Tea for two and two for tea.
Jun. 25th, 2003 01:29 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
davywavyFor a girl who claims to be very scientifically minded, ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
puddingcat can be just as dogmatic as anyone else when it comes to personal belief. Consider, if you will, the thorny problem of making a cup of tea. She & I have a running disagreement over whether one should put milk in before the hot water, or after.
Being a fellow of taste & refinement I hold to the position of milk in first - reasoning that tea made this way actually tastes nicer. She insists on tea in first, because she prefers nasty tea.
Now Jenny has often said that she can only believe in things that have a scientific basis, and so when I pointed out that the Royal Society of Chemistry have examined in depth the tea making process and come to the scientific conclusion that milk in first is the correct way to make a tasty cuppa, I thought she'd admit to the error of her ways.
Not to be.
Instead she refused to be convinced, and instead said that she'd stick with the tea-making method outlined in the film "Gosford Park".
Now, if I were to tell her that I preferred the depiction of Nuclear Physics in the Keanu Reeves film Chain Reaction to the writings of Enrico Fermi then her wrath and incredulity would be terrible to behold. However, present her with a scientific proof that doesn't happen to fit into her worldview and just watch science being refuted in favour of the movies quicker than you can say 'knife'.
Chicks, eh? Who can fathom them?
puddingcat can be just as dogmatic as anyone else when it comes to personal belief. Consider, if you will, the thorny problem of making a cup of tea. She & I have a running disagreement over whether one should put milk in before the hot water, or after. Being a fellow of taste & refinement I hold to the position of milk in first - reasoning that tea made this way actually tastes nicer. She insists on tea in first, because she prefers nasty tea.
Now Jenny has often said that she can only believe in things that have a scientific basis, and so when I pointed out that the Royal Society of Chemistry have examined in depth the tea making process and come to the scientific conclusion that milk in first is the correct way to make a tasty cuppa, I thought she'd admit to the error of her ways.
Not to be.
Instead she refused to be convinced, and instead said that she'd stick with the tea-making method outlined in the film "Gosford Park".
Now, if I were to tell her that I preferred the depiction of Nuclear Physics in the Keanu Reeves film Chain Reaction to the writings of Enrico Fermi then her wrath and incredulity would be terrible to behold. However, present her with a scientific proof that doesn't happen to fit into her worldview and just watch science being refuted in favour of the movies quicker than you can say 'knife'.
Chicks, eh? Who can fathom them?
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no subject
Date: 2003-06-25 05:33 am (UTC)And you actually went an researched this???????
You need help my dear!
no subject
Date: 2003-06-25 06:17 am (UTC)Compromise?
Date: 2003-06-25 06:27 am (UTC)I shall not rest until the hot-beverage heresy by the liquid luddites is expunged form the face of the earth. By force, if necessary.
Silly Western tea 'drinkers'
Good robust green tea, leaves and all, possibly with rice kernels (some popped)...mmmm, now we're talking!
Otherwise, nothing quite like a good chilled oolong on a hot day, with the exception of a good Southern ice tea, sun-brewed with fresh mint leaves. mmmmmm...
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I take it, this is what started this whole argument?
Commoner :p
Date: 2003-06-25 10:28 am (UTC)1. The fats in milk block the pores of teabags, if your'e making tea in a mug. This means you have to squish the teabag to get it to brew, which releases far too many tannins & leads to the tea being bitter.
2. Common sense. If you're making tea in a pot, or even in a mug at times, you can see how strong the tea is, and add milk to taste without risk of ending up with a mug of what looks like dirty milk.
3. This was research reported by the Evening Standard. Tetley's research shows the opposite, and they have a lot to lose by telling people to do something that makes tea taste worse.
4. Gosford Park. It's a class thing. Milk first is a horrible middle-class fallacy created by people trying to look posh. It's so Petunia Dursley, it's untrue.
5. I'd take GP over Keanu's films any time when it comes to things like this.
Re: Commoner :p
Date: 2003-06-25 11:22 am (UTC)It may be worth noting that the RSC suggests an entirely separate brewing process before tea and milk ever come in contact with eachother - and then, in only the final drinking device.
That having been said, I can't be arsed and mix it in like everyone else...oh, when I bother with such naff Western practices. :-)
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Re: Commoner :p
Date: 2003-06-25 12:44 pm (UTC)An addition to the discussion
Date: 2003-06-25 01:24 pm (UTC)http://www.newscientist.com/news/news.jsp?id=ns99993872
Re: Silly Western tea 'drinkers'
Date: 2003-06-25 02:53 pm (UTC)tea
Date: 2003-06-26 03:22 am (UTC)my personal preference (as someone who is not a naturally gifted tea maker) is milk second as then I can correct for faults in the tea strength.
Possibly you might make a better tea by milk first howerver for the novice milk second will produce a more reliable and predictable quality of tea, and prevent those 'brow dishwater' coloured mugs
Ahem!
Date: 2003-06-26 05:14 am (UTC)The Daily Telegraph happens to agree. Personally, I'l take the Royal Society and the Daily Telegraph over tetleys any day of the week.
And, should you care to read further, you'll discover that it originated not from 'trying to look posh', but from essential circumstance.
Re: Ahem!
Date: 2003-06-26 10:41 am (UTC)Also, I'd love to see the "proof" that can distinguish between putting something hot into something cold, and vice versa, particularly at the pouring speeds used for making a cup of tea.