Astringency in Tea is the pungent taste that comes from strong or bitter flavor. The stronger the taste, the more pronounced the astringency.
If you’re a tea lover like me, you know how great it is when your cup of tea is warm and aromatic with a hint of the smoky flavor from the matcha.
But sometimes, nothing will make your morning cup of tea more flavorful than some strong-tasting black tea.
If your cup of tea isn’t as refreshing as you’d like, there are a few easy ways to improve its astringency.
Related article: How to reduce astringency in Green tea?
How to Improve the Astringency in Tea.
All teas do have astringent properties. However, there are ways to improve the astringency in tea.
For example, if you want to reduce the astringency in green tea, you can add lemon juice to the cup before drinking.
This will help to balance out the bitterness of the tea.
Reduce Heat
When brewing black teas, reduce the amount of Time and Steeping time or simply use smaller amounts of water.
Using too much milk or sugar in your cup can also make it overly sweet, which can also contribute to its bitterness.
Drink Your Tea!
If you absolutely must have strong tasting tea, then at least drink it black!
Refreshing your cup of tea with hot milk would only make it taste even more bitter and starchy, which isn’t good for your teeth or stomach.
Reduce the bitterness and weaken the flavors of your black teas so they have more of an almond essence instead.
Related article: What is The Best Tea to Start With
Don’t Oversteep Your Tea
Oversteeping your tea is what causes the bitterness in the first place.
If you let your tea steep too long, the enzymes in your stomach will start to break down the strong acidity in the leaves, which can make your stomach ache for hours.
What you should do is keep your tea less than 5 minutes after steeping.
If you’re going for a ÔÇ£lightÔÇØ tea, you can go below this, but for a stronger tasting cup, oversteeping is the definition of bitter.
Related article: What’s yellow tea good for?
Add Flavors
If you love anise and cumin, you could always add them to your black tea to lighten its flavor.
However, cumin has a stronger flavor than anise and is more likely to dominate the final product.
Anise is a more subtle flavor whereas cumin is more upfront.
You can also add other spices like fennel, clove, allspice, or cardamom, which would create an interesting and interesting flavor profile.
Let Your Teas Dry Out
If you’re like me and love to rehydrate my caffeine-loaded body with a cold glass of water, you may have noticed that my iced tea always comes out pretty watery.
Drying out your tea is what causes it to become non-airy (i.e. less sweet), and making sure it’s done properly is the key to developing a thicker, creamier texture.
Don’t skimp on the water-filtration or you’ll end up with a watered-down, less potent iced tea.
Related article: What is Milk Tea?
Final Words.
Black tea is a great way to enjoy a cup of tea, especially when you don’t feel like brewing it.
But sometimes, you just want something stronger than what’s in the store-bought bottle!
If your coffee or tea isn’t as flavorful as you’d like, there are a few easy ways to improve its astringency.
Astringency is the pungent taste that comes from strong or bitter flavors in a drinking beverage.
The stronger the taste, the more pronounced the astringency.
Though black teas aren’t as versatile as green teas and oolong teas for brewing because they don’t have any tannins (which can give them an astringent taste), there are still ways to improve their flavor without adding too many ingredients.
Here are five tips on how to reduce the bitterness and weaken the flavors of your black teas so they have more of an almond essence instead.
Related article: The 10 health benefits of black tea
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