leaves with sugar and various spices for added flavor. The most common spices used in chai tea blends include cinnamon, cardamom, ginger, nutmeg, and cloves. Chai tea usually has a sweet taste combined with a subtle spiciness.
Broken loose-leaf tea
Loose-leaf tea delivers a stronger flavor than tea K-Cups or tea bags during steeping. And to extract the most intense flavor from this type of tea, consider using broken/crushed loose-leaf tea instead of unbroken leaves. The latter option requires a longer steeping time to extract the flavors, which is not possible with Keurig brewers that deliver a quick 10-20 second steep.
Tea types with a short steeping time
Certain varieties of tea require a short steeping to bring out the flavor. They include black tea, green tea, Japanese Sencha, and raw pu’erh.
3 Best Keurig tea makers?
The 3 best Keurig tea makers include the K-Slim, K-Mini, and K-Compact models.
The Keurig K-Slim
This Keurig model allows you to choose between three different cup sizes: 8,10, and 12 ounces.
The Keurig K-Mini
This Keurig model features a pod storage unit where you can store your tea K-Cups for quick and easy brewing.
The Keurig K-Compact
This Keurig version boasts a 36-ounce water reservoir; so you can brew as many as three 10. oz teacups or six 6-ounce teacups before having to refill.
References
I. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health: The Nutrition Source- Teaii. Leonardo Abedum De Lima Hanzawa, Ecole hôtelière de Lausanne (EHL) Insights: How to brew loose leaf tea
