How to make the best cup of tea, according to scientists Wine News

However, there are ways to avoid the movie in the first place, suggests Kiran Tawadey, the tea expert behind Hampstead Tea. “We always recommend using filtered water for tea,” she explains. “It takes away the whole film industry and you get a nice clear cup of tea provided you use high quality tea, it’s a huge variable. You get different origins from different countries with different levels of polyphenols.”

It might also be worth looking at how your tea is grown, says Tawadey. “Tea is an intensive culture these days and anecdotally I find that organic tea tends not to have this reaction with water, I don’t know why. It could be related to the very fine particles of the tea leaves.When people use tea dust you get a film of dust which clumps together with the hard water film and exacerbates the problem, but if you use a larger tea leaf you will find some much less.”

The Zurich study found that the film only becomes visible after 30 minutes, so it pays to drink your tea while it’s still hot.

Another way to thin the film or remove it entirely is to add a pinch of an acidic substance like lemon or orange, adds Tawadey. “The calcium carbonate in the film is alkaline, so adding an acid like a squeeze of lemon dissolves it,” she explains. But be careful what you add to your tea. “If you put lemon in an English breakfast with milk, you’ll only get a really disgusting cup of tea curd; it definitely won’t work. Lemon is a specific flavor that won’t work with all teas , I definitely wouldn’t. I don’t put lemon with an Asam tea. It’s fine with an Earl Grey, I would prefer orange in a Darjeeling tea.

This new tea movie research isn’t the first attempt at codifying ways to make the perfect blend. Here are some more tips for making the perfect tea…

The five-minute infusion method

According to tea-making expert Dr. Stuart Farrimond, the longer a tea is steeped, the higher its caffeine and antioxidant content. A tea steeped for 30 seconds contained 35 milligrams of caffeine, while a five-minute steep boosted the figure to 50 milligrams. Leaving the tea bag for the same period also doubled the level of antioxidants.

“Tea is a great source of antioxidants and these are natural substances that our bodies use to help fight disease, so it’s important to steep it,” says Dr. Farrimond.

Dr. Farrimond cited four golden rules of tea. They are:

1. Never drink from a polystyrene cup, which absorbs flavor
2. Use a red or pink cup, which makes the drink sweeter
3. Filter the water, which removes calcium and magnesium residues, preventing the formation of scum
4. Stir for five minutes

Be patient

In 2011, a study conducted at Northumbria University found that it takes eight minutes to brew a good tea. After eight minutes, the temperature of the tea drops to 60°C, the right heat to discover all the flavors at their most pleasant taste.

The method involves adding boiling water to a tea bag in a cup for two minutes before removing the bag and adding milk for six minutes. But the researchers stressed that it was crucial not to wait too long, 17.5 minutes to be exact, because the tea will drop to 45°C, which will damage the flavor.

The guide to the 11 rules

Author George Orwell was a tea obsessive. In January 1946, when Britain was still reeling from war, he published an 11-step guide to making the perfect comfort drink in the Evening Standard.

He insisted on bringing the teapot to the kettle rather than the other way around and encouraged tea drinkers to avoid sugar, which destroyed the flavor of the drink. “You could make a very similar drink by dissolving sugar in hot water,” he joked.

And what about the first debate which divides tea or milk? Tea was always first for Orwell. “I maintain that my own argument is unanswerable.”