Brewing tea in Denver?
Hello!
I recently moved to Denver and have really struggled with brewing tea well. I read somewhere that Denver isn’t high enough to make that much difference, and I’ve been to tea rooms here that have good tea so I’m not sure if I’ve lost my ability to make good tea or if there is an issue with the altitude/water.
I started brewing tea in Texas, and continued in Oklahoma, both of which are not very high, and that was fine. Since moving to Denver, my teas have been flavorless. I’ve tried to steep longer or add more leaves, but that just ends up bitter. I’m not sure what adjustment to make but I’m getting sad about not being able to enjoy tea
The altitude actually means there is lower air pressure so the boiling point is lower in a place like Denver, around 202 degrees. I’m in southern Idaho and my boiling point hits around 206-208 degrees. So it isn’t a huge difference, but it may be enough that you might want to experiment and see if you need to drop the typical temperatures you use for your teas by 5-10 degrees if you based everything on a “boiling is 212F” scale.
I would say it’s more likely to be your water source than the elevation. The mineral content of water (or lack thereof) can make a huge difference in the taste of your tea.
Check your water by using a brand that people use alot, maybe crystal geyser is a decent cheap water.
Though in Las Vegas we all use RO water with sea salt or trace mineral drops because the tap water is undrinkable.
Try green teas, white teas, and oolongs until you get back to a lower altitude. It’s not about “boiling” it’s about temperature, and green/oolong brew well at lower temperatures than black tea does.
Experiment: heat water in a pressure cooker and getting that liquid to hot+steam and seeing if you have 212F water inside after you pop the lid.
Mineral content will also matter, but not having fully-heated water is holding you back here.
It could relate to brewing temperature, to the lower boiling point, but most teas wouldn’t be that different brewed at just over 200 versus closer to 212. Mineral content in the water seems a more likely suspect. Experimenting with filtering tap water and using bottled water should make a difference.
One other potential difference people haven’t flagged: your sense of taste might have changed. It will take time to adjust to cooler temperatures and somewhat different air pressure, and reduced humidity in the air, and that could throw off your sense of taste a little. I suppose even environment changes that don’t relate directly to your sense might make a difference too, eg. higher level of background noise where you drink tea. I’d guess that it’s mainly a combination of the water mineral content and slight change on your end, tied to you as an input.
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