How to Make Tea in a Coffee Percolator in 6 Easy Steps?
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With their ample size and perforated screens, it’s no wonder that coffee percolators are one of the most versatile kitchen gadgets on the market today.
Although coffee percolators have traditionally been used to brew piping hot cups of java, these devices can be put to use in so many other ways, including brewing tea.
If you’re looking to drink an aromatic cup of tea but don’t want to invest in another teapot or teakettle, a coffee percolator may be just what you need! So, how do you make tea in a coffee percolator?
Items You Will Need:
- Coffee Percolator
- Tea Leaves
- Water
How to Make Tea in a Coffee Percolator Easily
1. Clean The Percolator
Before you can make tea in your coffee percolator, you’ll need to clean it. An empty coffee percolator is essentially just an open cage that fills with water and sits on a burner – but it’s full of residue.
If you make tea without cleaning it first, your teacup will have nothing but a strong, dirty-coffee taste. The simplest way to thoroughly clean out your percolator is by running just water through all its parts.
2. Fill The Percolator With Water
Using warm water might seem like an obvious shortcut, but don’t do it! You want your water cold or at least cool; otherwise, you risk scorching your leaves.
If you’re looking for some temperature guidance, use water around 80 degrees F (27 degrees C). Use your percolator’s desired measurement to fill cold water in it.
3. Time To Add The Tea Leaves
Most modern coffee percolators come with baskets on their spouts. If you want tea, pour loose-leaf or broken tea leaves into your basket and place it on top of your coffee pot’s perforated spout.
And don’t worry; despite what you might think, you can still use these baskets for their original purpose (making coffee) even if they’re filled with loose-leaf tea.
After all, when steeping is done right (and it will be when using our method), no one will be able to tell that your perky little basket once brewed joe instead of leafy greens.
4. Open/Dismantle The Percolator
Pull the basket out of the pot. Remove the filter and the rod. You can discard the tea bag or leaf remnants or let them compost. Remember that coffee filters are only designed for filtering coffee and aren’t usually up to the task of filtering tea.
For that reason, you may want to invest in specialty tea filters or just use large paper coffee filters when making tea with your percolator.
5. Power Up The Percolator To Start Brewing
The percolator needs to be on to get the hot water through the basket. Some percolators have automatic switches that you can turn on, while others will have an indicator light that turns on when it’s ready.
If your percolator doesn’t come with an indicator light, you’ll need to plug in the percolator, wait for 30 seconds and then flick the switch if your model has one.
The water should start moving pretty quickly once it’s started boiling; in about two minutes, you should see movement from your basket.
When you see the first bits of color coming out of your basket, that means it’s time to remove the tea leaves and place them into your cup (though make sure you leave the tea leaves in the basket).
6. Its Time To Pour The Tea
As we have removed the basket and rod now its time to pour the tea into the cups. After pouring serve it hot with proper flavorings. Enjoy your tea.
What is a Coffee Percolator?
The coffee percolator is essentially a pressurized pot that forces boiling water through coffee grounds and into your cup. During its peak popularity, from 1940 to 1970, it was widely seen as an essential household appliance for most families (due to its convenience).
Fast forward to today, however, and you’ll see that most people opt for other types of coffee makers because of their smaller size, greater control over brew strength/temperature and versatility. But some still swear by them!
Also Read: Can you grind coffee beans with grinder?
The Bottom Line
Believe it or not, you can use your coffee percolator to make tea. In fact, there’s no need for an extra appliance—simply brew up some loose-leaf tea and pour it right into your coffee pot. It may sound strange at first, but it actually tastes great and is far less expensive than making tea with an electric kettle.
