Mixing tea and coffee may sound strange, but together, they make a pretty delicious drink. Tea and coffee share a lot in common – both contain caffeine, both may have either a strong or mild flavour, both may be bitter and they are both morning drinks. Can you mix tea and coffee? Keep reading.
Should you mix them?
There are many reasons you could try blending these two drinks. Many tea drinkers are coffee drinkers as well, usually choosing coffee for a stronger energy boost in the morning and tea in the afternoon. Over the last couple of decades, both tea and coffee became much more than just simple caffeinated drinks. There are thousands of leaves and beans to choose from, each with its unique flavour and terroir.
Mixing coffee and tea is not just about getting a stronger drink. Yes, you could boost a caffeine content of your tea by adding a shot or two of espresso. And it's not only about enjoying the benefits of both. By mixing tea and coffee together, you can get a truly unique flavour and customise your tea to suit your preferences.
Let's get back to benefits. Tea contains both L-theanine and caffeine, and it offers a more sustained energy rather than an immediate energy boost. By blending coffee and tea together, you can enjoy both at the same time.
Feel adventurous enough to try it?
3 ways of mixing tea and coffee
These are the three ways you can mix tea with coffee, and each will provide a different result.
1. Mixing dry tea leaves and coffee beans
The most convenient way of blending tea and coffee is by blending dry tea leaves with coffee beans. This method will cause the weakest coffee flavour, but it's the fastest and probably the prettiest one. It's great if you want to add light coffee notes, but not if you want to significantly increase the caffeine content of your tea, as each cup will only contain one or a few whole coffee beans.
Some suggestions:
- Indian Assam black tea and dark roast coffee
- Chinese Dian Hong black tea and medium roast coffee
- Indian green tea and green coffee
Check out these delicious tea and coffee blends.
2. Adding an espresso shot into a cup of tea
Heard of Dirty Chai? It's a delicious drink made with spiced masala chai latte and a shot of espresso. Try making it at home and there's a chance it will become your favourite way of drinking morning coffee.
You can blend other teas and coffee in the same way, not only the spiced Indian tea. Use stronger blends that go well with milk and make a cup of milk tea or tea latte first – whichever is more convenient for you.
Some teas that are great for making milk tea and adding a shot or two of espresso:
- vanilla flavoured black tea
- chocolate flavoured black tea
- spiced black teas
- pure Assam or Kenyan black teas
- Dian Hong black tea
To make sure tea leaves infuse into a stronger infusion, use blends with smaller broken leaves, tea dust in tea bags or CTC teas. Use 2 teaspoons of tea leaves and steep them for 5 minutes, then add steamed milk and a shot of espresso. Two shots of espresso may provide over 100 mg of caffeine, plus the caffeine from 2 teaspoons of tea leaves will offer a proper morning energy boost.
3. Mixing instant tea powders with instant coffee
If you prefer instant drinks that are ready instantly, then the best way of making a coffee and tea blend is to blend both instant powders together. Add more tea and less coffee to balance the flavour, and steam and froth the milk.
Tea types you can try:
- Powdered tea lattes
- Instant tea powders such as hojicha or English Breakfast tea
- Black tea granules
Instant coffee will usually be milder than regular espresso coffee, and some types may be very mild, so are suitable for blending with lighter teas.
