Can you mix two infusions?

Tea fans are always experimenting with one of the world’s favorite beverages. From taking them cold to drinking them hot, with milk, without milk, adding spices or preparing it in different styles. But what happens when they mix?

Since there are only five or six types of infusions, sometimes it can get a bit boring to drink the same flavor every day. However, if we could mix two infusions, new flavor profiles could be created.

Choose the right type

Highly oxidized or heavily roasted brews will be much more dominant than lightly processed brews. Most oolong teas, black teas, and fermented teas have fairly strong flavors. Highly oxidized teas like black tea, which is fully oxidized, will have some darker or earthier tannins and flavors dominate. The same goes for heavily roasted teas, which are often greener, more oxidized oolong teas.

Whether we choose highly oxidized or heavily roasted brews for the blend, it doesn’t make much of a difference in choosing the ratio, as both types are quite dominant.

If we choose to mix them with delicate infusions such as green and white tea, we will have to choose the corresponding proportion. With high ratios of strong and dominant brews, the delicate ones are overshadowed and will not be able to contribute to the resulting flavor of the mixed tea.

In addition, if two infusions require different temperatures and steeping times to obtain the best result, we will not be able to prepare them together perfectly. Some difference is fine, but black tea and green tea require very different brewing parameters to taste good.

Choosing such different teas will result in the delicate tea becoming bitter or giving off other off flavors, while the other tea will not be brewed to its full complexity. However, mixing very different teas will give a unique flavor. With a little bit of effort and testing, we can come up with a brew that just might be better than anything we’ve tried before.

taza con infusiones mezcladas

Which ones can be mixed?

To mix two infusions they must be considered compatible and of the same category. Essentially, we can divide them into two groups that don’t work perfectly together or at least require more effort to make them work.

First of all, we can define delicate infusions that require low water temperatures and are not allowed to stand for so long. These are green tea, yellow tea, white tea, and can include some light and lightly roasted oolong teas.

On the other hand, there are the strong teas that are prepared with water at high temperatures and longer steeping times. Black tea, dark and/or deep roasted oolong tea, Pu Erh tea, and most herbal, fruit, and rooibos teas fall into this category.

As long as we mix delicate infusions with other delicate ones and a dominant one with other strong teas, there should be no problem with mixed tea. If we want to add one group to the other to get different flavors, we should be more careful.