When it comes to the staple beverages of the world, there are two main sides: the coffee drinkers and tea drinkers.
You either drink tea or coffee, but not both at the same time.
But the idea of mixing coffee and tea is not as absurd as you may think. In Hong Kong, Malaysia, Ethiopia and several other places, beverages consisting of a blend of tea and coffee are common.
In Hong Kong, it’s called Yuenyeung. It’s made with coffee and milk tea. In Malaysia it’s called Kopi Cham, and it’s also made with coffee and milk tea. In Ethiopia it’s known as Spreeze.
Can You Drink Coffee and Tea Together?
Yes, you definitely can. Many people around the world do it, and you can make your own coffee-tea cuppa at home as well.
How To Mix Coffee And Tea
There are many different coffee-tea blend recipes, each with different ratios of coffee and tea. For example, Yuenyeung has three parts coffee and seven parts milk tea.
You can look up some recipes, or experiment with different proportions. Some people love a stronger coffee flavour while others want tea with just a mild flavour of coffee.
Below are two coffee-tea recipes to get you started. One with milk and one without.
1. Coffee & Milk Tea Blend (Yuenyeung)
Start by making milk tea.
- Add a cup of whole milk to a saucepan. As the milk warms up, add a teaspoon of loose leaf black tea or one tea bag of blak tea. You can also add sugar if you want to sweeten the tea.
- Stir the tea and let it come to a boil. Turn down the heat and simmer for a minute.
- Pour half the tea into a cup. If using loose leaf tea, use a strainer.
Next, make one cup of coffee. Brewed coffee is best because of its rich flavour. But you can also use instant coffee.
Add half a cup of the coffee to the tea to make a full cup of coffee-tea blend.
Stir the blend and enjoy.
The 1:1 ratio is just a suggestion. Start with it and see how you like it. Experiment by adding more or less coffee to the milk tea.
2. Black Coffee & Tea Blend
If you don’t want to add milk to your beverage, you can also enjoy the coffee-tea blend black. But you’ll need to add a few more ingredients to complement the dark flavours of tea and coffee.
We recommend spicy ingredients like cinnamon, and star anise.
First, make black tea by steeping a teaspoon of loose leaf black tea in a cup of hot water. Also add 2 pods of star anise and a small stick of cinnamon to the hot water.
Let the tea and spices infuse for 5 minutes, then strain half the black spicy tea into a cup.
Add half a cup of brewed or instant coffee to the tea to get your coffee-tea spicy blend. You can sweeten it with sugar, if you want.
You can stick to the 1:1 ratio if you like the taste, or try adjusting how much coffee you add to the black tea.
By the way, if you are not a big fan of black tea, you can replace it with green tea. Just note that green tea requires a shorter steeping time (3 minutes).
Note: To make iced versions of both the above recipes, simply pour the finished blends over ice in a glass.
What Will Happen if You Mix Coffee and Tea?
If you are worried about dangerous side effects, don’t. There is no harm in mixing coffee and tea.
The only thing that will change, other than taste, is the level of caffeine. Mixing coffee and tea boosts the amount of caffeine in the blended beverage.
If you are sensitive to too much caffeine or suffer from insomnia, you should probably avoid mixing coffee and tea. But if you want a quick boost of energy, a coffee and tea blend is perfect.
What Is It Called When You Mix Coffee and Tea?
Different regions have different names for this blended beverage. We’ve already mentioned several above such as Yuenyeung, Kopi Cham and Spreeze.
Some people also refer to it as Cofftea.
Does Coffee and Tea Taste Good Together?
Taste is subjective. Some people love the blended flavour of coffee and tea, while others would rather drink coffee or tea.
Don’t worry if you don’t like it at first. Keep trying different recipes until you find one that you like.
For instance, you can try adding less coffee and more tea. In fact, Yuenyeung is made in a 7:3 milk tea to coffee ratio.
Adding other ingredients can also improve the taste of the blend. Spices like cinnamon and star anise go well with black coffee and tea.
Here are some additional tips for making a great-tasting coffee and tea beverage.
- Use brewed coffee, instead of instant coffee. Brewed coffee is so much richer and tastes better.
- Use good quality tea, whether it’s loose leaf or tea bags.
- Do not over-steep the tea. For black tea, steep for 5 minutes max. For green tea, 3 minutes is enough. Over-steeping results in a bitter drink.
- Add a sweetener such as honey or sugar. Artificial low-calorie sweeteners also work great.
