Tea shots · tea espresso
How to make milk tea with an espresso machine
A tea shot is concentrated tea pulled through a home espresso machine. Load 6g of ground tea, extract 120–150g of concentrate (about 130g on a normal day), add about half a scoop of ice, then milk to 11.5oz. That is a 12oz milk tea using the machine already on the counter.
What is a tea shot?
A tea shot—sometimes called tea espresso—is tea extracted in a portafilter, not steeped in a pot. Hot water moves through a packed bed of ground tea under the same pump that usually makes espresso. The liquid in the cup is a concentrate, strong enough that milk does not wash it into a pale beige.
CHAURA portions that dose at 6g so you are not weighing leaf every morning. The product is the tea. The machine stays yours.
Tea espresso is not ashotchu
If you search “tea shots espresso,” many results describe ashotchu: sweet iced tea with a coffee espresso shot poured on top. That drink is real, and it is a different drink. A CHAURA cup contains the tea you extracted. There is no coffee unless you add it later.
How to pull a tea shot
The CHAURA 12oz recipe is specific on purpose. Enough concentrate for the tea to meet milk; not so much water that it tastes like a long steep poured over ice.
- 1
Heat the machine
Let your espresso machine reach brew temperature the same way you would for coffee. You need a removable portafilter and a removable basket.
- 2
Load 6g of tea
Open one CHAURA tea shot and add the 6g portion to the basket. Distribute it evenly. A heavy tamp like espresso is not the point; you want water to move through the bed.
- 3
Lock in and pull concentrate
Extract 120–150g of tea concentrate into a cup on a scale. About 130g is the everyday target for a 12oz milk tea. This is a longer pull than a coffee espresso shot.
- 4
Knock out and rinse
Knock the tea puck out promptly. Rinse the basket and the group area. Ground tea can leave fines; a quick rinse after every shot is part of the drink, not optional housekeeping.
- 5
Finish the 12oz cup
Add about half a scoop of ice, then milk to the 11.5oz cup line. Sweetener is your call. Drink it while the concentrate is still vivid.
The 12oz numbers
| Part | Amount |
|---|---|
| Tea shot | 6g, pre-portioned |
| Concentrate | 120–150g (about 130g daily) |
| Ice | About half a scoop |
| Milk | To the 11.5oz cup line |
| Sweetener | Optional |
Time, once the machine is hot, is a few minutes. You still need the espresso machine, portafilter, basket, milk, and ice. Kits contain tea shots only.
Tea shot vs steeping vs shop teapresso
| Compared | Steeping | Shop teapresso | CHAURA tea shot |
|---|---|---|---|
| What you use | Kettle, pot, or bag | Dedicated tea-extraction machine | Home espresso machine you already own |
| What goes in | Loose leaf or bags | Shop-ground tea, often on a separate machine | Pre-ground 6g tea shots |
| What you get | Infusion, often thin after milk | Café concentrate, in a shop | Home concentrate for a 12oz milk tea |
| Hard part | Strength after dairy | You are not at home | Fines, rinse, and machine-to-machine flow |
Milk-tea shops have used espresso-like machines for years. Threads on r/espresso point to chains such as Chi Cha San Chen and Comebuytea, and to aftermarket tea baskets. Home blogs have also published DIY “tea espresso” methods with whole leaf in a standard basket. CHAURA is the missing consumable for that home workflow: portioned tea, eight milk-tea profiles, no second appliance.
Do you need a special tea portafilter?
Not for this product. CHAURA is designed for a standard home portafilter and basket. Fine-mesh tea baskets and 58mm tea portafilters exist if you want to experiment; they are not required, and we have not tested every accessory. What we have repeated is the core shot on around ten home espresso machines in founder-and-friends kitchens.
Grind, fines, and cleanup
Pre-portioned shots remove the grinder from the morning. That matters because tea fines clog baskets and linger in group heads more than many first-timers expect. If you grind your own leaf in a coffee grinder, you are in experiment territory: many grinders are specified for coffee beans only, and continuous grinding can overheat. We used grinders as lab tools. They are not the product we are selling.
After the shot: knock out, rinse, move on. We do not claim clogging is solved.
Will it work on your machine?
You need a removable portafilter and a removable basket. The workflow has been repeated on around ten different home machines. That is the evidence. It is not a guarantee that every basket, pressure profile, or super-automatic will behave the same way. If the machine cannot take a basket you can empty and rinse, this is not your drink.
Questions people actually ask
How much tea do you put in an espresso machine?
CHAURA uses a 6g pre-portioned tea shot per 12oz milk tea. That is smaller than a typical double espresso dose because tea is extracted longer: 120–150g of concentrate, with about 130g as the everyday target.
Should I grind tea in a coffee grinder?
CHAURA shots arrive already ground and portioned so you do not have to. A consumer coffee grinder is usually specified for coffee beans only, can overheat in continuous use, and is not our product. If you experiment with whole leaf, fines and cleanup become the hard parts.
Will tea clog my espresso machine?
Tea can leave fine particles in the basket and around the group. That is a real constraint of this workflow, not something we claim to have solved. Knock the puck out promptly and rinse after every shot. Do not treat a dirty basket as a next-shot setting.
Is tea espresso the same as steeping?
No. Steeping infuses leaves in a vessel of water over minutes. A tea shot pushes hot water through a packed basket under espresso-machine pressure in seconds, then you build the drink with ice and milk. The goal is a concentrate that still tastes like tea after dairy.
What is a tea shot?
A tea shot is concentrated tea extracted through an espresso machine. CHAURA portions real ground tea at 6g so you can pull 120–150g of concentrate, then finish with ice and milk as a 12oz milk tea. It is not instant tea, a pod, or a coffee shot poured into iced tea.
Can you brew tea in an espresso machine?
Yes, if the machine has a removable portafilter and basket. Load ground tea instead of coffee, then extract a longer concentrated shot. CHAURA’s 12oz recipe targets about 130g of concentrate from a 6g portion. Cleanup matters: knock the puck out and rinse the basket after every shot, because tea fines can linger.
Is this the same as ashotchu?
No. Ashotchu is sweet iced tea with a coffee espresso shot poured on top. A CHAURA tea shot extracts the tea itself through the espresso machine—there is no coffee in the cup unless you add it.
Do I need a special tea portafilter?
CHAURA is built for a standard home espresso portafilter and basket, not a separate teapresso machine. Dedicated tea baskets exist; we have not made them a requirement. You still need a removable portafilter and basket, and flow can vary by machine.
Will it work with my espresso machine?
The core workflow has been repeated across around ten home espresso machines in founder-and-friends testing. You need a removable portafilter and basket; exact flow still varies by machine and basket.