Find Brew-topia...by taking tea with a pinch of salt
A PINCH of salt, warming the milk first and not using the same bag twice will brew you the perfect tea, according to an American expert.
Britons drink more than 100 million cups of Rosie Lee every day – but Dr Michelle Francl says we’ve been doing it wrong all along.
The US cuppa connoisseur has now shared ways we can make the best brew.
A lesser-known tip from the professor at Bryn Mawr College, Pennsylvania, is adding a pinch of table salt. She says sodium ion, a key element of salt, interacts with the chemical mechanism that produces the perception of a bitter taste and removes it. Warming the milk will reduce the chance of curdling and better control the rate at which tea cools, she insists.
However, tea lovers looking for an energy boost are warned the more milk they add, the lower the caffeine. Binning tea leaves and bags after one use is recommended because virtually all the caffeine and antioxidants in them are gone within a minute of steeping.
And tall and cylindrical cups are a “mug’s game” because they expose a greater surface area, which means your brew will cool down more quickly. Dr Francl’s book, Steeped: The Chemistry Of Tea is published by the Royal Society of Chemistry. She said: “Writing Steeped was great fun – a chance to combine my love for chemistry and my delight in a really good cup of tea.”
Royal Society of Chemistry president, Professor Gill Reid, said: “Dr Francl’s fantastic new book is full of fascinating insights into our favourite cuppa. I look forward to trying out her scientifically sound top tips.”
Steeped: The Chemistry Of Tea, is available at books.rsc.org or from Amazon.
BRITONS love their US cousins dearly, but they have never been famed for making a good cuppa.America’s shift to independence from Britain was given a stir when protesters threw a tea shipment into Boston’s harbour in 1773. Now an academic based in Pennsylvania is advocating adding a pinch of salt to your cup of tea.
Dr Michelle Francl even recommends warming the milk first. She gives scientific explanations for her advice but, if she wants to discover a true brew-topia, she should cross the Atlantic and enjoy a pot of tea at any Daily Express reader’s kitchen table.