# The "crucial detail" in making a pot of tea? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 22, 2025, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-crucial-detail-in-making-a-pot-of-tea/1025969 "2025-12-22T23:29:22Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 19\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-crucial-detail-in-making-a-pot-of-tea/1025969/21 "2025-12-23T17:26:53Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > But most of the stupidity is in not preheating the teapot and cup You would swill some hot water around to warm the pot before putting the leaves and boiling water in, not so necessary for the cup; and I was brought up to put the milk in last, once the tea’s had a chance to brew - it doesn’t render the tea tepid, and heated milk adds an extra, rather odd, flavour. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 5:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-crucial-detail-in-making-a-pot-of-tea/1025969/22 "2025-12-23T17:46:43Z")
A mug and the liquid in it have comparable total heat capacities, so if you fill up the room-temperature mug with boiling water and bring them to equilibrium, you’ll get the mug halfway to the water temperature. Add the tea water to that, and you’re now 3/4 of the way to the original water temperature, which is probably still unacceptable to the discriminating tea drinker. The best way to pre-heat the mug would be to boil water in it in the microwave, but for some reason this is considered taboo. ---
**Author:** ![DPRK](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4491bb/32.png) [@DPRK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DPRK)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-crucial-detail-in-making-a-pot-of-tea/1025969/23 "2025-12-23T17:54:45Z")
Not so much taboo, just risks a catastrophe involving superheated water. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-crucial-detail-in-making-a-pot-of-tea/1025969/24 "2025-12-23T20:31:50Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > IOW, it’s tedious fan-wankery having no impact in the real world. But much beloved of pedantic purists. More or less. They also claimseva they can tell the difference between water boiled in an electric kettle and that microwaved. Here is how i make tea. I have a large borosilicate glass pitcher. I put several tea bags in, pour cold filtered water, and leave in fridge overnight. > [@Chronos](#): > > I’m always amused by Orwell’s essay, in that he goes on this big tirade against people who add sugar to their tea, because those folks don’t actually like the taste of tea and they’re masking it with the sugar, but he takes completely for granted that one ought to dilute the tea with an equal measure of milk. Out of my teaspoon of sugar or his half milk, which one of us is masking the flavor? Yep. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-crucial-detail-in-making-a-pot-of-tea/1025969/25 "2025-12-23T20:38:02Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I can see that a crockery teapot stored in an exterior wall cupboard in an unheated kitchen might be at 40F/10C. Then you dump some 40F/10C tea leaves in there. Then you dump in the hot water. Then wait a couple minutes, then pour the steeped tea into a 40F cup that had 35F milk put in it a few minutes ago. Then you sip the tepid tea. No, my understanding is that you first fill the teapot with boiling water, _throw that water away_ and only then add tea and boiling water. And it’s a wonder that a people who are so prissy about making tea managed to dominate so much of the world. ---
**Author:** ![Briny\_Deep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/briny_deep/32/17188_2.png) [@Briny\_Deep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Briny_Deep)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-crucial-detail-in-making-a-pot-of-tea/1025969/26 "2025-12-23T20:49:04Z")
I like to use the crown jewels, but when they’re not available I just microwave the water in a mug (while microwaving the teabag separately, of course). > **[Making Tea](https://xkcd.com/3022/)** ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 23, 2025, 9:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-crucial-detail-in-making-a-pot-of-tea/1025969/27 "2025-12-23T21:14:18Z")
At work (where most of my tea-drinking happens, these days) I fill a mug with water, microwave it until it’s boiling, and then put in a teabag. At home, I have a kettle on my stove that holds a little more than four mugs. I bring it to boil, put a teabag in my mug, and then pour the water in over it. When I’ve made four mugs, I pour out the remnants of the kettle and re-fill it. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2025, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-crucial-detail-in-making-a-pot-of-tea/1025969/31 "2025-12-24T01:42:32Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > At work (where most of my tea-drinking happens, these days) I fill a mug with water, microwave it until it’s boiling, and then put in a teabag. _Heresy!!!_ 🥵 I kid, that works also. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2025, 2:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-crucial-detail-in-making-a-pot-of-tea/1025969/32 "2025-12-24T02:01:34Z")
Back when I lived in places I owned, I always installed a boiling water dispenser at my kitchen sink. It’d pump out a quart-ish of 190F almost-boiling water with no waiting. A great gizmo, if a tad self-indulgent. I’d fill my tea mug with not-quite boiling water from the dispenser, then go collect the rest of my tea fixings while the cup heated. Once I had all my accouterments at the ready, dump that cooled but still darn hot water, put the tea bag, etc. in the hot cup and refill with more 190F water from the dispenser. Damned near instant very hot tea with negligible folderol. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2025, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-crucial-detail-in-making-a-pot-of-tea/1025969/33 "2025-12-24T02:11:37Z")
I heat my water to 205F in an electric kettle. Then I pour that water over loose tea leaves in a glass brewing vessel. (It’s not exactly a tea pot, but you can think of it as a tea pot.) Then I wait for the tea to brew. And finally, I decant it into a cool mug. I want my tea to be cool enough to drink RIGHT AWAY. I dont want to risk burning myself on the tea. I mean, yes, I enjoy warm tea. But I’d Sooooo much rather drink room temperature tea than burn myself on the first sip. ---
**Author:** ![EddyTeddyFreddy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eddyteddyfreddy/32/18796_2.png) [@EddyTeddyFreddy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EddyTeddyFreddy)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2025, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-crucial-detail-in-making-a-pot-of-tea/1025969/34 "2025-12-24T02:17:39Z")
> [@PatrickLondon](#): > > Also, of course, this all applies to black Indian tea. Other teas are available and have their own brewing requirements. This! If you read the brewing instructions for herbal, rooibos, black, green, or white tea, you’ll see not only diffedrent temperatures recommended for the water, but also different brewing times. ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2025, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-crucial-detail-in-making-a-pot-of-tea/1025969/35 "2025-12-24T03:30:43Z")
Yes, i use 205°F for the mix of black and green tea i usually drink, but for rooibos i crank it to 212°F. ---
**Author:** ![sb1953](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@sb1953](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sb1953)\ **Post date:** [December 24, 2025, 12:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-crucial-detail-in-making-a-pot-of-tea/1025969/36 "2025-12-24T12:24:47Z")
IMHO this is wankery. When my son turned 21 he tried to show me how certain beer glasses enhanced the experience of drinking beer. I smiled and gave him a pat on the back. ah youth, so young so green ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-crucial-detail-in-making-a-pot-of-tea/1025969/37 "2025-12-27T16:11:45Z")
I like to brew a second cup out of the same tea leaves. Does the first steeping remove all the caffeine? Or does the second cup contain as much caffeine as the first? ---
**Author:** ![puzzlegal](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/puzzlegal/32/3827_2.png) [@puzzlegal](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/puzzlegal)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-crucial-detail-in-making-a-pot-of-tea/1025969/38 "2025-12-27T16:20:15Z")
In between. The first cup has much more caffeine than the second, but the second has more than zero caffeine. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-crucial-detail-in-making-a-pot-of-tea/1025969/39 "2025-12-27T17:12:59Z")
From what I’ve heard, the second cup would have much less caffeine. The caffeine is one of the first things dissolved in the water, and just dunking a teabag in a couple of times will get most of it. I’m sure the second cup would still have some, but it might not be enough to be worth considering. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 5:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-crucial-detail-in-making-a-pot-of-tea/1025969/40 "2025-12-27T17:44:40Z")
If true, one could easily make very low caffeine tea with little loss of flavor by doing a couple dunks in a sacrificial cup of hot water then steeping in your real cup of hot water, perhaps for a little more duration. Time for more experiments. Science! ---
**Author:** ![teelabrown](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/teelabrown/32/8412_2.png) [@teelabrown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/teelabrown)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-crucial-detail-in-making-a-pot-of-tea/1025969/41 "2025-12-27T17:57:57Z")
Yeah, brew and drink that second cup just before bedtime and see if you can get any sleep! Then report your findings here. ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2025, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-crucial-detail-in-making-a-pot-of-tea/1025969/42 "2025-12-27T18:31:37Z")
My experiment last night with a smidgen of bourbon in a cup of Lapsang Souchong about 90 minutes before bedtime definitely showed some sleeplessness I attribute to the caffeine. And I only crank about half the mug. I can probably try the reduced caff trick again tonight. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-crucial-detail-in-making-a-pot-of-tea/1025969.md?page=1)