# What's wrong with using a microwave to make tea? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 11, 2024, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513 "2024-12-11T20:02:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/21 "2024-12-11T23:00:40Z")
> [@Chronos](#): > > I’ll say it: Microwaving the mug is actually the superior method. If you heat the water by some other method and then pour it into the mug, the room-temperature mug cools off the added water to below optimum tea temperatures. If you heat the water while it’s already in the mug, then the mug heats up with the water, and the water remains hot. That’s why you use a teapot and warm the pot. The ritual is fun, and you can get more than one mug out of it too. At least the OP isn’t microwaving the teabag in the mug, that would be truly barbaric. > [@Chronos](#): > > Why? I do it every day. I always heard the water can get superheated and explode all over you. ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/22 "2024-12-11T23:06:14Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > the scarcity of electric kettles in American kitchens. At 110 volts, our electric kettles aren’t great. I still have two because we don’t have a microwave. 🤷‍♂️ ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 11:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/23 "2024-12-11T23:11:51Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > At least the OP isn’t microwaving the teabag in the mug, that would be truly barbaric. > **[Barbarian's Tea](https://www.dakotairish.com/products/barbarians-tea?shpxid=5a892056-4fa9-4f6a-a4dd-003b89f11fa5)** > > Availability - Ships within 1-2 days when in stock. Barbarian - Spiced Rooibos Tea The rugged warriors of the North welcome the hearty warming spice of cinnamon in their brew. Features Dungeons and Dragons inspired tea... ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/24 "2024-12-11T23:39:30Z")
Sounds nice, but real barbarians would drink mead. The Lyme Bay stuff is good. Drinking horns optional. ---
**Author:** ![crowmanyclouds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/crowmanyclouds/32/19884_2.png) [@crowmanyclouds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crowmanyclouds)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 11:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/25 "2024-12-11T23:42:19Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > Sounds nice, but real barbarians would drink mead. Or a nice Merlot . . . we’re barbarians not savages! ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [December 11, 2024, 11:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/26 "2024-12-11T23:53:03Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > Sounds nice, but real barbarians would drink mead. > **[Vikings took special 'hallucinogenic tea' before entering battle, report...](https://extra.ie/2020/04/26/news/vikings-tea-battle-drugs)** > > Many of us have that thing we do before a big moment to get us hyped up, whether it's a nerve-settler or an adrenaline-booster. > [@crowmanyclouds](#): > > Or a nice Merlot . . . we’re barbarians not savages! [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/uLtlwAGZx6U/hqdefault.jpg "Sideways - No Merlot") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uLtlwAGZx6U) Stranger ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 12:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/27 "2024-12-12T00:03:27Z")
> [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](#): > > [Vikings took special 'hallucinogenic tea' before entering battle, report claims - Extra.ie](https://extra.ie/2020/04/26/news/vikings-tea-battle-drugs) > [@](#): > > Symptoms of stinking henbane tea include a desire to strip, increased aggression, unpredictability, a flushed face and hyperactivity — all sounding similar to how Beserkers battled Vodka Redbull has all the same effects without causing insanity. The wonders of modern technology. 🙏 ---
**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 12, 2024, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/28 "2024-12-12T00:14:15Z")
If you’ve ever seen a roomful of 20-somethings heavily into drinking booze _and_ Redbull simultaneously, you’d know the insanity thing is quite real with modern tech too. > [@Chronos](#): > > I’ll say it: Microwaving the mug is actually the superior method. If you heat the water by some other method and then pour it into the mug, the room-temperature mug cools off the added water to below optimum tea temperatures. If you heat the water while it’s already in the mug, then the mug heats up with the water, and the water remains hot. 'Zactly. This is how I make tea. Get the water _and_ mug up to near boiling, remove from microwave, steep the tea, and drink. I grant that if I drank tea by the potful then the “proper” British method with electric kettle and stoneware teapot might be superior as to convenience if not as to taste. But for my one cup per week-ish habit, the microwave makes very hot water just great, and steeping in the cup works well too. ---
**Author:** ![aceplace57](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aceplace57/32/3500_2.png) [@aceplace57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aceplace57)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/29 "2024-12-12T00:23:43Z")
I used to heat water in the microwave. A couple scary water bursts scared me enough to stop. Now I use the same method as my grandmother. They’re about $7 and last a long time. Like the OP, I put the teabag in after heating. I set my phone timer to 3 minutes. [![](https://www.hasteco.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/111.png) ](https://www.hasteco.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/111.png) ---
**Author:** ![DemonTree](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/demontree/32/8646_2.png) [@DemonTree](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DemonTree)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/30 "2024-12-12T00:25:21Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > I grant that if I drank tea by the potful then the “proper” British method with electric kettle and stoneware teapot might be superior as to convenience if not as to taste. But for my one cup per week-ish habit, the microwave makes very hot water just great, and steeping in the cup works well too. I just told my husband about this discussion, and he threatened to make my tea by putting the tea bag in after the water to see if I can tell. 😬 But he rarely makes my tea, so I don’t know how much danger I’m in… > [@LSLGuy](#): > > If you’ve ever seen a roomful of 20-somethings heavily into drinking booze _and_ Redbull simultaneously, you’d know the insanity thing is quite real with modern tech too. That’s unfair. We’re all boring gainfully employed 30-40 somethings now. ---
**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 12, 2024, 12:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/31 "2024-12-12T00:49:45Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > But he rarely makes my tea, so I don’t know how much danger I’m in… My advice: Hide the henbane first. ---
**Author:** ![echoreply](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/echoreply/32/3641_2.png) [@echoreply](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/echoreply)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/32 "2024-12-12T01:08:42Z")
> [@aceplace57](#): > > Now I use the same method as my grandmother. They’re about $7 and last a long time. > > Like the OP, I put the teabag in after heating. I set my phone timer to 3 minutes. > > [https://www.hasteco.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/111.png](https://www.hasteco.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/111.png) When living in the dorm my contraband microwave never caused any problems. My neighbor with one of those electric coils that go in a cup accidentally started a fire with it. I think those were prohibited, too. ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 1:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/33 "2024-12-12T01:14:07Z")
There’s nothing wrong with it. Negative reactions are pure snobbery. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/34 "2024-12-12T01:19:39Z")
It just doesn’t taste right to me. I don’t know why. I can tell if someone gives me a mug of tea made that way. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 1:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/35 "2024-12-12T01:23:01Z")
Microwaving water destroys the homeopathic memory of it’s past in the ground. The ground is where tea plants are grown so the tea and the water normally have a common homeopathic memory. Without that the brewed beverage can never be right. ---
**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 12, 2024, 1:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/36 "2024-12-12T01:57:42Z")
There is a real and significant difference between water that has been held at a rolling boil for awhile (a minute or several) versus water that has merely been raised from cool or tepid to e.g. 90C / 195F then promptly used. All those bubbles in actively boiling water represent at least some dissolved gasses and impurities coming out. Water that is merely warmed to near-boiling then removed from the heat still has all those dissolved gasses in it. I personally don’t think that either one is “better” than the other. But if somebody is used to method A, then method B will taste “off” to you. And vice versa. For legitimate chemical reasons. And “taste” (like smell) is really just a detection system for various chemicals. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/37 "2024-12-12T02:14:42Z")
Use the method that achieves the result you prefer. ---
**Author:** ![ParallelLines](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/parallellines/32/3575_2.png) [@ParallelLines](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParallelLines)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 2:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/38 "2024-12-12T02:17:51Z")
So, first, the obvious, the XKCD was going for the funnies. But it’s not any different than our countless threads on the _right_ way to BBQ, the _right_ toppings for pizza, or any other personal, regional, or national obsessions with food. I mean, I grew up with sun tea in southern NM, which is yet another kettle of fish. And we’re all leaving out the fact that many tea purists would happily lynch any of us who are using TEA BAGS in the first place! For the record, I’m an American, and make my hot water for tea with an electric kettle, because my mugs, despite claims, are imperfectly safe in the microwave. Not because of any chemical leaching, but because I can and have burned my hands on the handles! But having a [local teahouse](https://www.yellow-mountain-organic-tea.com/) that does the full boiling kettle, heating the cups, heating the pots, first rinse of the tea leaves etc, along with a detailed discussion on the health benefits of each of the blends, the Brits are going to have to wait their turn for disgust after the various Asian tea drinking societies. All in good fun of course. ---
**Author:** ![Mama\_Zappa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/71e660/32.png) [@Mama\_Zappa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mama_Zappa)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/39 "2024-12-12T02:28:26Z")
> [@Measure\_for\_Measure](#): > > Poking around the internet, I see that the microwave is suppose to in practice produce temperatures too far from the perfect 97 degrees C that produces good tea. This article claims that the problem involves insufficient uniformity of temperature: I don’t personally check the temperature of water coming from either the microwave OR a kettle on the stove. I doubt it’s ever 97 degrees, consistent or not. There are, I gather, people who still argue that microwave heating is somehow less wholesome . Someone I knew, 20 years back, declined to have a microwave because of concerns over its effect on the food. Not just “not browned” or whatever, but some vague “does something bad to it”. Aside from that (which I obviously disagree with), the only dangers with making tea from microwaved water are: 1. The water is somehow very still, but exceeds boiling temperatures, and the minute you jostle the vessel, it starts boiling frantically for a second or two. I’ve seen that happen. 2. You press “cook”… and forget you’ve done this. An hour later, you wonder where your tea is, and go “Ohhhhhhh. DUH!!!”. ---
**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 12, 2024, 2:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/40 "2024-12-12T02:29:00Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > All in good fun of course. If it isn’t Lapsang Souchong you’re doing it wrong. All else is undrinkable swill. So there. Neener neener. 😛 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513.md?page=3)