50 Shades of Grey - How Do You Drink Yours?

(Via: http://mslogica.com)

Forget arguing about whether the erotic tales of Christian Grey and Ana Steele in the 50 Shades trilogy are worthy of reading or not, the big news in most offices right now concerns the varying shades of tea.

From mahogany brown builders’ tea within which the spoon stands upright in its treacly thickness, to ivory pale tea, which receives only a single cursory, dunking of the tea bag.  There is a shade for everyone, meaning that making the perfect cup of Britain’s most popular beverage for an entire office is no longer an easy task.

Tea making rules

Just with the 50 Shades story, there are apparently strict rules and regulations involved with perfect tea making, from which nobody should ever dare depart (said George Orwell) These are as follows:

1.      Only use tea from India or Sri-Lanka

2.      Use a teapot, preferably ceramic

3.      Warm the pot over direct heat

4.      Tea should be strong - 6 spoons of tea leaves per 1 litre of water

5.      Let the tea move around the pot

6.      Add boiling water

7.      Stir or shake the pot

8.      Drink out of a tall mug

9.      Don’t add creamy milk

10.  Add milk to the tea, not vice versa

11.  Do not add sugar!

However, there aren’t many people who would agree with, or stick to these rigid tea-making rules.

The Perfect Cuppa

Scientists recently discovered that the secret to the best tasting brew is to let it sit for six minutes before drinking.  This will have allowed the tea to cool to the optimum 60 degrees, at which point the flavours will be at their best.  

On the flip side, if left for longer than 17 minutes and 30 seconds the temperature of tea will have dropped to below 45 degrees, destroying all it’s flavours and be spoiled. 

Scientists also discovered that the optimum brewing time is two minutes and the ideal amount of milk is 10ml.  In addition, the hot water should always be added to the milk rather than the other way round.  This is because at high temperatures, milk proteins unfold then link together in clumps, leaving it tasting less than fresh.  It is much better to have the chilled milk at the bottom of the cup, awaiting the hot tea, which allows the milk to cool the tea rather than the other way round.

This article was written by Kathryn Thompson, an experienced freelance writer. Kathryn specialises in promotional gifts for businesses. For exciting mugs to drink your favourite tea shade from, visit Ideas By Net.

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