Milk first or last? Experts FINALLY settle the great tea debate - so, do you agree with their method for a perfect cuppa?
Should you put milk into your tea before or after the boiling water?
Now, a survey has finally settled the debate - and it's bad news if you're an advocate for putting the milk in first.
According to a survey of 2,000 British tea lovers, you should always put the milk in after the water.
A resounding 78 per cent of Brits say that when it comes to brewing the perfect cup, milk before water is a percolating no-no!
Etiquette consultant, Jo Bryant, agreed that milk last was the correct tea-making mehthod.
'I'm with the majority,' she said.
'A cup of English Breakfast tea, freshly-brewed for around two minutes, with a moderate amount of milk - and its always tea first, milk last.'
The survey, commissioned by Aldi, found that the majority of us (72 per cent) drink an average of four cups a day, with 55 per cent preferring tea to coffee.
In fact, according to the data, we drink a staggering 127,034,668 cups of tea every day in Britain.
Despite our widespread love for tea, a quarter (22 per cent) are making their cuppas incorrectly, by adding the milk in first.
According to the majority, the perfect cup of tea is English Breakfast (67 per cent), adding hot water first before letting the bag stew for two minutes to achieve the ultimate shade.
Half (49 per cent) agree that a splash of semi-skimmed milk should then be added to help bring the temperature down to 57 degrees, which is considered the perfect drinking temperature.
The survey comes shortly after an American scientist caused a stir by claiming the secret to a perfect cup of tea was a pinch of salt.
Professor Michelle Francl, a professor of chemistry at Bryn Mawr College, analysed hundreds of research papers and ancient texts dating back over 1,000 years to devise her ultimate, albeit perplexing, recipe.
She says the key factors to a delicious cup of char include:
1. Adding a pinch of salt - the sodium ion in salt blocks the chemical mechanism that makes tea taste bitter.
2. Warming the milk and adding it second - this will reduce the chance of curdling and better control the rate at which the tea cools.
3. Steeping tea bags quickly but with plenty of dunking and squeezing - to reduce the sour-tasting tannins created by caffeine dissolving slowly in water.
In less controversial advice, Professor Francl says it helps to pre-heat your cup or pot to release more 'aromatic compounds' from the tea.
And a small squeeze of lemon juice can remove the 'scum' that sometimes appears on the surface of the drink, which is formed from chemical elements in the tea and water.
The best way to eat a Chocolate Digestive biscuit
1. Remove the biscuit from the packet at room temperature
2. Bring it towards your mouth with the chocolate side facing up
3. As you go to take a bite, turn the biscuit over so the chocolate is facing down
4. Take a substantial bite with the chocolate directly hitting the tongue first
5. If you're by yourself, eat initially with the mouth open to hear the crunching of the biscuit which makes the taste sensation more memorable
6. Chew slowly after the first few mouthfuls to maximise the full taste experience
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