Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2024/01/24/salt-in-tea.html
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Yeah…
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The US Embassy will continue to make tea in the proper way — by microwaving it
Ouch.
They’re not wrong though…the wife and I use the teapot for our tea but my daughter utterly refuses to do so and always nukes her water for tea.
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This was on the news today - because it’s England so of course it was.
I tried this one time, but not on purpose.
In a tiny little coffee shop about twenty-something years ago.
For some inexplicable reason they had salt on the table in little bowls and sugar in what I would have considered a salt-shaker.
I still wonder how long it took them to realise that was a stupid idea.
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In a not-technically-lying sense that wasn’t an articulation of official United States policy; just part of the process of articulating that there was such a thing as official United States policy.
Now, if anyone was feeling symbolic in 1812…
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microwaving it.
Ye gods. Even the US scientist says this is a bad idea.
My bold in the extract below:
Francl has loved tea ever since her mother made her first brew when she was 10 years old.
Everyone has their own opinion on what makes the perfect cuppa, but Prof Francl recommends using loose leaves instead of tea bags and giving the drink a constant stir so the tea gets a good exposure to the water and milk.
Adding a small squeeze of lemon juice can also remove the “scum” that sometimes appears on the surface of the drink, she adds.
Other suggestions she makes include using short, stout mugs to keep the tea hotter, and warming up the mug and milk, with the latter added in only after pouring the tea.
But chief among her advice is to never, ever heat up the water in a microwave: “It’s less healthy and it does not taste as good,” Prof Francl says.
"You end up getting tea scum forming on the surface, and that scum contains some of the antioxidants and taste compounds."
While the concept of microwaving tea might sound a bit alien in the UK, it is “totally common” in the US.
“Americans have some truly awful tea-making habits,” Prof Francl says.
ETA The US Embassy probably has its tongue in its cheek doing some mild trolleying when it says “by microwaving it”
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One of my Great Grandfathers had a habit of letting his tea go cold, and then necking down the entire mugful in one go. He was not best please to discover, one time, that his progeny had put spoons of salt, pepper and mustard in to his beverage
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A tiny bit of salt can improve the taste of coffee. I can see how it might do something similar in tea except tea is not nearly as bitter as coffee. Unless you over steeped or used water too hot for the leaf type.
I also think most recommendations on how much salt to add to coffee are too high. Coffee should be somewhat bitter
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Erm… adding milk to the cup before removing the leaves? 
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Which, in the BBC article, is the use case she emphasises.
She explains that salt acts as a blocker to the receptor which makes tea taste bitter, especially when it has been stewed.
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Yeah - that’s just WRONG! She’s very confused about tea.
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Ah, thanks. I didn’t understand the “stewed” vernacular. I am very much an amateur tea maker
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Yeah, we say ‘stewed’ when the tea has been left in the water too long.
We don’t actually make ‘tea stew’ - honest! 
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My Dad told us of a night watchman he once knew, who used to put a saucepan of water on his fire, pour in a bag of tea, and then let it stew all thought out the night. I guess that it got stronger over the hours, maybe helping keep him awake; while tanning his insides. 
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There are a lot of tall tales tea towels tea tales in your family, aren’t there.
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What can I say, we’re English, bab.
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I’m sorry, what? It’s literally just heating the water. Does she think we put the tea bag in the cup while it’s in the microwave? I just use it to heat the water. It just makes hot water. This is pseudo-science mumbo jumbo.
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Oh, yeah - she clearly must be talking about putting tea in a cup or pot with water and microwaving that. If anyone actually does this they should be taken outside and given a stern talking to. Basically, it’s cruelty to tea-leaves, and she is right to advise against it.
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A splash of soy sauce is cool, though, right?
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