Math makes tea taste better

Tom Moertel — Mon, 11 Jul 2005 12:00:00 -0400

I enjoy tea, especially green varieties, which taste best when infused at less-than-boiling temperatures. The problem is that my electric water kettle can reach only one temperature reliably: a full-boiling 212 degF. To infuse my tea, then, I have devised a simple, reliable way of heating water to other temperatures.

I start by boiling three cups of water in the kettle. (I know that I need at least that much to warm my cup and infuse my tea.) Then I cool the boiling water to the desired temperature by adding just the right amount of tap water.

The trick, of course, is determining the right amount of tap water to add. In my house the tap water is about 80 degF. Thus to infuse at a green-tea-friendly 180 degF, I must solve the following equation:

3 cups · 212 degF + x cups · 80 degF = (3 + x) cups · 180 degF

Solving, I get x = 0.96, and so I draw just shy of a cup from the tap.

This boil-and-cool method is easy and effective. And it costs less than buying a temperature-adjustable water kettle, which would probably be inaccurate anyway.

Just one more example of how math makes life better.

"Math makes tea taste better" by Juraj

Sun, 17 Jul 2005 19:03:20 -0400

Actually, this is not a good idea. By boiling water, you kill bacteria and change the quality of the water (water goes through radical changes during boiling state). So the preferred way for tea, if you really like to do it a best is to boil it and then wait for it to become a little bit more cool. For green tea, you don’t have to know the exact temperature. Put the boiled water into the cup and wait for a while. If you have a small cup, it won’t take very long, one or two minutes.

For improving tea quality, a quality of water must be assured. It can be usually done by using a water filter. Depends on the quality of your local tap water, but using a filter can improve quality even more than having the right temperature.

Yeah, and getting a fresh tea is important (should not be older than a year).

Tom Moertel's Weblog: Math makes tea taste better

Math makes tea taste better

"Math makes tea taste better" by Juraj