A US scientist has brewed up a storm by offering Britain advice on making tea
A US scientist has brewed up a storm by offering Britain advice on making tea
An American scientist has sparked a trans-Atlantic tempest in a teapot by offering Britain advice on its favorite hot beverage.
cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/11138800
An American scientist has sparked a trans-Atlantic tempest in a teapot by offering Britain advice on its favorite hot beverage.
Bryn Mawr College chemistry professor Michelle Francl says one of the keys to a perfect cup of tea is a pinch of salt. The tip is included in Francl’s book “Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea,” published Wednesday by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Not since the Boston Tea Party has mixing tea with salt water roiled the Anglo-American relationship so much.
The salt suggestion drew howls of outrage from tea-lovers in Britain, where popular stereotype sees Americans as coffee-swilling boors who make tea, if at all, in the microwave.
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The U.S. Embassy in London intervened in the brewing storm with a social media post reassuring “the good people of the U.K. that the unthinkable notion of adding salt to Britain’s national drink is not official United States policy.”
Their ideas have some merit and I'll test out the salt thing, BUT they immediately lose all credibility when they say that heating water in a microwave is unhealthy.
I make my tea with a kettle like everyone else, that's beside the point. Heating water in a microwave is absolutely in no way whatsoever unhealthy, and I seriously question the competency of anyone - and the voracity of their claims - who suggests heating water in a microwave is unhealthy.
That's just.... wild. Haha.
As an American that also uses a kettle the occasional times I make tea, is it that they think the microwave is unhealthy, or just that a kettle is better. Because I know with the kettle I can set the temp, and from what I understand some teas are better brewed at different temps. With the microwave, you kinda just have boil.
People hear about microwave radiation and they think about ionizing radiation.
Is that in the article somewhere? I saw the reference to it being an American thing, but no mention of its healthiness.
"Americans as coffee-swilling boors who make tea, if at all, in the microwave"
I've never felt so seen.
This is the best summary I could come up with:
LONDON (AP) — An American scientist has sparked a trans-Atlantic tempest in a teapot by offering Britain advice on its favorite hot beverage.
Bryn Mawr College chemistry professor Michelle Francl says one of the keys to a perfect cup of tea is a pinch of salt.
The salt suggestion drew howls of outrage from tea-lovers in Britain, where popular stereotype sees Americans as coffee-swilling boors who make tea, if at all, in the microwave.
The U.S. Embassy in London intervened in the brewing storm with a social media post reassuring “the good people of the U.K. that the unthinkable notion of adding salt to Britain’s national drink is not official United States policy.”
The product of three years’ research and experimentation, the book explores the more than 100 chemical compounds found in tea and “puts the chemistry to use with advice on how to brew a better cup,” its publisher says.
She also advocates making tea in a pre-warmed pot, agitating the bag briefly but vigorously and serving in a short, stout mug to preserve the heat.
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Is this a declaration of war? That White House need burning down again? 😉
We have crossposts now? Cool!
Have you ever met Jack Frost?