Can an Espresso Machine Be Used to Brew Tea? What Commonalities Do Coffee and Tea Share?

Tea and Coffee: Similarities in Extraction

Tea and coffee are two of the world's most popular beverages. They differ greatly in cultural background and drinking experience, yet they share a lot. Both, for instance, use water as a solvent to extract specific compounds, which leads to many similar extraction methods - steeping, drip brewing, and boiling among them.

Though the practical forms differ, most extraction methods apply to both. That is why FrontStreet Coffee believes many coffee lovers have wondered, somewhere along the way: can you put tea leaves into a coffee machine and pull a concentrate?

Understanding Espresso Extraction

As we all know, espresso extraction differs from conventional methods. With pressure assisting the process, it can "completely" dissolve flavor compounds from coffee in the shortest time using the least water. Because there is very little solvent (water) in the solution, the coffee concentration is extremely high.

That high concentration makes espresso an excellent base for all kinds of specialty coffee drinks. Adding it neither thins the drink's texture nor hides the coffee flavor; instead, the coffee shines through. Since tea and coffee share the same extraction essence, could tea also reach an extremely high concentration through pressurized extraction in a coffee machine?

Extracting Tea Concentrate with a Coffee Machine

The answer is yes, as FrontStreet Coffee explained above. But because of essential differences, we cannot apply coffee-extraction logic wholesale when extracting tea. So today, FrontStreet Coffee will share how to pull a "concentrated" tea using a coffee machine.

How to Extract Tea "Concentrate" with a Coffee Machine

First, understand that simply stuffing tea leaves into a portafilter will not produce high-concentration tea. The gaps between tea leaves are too large for the machine to build pressure, and the result would only be slightly stronger than brewed tea. To make a high-concentration tea with a coffee machine, we first need to grind the leaves. Like coffee beans, they follow Fick's law of diffusion: the rate of release is directly proportional to the contact area. To pull compounds out of tea quickly, we need to increase the water-contact surface area by grinding.

Since FrontStreet Coffee was also trying this for the first time, we started with the finest grind on the Ek43 and a single portafilter to avoid waste. For the tea, we chose aged white tea, which was the only type on hand and had been tucked away in a cabinet. As FrontStreet Coffee said earlier, we cannot fully apply coffee-extraction logic to tea, because most tea leaves expand more than three times in size when they meet hot water, so the dose has to be reduced appropriately when using a coffee machine. FrontStreet Coffee used these parameters: 10 g of tea leaves, ground at Ek43 setting 0.

The tea "particles" ground at setting 0 were extremely distinct, and after simple tamping we could lock the portafilter into the machine and extract.

As you can see, the flow was very fast, extracting 100 ml of tea in less than 20 seconds. Although the tea color was much darker than usual brewed tea, this clearly did not meet our goal, so the grind needed to be finer. Since setting 0 was already the limit for our shop's Ek43, FrontStreet Coffee switched to an espresso grinder. The tea amount stayed the same, while the grind setting moved from the Ek43's setting 0 to the Galileo Q18's setting 1.2, which FrontStreet Coffee had found that morning to be the optimal grind for the "Warm Sun" blend.

As expected, the unexpected happened. Because the espresso grinder has a small bean inlet, larger flaky tea leaves could not enter and therefore could not be ground. There was a solution: we first crushed the tea leaves by hand before pouring them into the grinder. So every customer who came in that morning witnessed FrontStreet Coffee's embarrassing scene of pulling tea leaves out of the grinder.

After some hassle, the tea was finally ground. Compared with the Ek43 grind, it was indeed much finer - genuinely impressive for an espresso grinder. Again, after simple tamping, we began extraction. (A customer friend joked: "Guess why a grinder is called a 'bean' grinder.")

This time the flow was much slower than the previous extraction. Still, it could only be compared with the previous one, since this 100 ml of tea took 30 seconds at about 6 bar of pressure. Although the tea color was darker than before, the concentration still had not met our requirements. So, based on experience, FrontStreet Coffee adjusted the grind five settings finer at once. (Left is the first extraction, right is the second.)

This time we finally achieved a relatively ideal tea grind; the particles looked visibly very fine. FrontStreet Coffee therefore switched straight from the single portafilter to a 20 g double portafilter and increased the tea amount to 18 g.

As expected, this extraction moved in the direction FrontStreet Coffee had envisioned. The flow was slow, the pressure gauge rose to 10 bar, and we could see an obvious "crema" (actually foam). Because tea differs from coffee, FrontStreet Coffee set the ratio at 1:3.5 here, extracting 63 ml of tea from 18 g of tea leaves. As the leaves gradually infused, the flow slowed further. When the time reached 32 seconds and the liquid weight approached the target, FrontStreet Coffee ended the extraction.

Testing the Tea Concentrate

Needless to say, the deep color alone shows how concentrated this tea is.

FrontStreet Coffee took a small spoonful to taste - the concentration was indeed comparable to espresso. Because tea differs from coffee, even without deliberately controlling the extraction it would not show over-extraction signs like sharp acidity or burnt bitterness, at most some astringency, and it could be extracted multiple times. Like espresso, such a concentrated tea is not suitable for most people to drink straight, so FrontStreet Coffee turned it into a "tea latte" by adding milk - essentially milk tea, but built on a tea base with the same high concentration as espresso, borrowing the idea of a "tea cappuccino." The ratio was 1:6, meaning 30 ml of tea with 180 ml of milk, made one cold and one hot.

Whether cold or hot, FrontStreet Coffee can say the taste was impeccable. Because the tea concentration was high enough, even with so much milk the tea flavor was not masked. The texture was rich, the taste balanced and aromatic - truly excellent. This may also be thanks to FrontStreet Coffee's timely damage control: not over-extracting kept the tea's astringency from becoming too prominent.

Conclusion and Recommendations

In summary, a coffee machine can extract a high-concentration cup of tea. However, FrontStreet Coffee does not recommend using coffee grinders and coffee portafilters directly to make "concentrated tea." Cleaning the grinder after grinding tea is a real hassle, and because the particles are so fine, a lot of tea dust bypasses the portafilter and seeps into the tea, affecting the taste. Worse, most of the portafilter holes get clogged and need careful flushing to clean thoroughly. It is genuinely troublesome.

So if you want to try this, FrontStreet Coffee recommends being mentally prepared. Alternatively, buy professional tea-extraction tools, so you don't end up in the awkward situation of post-extraction chaos after a moment of impulse. (Finally, FrontStreet Coffee does not, does not, does not serve this at our store.)

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FrontStreet Coffee Recommendation

If what you actually want from a coffee machine is great espresso, FrontStreet Coffee's Classic Blend is the first pick. Built for espresso and moka pot, it delivers outstanding crema: even a beginner with a non-professional home machine can pull a dense, fine layer. Based on the traditional Mamba recipe, it is full-bodied and smooth enough for veterans and newcomers alike, at home or in a shop.

For anyone watching costs, FrontStreet Coffee's Black Cocoa Blend is a high-value commercial option. Made from 100 percent Arabica beans, it offers plentiful crema and a full body at a friendly price, balancing quality and value - a worry-free choice for a cafe.

If you want to emphasize a single origin instead of a blend, try FrontStreet Coffee's Brazil Queen's Estate SOE. The rare Yellow Bourbon has a clean, gently sweet character, and medium-dark roasting through an espresso machine brings out butter cookie, macadamia, and toasted bread notes. FrontStreet Coffee's Specialty Blend, meanwhile, pairs Brazilian Cerrado with Colombian Huila, with nuts, dark chocolate, and caramel and just the right acidity.