Coffee is one of the most enjoyable drinks all across the world. People usually experience coffee at coffee restaurants or make it at home by using their coffee maker.
The most common method to make a cup of coffee is brewing. There are also many other techniques to produce cups of coffee like pouring over or drip, press, percolate, vacuum,… If you want something more fascinating and hand-made, you can try the steep method instead of just hitting the “brew” button of the coffee machine.
Do you ever wonder, “Can you steep coffee like tea?”. Since you hear the word “steeping”, you might think about the steeping tea process which is quite similar for many people. The question above seems to provoke both coffee lovers and tea lovers.
Within this article, let’s dive in and figure out more about the method of steeping coffee and see if there is any difference between steeping coffee and steeping tea.
Steeping tea
Before finding out about the big question, let’s first note down the way tea is steeped in general.
To steep tea properly, you need to regard several factors. Fresh ingredients, time, and temperature are crucial in determining the taste of tea. Either hot tea or cold tea, the steeping method is the way to go.
It depends on the types of tea to decide how to steep tea. Simply the method is the procedure of soaking the tea leaves in water and waiting for the products for minutes.
In case you use a tea bag, you need to ensure that there is enough space for the leaves to move around the water container. If you do not have tea bags, just let the leaves float in the water. At the end of the process, use a filter to collect the leaf debris in the water before giving it a try.
The most straightforward way to prepare a tasty cup of tea is to steep it in hot water. But if you plan to enjoy the iced tea, you can also use water that is at room temperature to do the process. Cold tea might result in less bitterness with higher antioxidant content.
However, please note that the lower the temperature is, the longer the steeping process will take.
Can you steep coffee like tea?
Short answer, yes you can.
To steep coffee, water, and coffee grounds are enough, no electricity or complicated tools are needed. This is quite the same as when you steep tea. All you need are a water glass or container, a bag as the filter, and the main ingredient which is coffee grounds. The process of steeping coffee is considered similar to steeping tea as well.
The way coffee grinds are saturated completely in the hot water for an amount of time makes it richer and stronger in flavor. Do not forget to cover the cup during the whole process.
A cold brewed coffee is made with this method as well. The condition is to leave the coffee grinds in the water for about a day before steeping. This step helps the coffee easier to absorb in the liquid.
Because not being under hot coffee, it is more difficult for the coffee ground to be immersed in the water that is at room temperature. Coffee bean flavors are extracted from coffee beans more rapidly with hot water than with cold water because most substances dissolve more easily in higher temperatures. That’s why you are recommended to steep coffee in hot water for a quicker and better result.
Thus, you can steep coffee the way you do with tea. For people who know how to steep tea but are new to coffee, you can use your steeping tea experience to make a cup of coffee by the steeping technique.
Should you steep coffee like tea?
Both tea and coffee are brewed in water but still, they are different kinds of beverages. They need to be made by suitable methods to bring the best tastes.
Nowadays, there are several brands producing steeped coffee like Steeped Coffee, Lomli Coffee, and Night Owl Blend. However, brewing coffee by machine is put forward among other methods due to the advantages it offers. The taste of steeped coffee will not be the same as normal brewed coffee according to the different making processes.
Coffee is fragile and breaks up into larger and smaller size particles whether it is crushed up coarsely or finely. There is a considerable likelihood that some of the smaller particles will seep out, depending on the size of the microscopic pores in the mesh tea bag.
You are suggested to steep coffee in a bag to have the finest product. You should leave the coffee grounds in the bag for a long time because the grounds will easily dry up and no longer have a rich flavor.
Hence, if you want to try making coffee instead of focusing on the original taste of the coffee, steeping is an interesting way to undertake beyond the household automatic coffee machine.
The bottom lines
Technically, you can take forward the way of steeping coffee as steeping tea. However, please note that the flavor of steeped coffee will not be as the general brewed coffee and the difference between the results of steeped tea and coffee does exist. After all, for coffee lovers, steeping coffee is a worthy method to try new experiences.
