Steps: pulling your first teapresso

By the end of this page you will have pulled a teapresso shot end to end, and you will know how to adjust it when it misses. There are two procedures, because a normal espresso machine gives you two honest ways to brew tea (BrewBase):

• Method A — hot-water wand: a normal cup of tea in 3–5 minutes.
• Method B — portafilter tea shot: a concentrated 40–60 ml “teapresso” in under 30 seconds, for tea lattes.

Method A: the hot-water wand (a cup of tea)

For when you want tea, not a project.

1. If your machine has a hot-water spout, put your tea (bag or infuser) in the cup.
2. Dispense hot water over it. The machine holds its water at 90–96 °C (BrewBase), so this suits black, dark oolong, pu-erh, rooibos, and herbs. For green or white tea, let the dispensed water cool for a minute before adding the leaves, or use a kettle instead.
3. Steep 2–3 minutes, no more — whole-leaf tea gets bitter after that, and any whole-leaf tea should still have flavor for a second cup (Red Blossom Tea).
4. Remove the infuser, drink.

That is the whole method. The wand is the machine’s quiet superpower: temperature-stabilized water on demand, no kettle boil-overs (BrewBase).

Method B: the portafilter tea shot (teapresso)

Before you start

• Pick a robust tea from the selection table: black, shu pu-erh, rooibos, or dark oolong. First-timers: Assam or Ceylon broken-leaf (BOP) is the most forgiving.
• If your machine has PID temperature control, set it to 88–90 °C. If it is a heat-exchanger machine, do a cooling flush until the hissing stops (BrewBase).
• Weigh 5–9 g of leaf (a heaped tablespoon of broken leaf is roughly in range) (BrewBase).

The shot

1. Warm up and flush. Run the machine until the group head is hot, and flush water through an empty (unlocked) portafilter.
2. Prepare the basket. Use a clean, dry single-wall basket. Break up whole-leaf tea coarsely — fingers or a blade grinder, aiming for “coarse grounds” texture, not powder (Sift & Simmer).
3. Dose. Add the tea and tap the basket to settle it. Fill no more than two-thirds — the leaves will swell into the empty third during the shot (BrewBase).
4. Level, do not tamp. Press the leaves flat with the tamper’s weight or your fingers. Do not push hard (Sift & Simmer; BrewBase).
5. Pull. Lock in, cup under the spout, start the pump, and stop around 25 seconds or 40–60 ml of liquid — whichever comes first (BrewBase).
6. Taste, then decide. The first shot is the sweet, smooth part. If you want a fuller, rounder cup, wait a few seconds and pull a second short shot into the same cup — the second shot carries the tannins that round out the flavor (Sift & Simmer).
7. Clean immediately. Purge the group head with plain water, knock out the spent leaves, and rinse the basket. After a session: detergent backflush + occasional basket soak (BrewBase).

Serving

The shot is designed to be diluted. Three honest options:

• As-is. A 40–60 ml sip of concentrated tea. It is strong — the point is intensity, not comfort.
• Americano-style. Top up with hot water for a big mug of tea with a different character than steeping.
• Tea latte. Steamed milk + sweetener over the shot. This is the classic use: a concentrate that still tastes like tea after a cup of milk cuts through it (BrewBase; Sift & Simmer). Earl Grey + lavender syrup + steamed milk is the “London Fog” shortcut.

Tuning loop

One variable at a time, one shot apart:

Symptom	First thing to change
Bitter, harsh	Shorter shot (stop earlier); cooler water if you have PID; lighter leveling
Weak, watery	More leaf; break the leaf finer (coarse, not powder); slightly longer shot
Shot stalls, water sprays	Basket too full — leave more headroom; you tamped — do not
Leaves in the cup	Leaf too fine for the basket holes — go coarser
Green tea tastes like vegetables	Stop using green tea in this machine (Red Blossom Tea)

If the shot comes out bitter no matter what you do, the detailed failure modes are on the Troubleshooting page — and the honest next question is whether teapresso is the right tool at all, which the Alternatives page answers.