A storm in a teacup: The US-UK fight over making perfect tea

After water, tea is the most popular beverage in the world, and for hundreds of years, humans have been obsessed with a perfect way of brewing it. In the latest development, a US professor advised that blending tea with salt enhances the flavour of the brew, according to The Guardian. The suggestion did not sit well with the Britishers, who are estimated to consume 100 million cups of the beverage daily, or 1.5 cups per person. Without much creativity, the majority of Brits prepare their tea in the same way: hot water from an electric kettle over a single tea bag in a mug, followed by milk and sugar, as per NBC News. Tips for ‘perfect cup of tea’ Brits should use a short, stout mug and choose leaves over teabags, according to Michelle Francl, a chemistry professor at Pennsylvania’s prestigious Quaker school, Bryn Mawr College. Regarding milk, Professor Francl advises using warm milk to lessen the possibility of curdling. The most unwelcome tip she makes is to “reduce the bitterness” of your drink by adding a pinch of salt. In her book Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea, Francl claimed to have examined scores of research papers and ancient texts spanning over a millennium to arrive at her conclusions, as per The Guardian. According to her, the pro-tips for the perfect brew are:

• Adding a pinch of salt — the sodium ion in salt — blocks the chemical mechanism that makes tea taste bitter.
• Steeping teabags quickly but with plenty of dunking and squeezing – to reduce the sour-tasting tannins created by caffeine dissolving slowly in water.
• Decaffeinated tea can be made by steeping a teabag for 30 seconds, removing it, and discarding the liquid, then adding fresh water and rebrewing for five minutes.
• A small squeeze of lemon juice can remove the “scum” that sometimes appears on the surface of the drink, which is formed from chemical elements in the tea and water.
• The aroma of tea is almost as important as the taste – so when drinking from a takeaway cup, it’s best to remove the lid.

In less controversial advice, Professor Francl claims that heating your teapot or cup beforehand encourages the release of more “aromatic compounds” from it. She also adds that larger tea bags functioned better because they let the tea leaves move around and stay in contact with the water. Despite hailing from a nation where tea is typically served iced and is considered less important than coffee, she maintained the validity of her findings. According to the Independent, Michelle Franci said, “You get some awful cups of tea in the US. It’s horrific. I grew up in the Midwest, which is a deep coffee-drinking country, but tea has always been my preferred drink – and I have invested a lot of time into studying it. But even after all these years of drinking tea and researching chemistry, I learned new things about what is in my cup and how to make the very best cup of tea." Larger tea bags were found to work better because they allow the tea leaves to move around, keeping them in contact with the water. After water, tea is the most drunk beverage worldwide, and people have been obsessing over the perfect way to brew it for hundreds of years. A Tang Dynasty Chinese mystic is cited as claiming that prepared perfectly, tea holds the power to lift one “to the realms of the unwinking gods,” according to Dailymail. Professor Francl thinks that, in addition to the caffeine content, its enduring appeal stems from the rich flavour profile and distinct aromatic experiences it offers. The report quoted her as saying, “Tea is a cultural touchstone in Britain but is enjoyed all over the world. Even after all these years of drinking tea and researching chemistry, I learned new things about what is in my cup and how to make the very best cup of tea.” US Embassy steps in The US Embassy in London was quick enough to release a lighthearted statement on this British obsession, saying that an American professor’s recipe for the “perfect” cup of tea has landed “our special bond with the United Kingdom in hot water.”

An important statement on the latest tea controversy. 🇺🇸🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/HZFfSCl9sD

— U.S. Embassy London (@USAinUK) January 24, 2024

“Tea is the elixir of camaraderie, a sacred bond that unites our nations. We cannot stand idly by as such an outrageous proposal that threatens the very foundation of our special relationship,” the US office in the UK said. The US had to clarify that adding a “pinch of salt in a cup of tea is not their official policy and never will be,” though it added, that “they will make the tea proper way – by microwaving it.” Furthermore, the Cabinet Office of the British government responded by saying, “We appreciate our Special Relationship, however, we must disagree wholeheartedly… Tea must be only made using a kettle.” The uproar over ‘microwaved tea’ The banter between the two G7 countries garnered massive attention on social media, with several netizens saying, “A lot can happen over a cup of tea.” Some British, however, were reminded of the horrors of receiving microwaved tea—America’s method of preparing “hot tea,” which shocked a lot of people in 2020. According to Dailymail, a person recalled, “My housemate used to put a Lipton tea bag in a mug of tap water and microwave it. I’m not sure if he was trying to hurt me or himself.”

My housemate used to put a Lipton tea bag in a mug of tap water and microwave it. I'm not sure if he was trying to hurt me or himself.

— Tariq ⌬ (@iridium_tea) January 24, 2024

Another one said, “Remember visiting friends of friends in Chicago. They offered to make me a cup of tea, but retreated saying they could not confirm if the microwave was kosher. I’ve still not recovered; as if my concern would be the kashrut status of the microwave not their lack of a kettle.”

In case you've hit your head, here's a reminder on how to make a proper cup of tea. Hope this helps! ☕️pic.twitter.com/lu2VgnB7qI https://t.co/aMXuBT6mxY

— British Embassy Washington (@UKinUSA) January 24, 2024

A third one quipped, “And that, Ladies and Gentleman, is US diplomacy in 2024.”

And that, Ladies and Gentleman, is US diplomacy in 2024 🙄

— Iain Simcock (@SimcockIain) January 24, 2024

Impact Shorts

More Shorts

Ghaziabad woman dead, pilgrims attacked in bus… How Nepal’s Gen-Z protests turned into a living hell for Indian tourists

Were bodyguards involved in Charlie Kirk’s shooting? The many conspiracies surrounding the killing

Typhoo Tea referenced the historic Boston Tea Party by saying, “The tea would be better off dumped in Boston Harbour than a microwave.”

The tea would be better off dumped in Boston Harbour than a microwave 😂

— Typhoo Tea (@Typhoo_Tea) January 24, 2024

For those unversed, to stop “taxation without representation,” members of the Sons of Liberty and other protestors boarded East India Co. ships during the Boston Tea Party to dump their valuable cargo—roughly 92,000 pounds of tea, worth nearly $2 million today—into the murky waters of Boston Harbour, explained Dailymail in another report. In response, Massachusetts was subject to military rule and other sanctions from Great Britain, which strengthened American resistance to colonial rule. One of the key moments that started the American Revolutionary War is thought to have been the Boston Tea Party. With inputs from agencies