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““Let us unite in our steeped solidarity and show the world that when it comes to tea, we stand as one.””
Oh, the humanity.
A U.S. chemist’s recipe for a perfect cup of tea appears to be threatening the “perfect relationship” between that country and Old World England.
A pinch of salt and a squeeze of lemon to get the “scum” off the top are among the suggestions from Michelle Francl, chemistry professor at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, according to a Guardian report on Wednesday in a discussion of her new book “Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea”.
In an op/ed for Chemistry World that published the same day, Francl discussed her probe into the “molecular basis” for that perfect cuppa that involved reading 500 papers and experiments with different waters. Among the less pleasant discoveries was the vast quantities of bug remains found in tea leaves.
She also confessed to becoming a more “agitated brewer of tea,” dunking tea bags repeatedly and swishing her tea bag infuser. “Agitate well and enjoy a better cup of tea,” she says.
It didn’t take too long for the rest of the British press to react, with the Daily Mail conducting its own scientific experiment on her advice including preheating a mug and testing loose leaves versus a tea bag. Their verdict on adding salt: “The result was simply a salty cup of incredibly hot tea that tasted horrible,” said the paper.
In a post on X, the U.S. Embassy appeared to put some distance between itself and Professor Mawr after outrage swept social media. Calling tea “a sacred bond that unites our nations,” the headquarters for U.S. diplomats in the U.K. dismissed the “outrageous proposal” from her suggestions.
“Therefore we want to ensure 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. And never will be.”
The sorry finale to that post? “The U.S. Embassy will continue to make tea in the proper way — by microwaving it.”
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