# 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:** 4
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 3:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/61 "2024-12-12T03:49:54Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > For the record, I’m an American, and make my hot water for tea with an electric kettle, I am also an American. So I have a large Borosilicate glass bottle- I put 2-4 tea bags in it, add cold filtered water, and next morning I have ice tea without boiling or leaving it in the sun for the bacteria to grow. I use Celestial seasonings black tea with lemon. IMHO green tea tastes like ass… or is that grass? My wife does use the kettle for her coffee (french press) and tea, and if I want hot chocolate, I use it also. ---
**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 12, 2024, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/62 "2024-12-12T03:58:19Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > Admittedly, Lapsang Souchong is a minority interest. You certainly won’t find it in your generic supermarket, although any tea shop worthy of the term has it. Kinda like single malt Scotch, it takes a certain … dedication … to learn to enjoy its subtleties. For whatever confused reason, for me it was love at first sip sometime in college and I’ve never looked back. > > OTOH, ordinary black tea, e.g. Lipton’s swill, gives me a sore throat all but instantly. As do some, but not all, blacks. Other blacks and greens are OK, if mostly uninteresting. Oil of bergamot is not one of my favorites, but I will readily drink it. It beats the pants off Lipton’s rank evility. I used to like lapsang souchong a lot, decades ago. Recently i tried it again and it was a bit much – definitely a tea with a helluva bold character, though. I don’t put milk in my tea, so it might be more enjoyable for me if i tried it that way. Most teas, other than chai and other flavored/spiced black teas, it seems to me get overwhelmed with milk – certainly green teas don’t marry with it as well as black, and white teas? Forget it. The flavor’s too delicate for any such adulteration. Bergamot? Eh – maybe in Lady Grey, but it spoils Earl Grey for me. [The Republic of Tea](https://www.republicoftea.com/), an online seller, has a huge variety of teas – black, green, white, roiboos, herbal – and I usually have several different cans of their teas on hand. Whole Foods does stock some of their offerings but the website has their whole range, searchable in various ways. [Taylors of Harrogate](https://www.taylorsofharrogate.com/) is another source of excellent teas, including, besides British and Irish, a marvelous Scottish Breakfast Tea. And their Yorkshire Gold black tea. I’ve found that in a local nonchain grocery store. Whatever the particular tea, my method’s the same – put bag in mug, heat water in electric kettle to just boiling, pour gently over the bag and let steep for whatever time the container instructions indicate. Take the bag out, squeezing, with tea tongs, and enjoy. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 9:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/63 "2024-12-12T09:49:23Z")
> [@ParallelLines](#): > > 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. True, and the weird thing about these prescriptive viewpoints is that we tend to think of our own as perfectly reasonable, and other people’s as pedantic and unwelcome interference. ---
**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 9:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/64 "2024-12-12T09:59:26Z")
Pretty sure the gag is more about how persnickety British people are about their tea than it being “wrong” to make it in a microwave. And if it is true, I have had a cold the last few days and have made so many cups of tea in my microwave that I may have caused The War of 1812 The Sequel: Now With More Canada Action. ---
**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, 10:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/65 "2024-12-12T10:19:32Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > 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. Sounds like my husband needs to try two different experiments: pouring the water over the teabag vs putting the bag into water, and heating water in the microwave vs the kettle. How do you know when the water’s hot enough, do you wait for bubbles to appear in the mug? > [@puzzlegal](#): > > I mean, it’s possible. But i boil water in microwaves every day, and it’s not something i ever worry about. And if your mug has even a minor scratch on the interior, the water will boil without becoming superheated. I do heat other things in mugs in the microwave, like milk mixed with water for coffee. I usually take it out and swirl it around a few times halfway through to avoid the superheating - no idea if this is really necessary. > [@puzzlegal](#): > > I use a mug like this: Looks nice, my mum has something similar that she uses for loose leaf tea that I think is actually a coffeemaker. I got a glass teapot from Amazon that has an insert for this purpose, it’s good because the holes are very small so not much escapes. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > Admittedly, Lapsang Souchong is a minority interest. You certainly won’t find it in your generic supermarket I wanted to try it, so I bought a box from the supermarket. 😄 Supermarkets in the UK generally have a very good range of real and herbal teas, though I order mine online now. Instead of Brits, I get to horrify Indians with my tea, by drinking chai masala (confusingly just called ‘chai’, which is the Indian word for tea) make by pouring boiling water over a premade mixture of tea and spices, and then not even adding milk or sugar. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/66 "2024-12-12T11:50:26Z")
> [@EddyTeddyFreddy](#): > > Bergamot? Eh – maybe in Lady Grey, but it spoils Earl Grey for me Sorry, what? That is literally impossible. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 11:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/67 "2024-12-12T11:57:12Z")
I used to be an Anglophile tea snob. Then I went to my first _salon de thé_. The English can suck it, the French are definitely better at doing tea. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 12:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/68 "2024-12-12T12:02:33Z")
> [@echoreply](#): > > > [@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. When I was in the Navy in Gtmo Bay I lived in a multi story barracks. My roommate and i had a single electric burner and a small metal pot to boil water which had an internal heating coil. Both items were confiscated during a surprise inspection and stored away until I was transferred to another base. ---
**Author:** ![Gyrate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gyrate/32/3588_2.png) [@Gyrate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gyrate)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 12:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/69 "2024-12-12T12:15:55Z")
Funnily enough I recently saw Randall Munroe onstage having this conversation with math podcast guy Matt Parker. They ended up agreeing that hot water is hot water. > [@Mangetout](#): > > I think it’s pretty much as simple as we (the British) can’t get over our bemusement about the scarcity of electric kettles in American kitchens. It just seems like you’re fumbling around with > and complicating something that is simple. Just to be clear: I’m not saying that’s what it _is_, merely that’s how it seems. Part of the thing is that the American electrical system being what it is, it takes much longer to boil water in an electric kettle there than it does in the UK. Which makes the microwave option more attractive. > [@DemonTree](#): > > his is the problem. You need to pour the water over the teabag, to help it diffuse out. Just dunking it in hot water is highly inferior. This, I think, is why making tea with microwaved water isn’t as good. I mean, if you heated the water up in the microwave and then poured in into another mug with the teabag in, it would be better. On the other hand, if you microwave the water correctly and then drop the teabag in, you can get that sudden boiling effect which is rather fun. But still doesn’t make as good a cup of tea. > [@LSLGuy](#): > > If it isn’t Lapsang Souchong you’re doing it wrong. Don’t get me started. The loss of Twinings’ Lapsang Souchong (for supply reasons IIRC) still hurts. > [@DemonTree](#): > > Instead of Brits, I get to horrify Indians with my tea, by drinking chai masala (confusingly just called ‘chai’, which is the Indian word for tea) make by pouring boiling water over a premade mixture of tea and spices, and then not even adding milk or sugar. I have some of that and sometimes do that. I also have a spice mix to add to loose tea when making tea that way. Occasionally I make it from scratch but you can’t really just make one cup - it’s a saucepan-full. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 12:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/70 "2024-12-12T12:22:25Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > I think it’s pretty much as simple as we (the British) can’t get over our bemusement about the scarcity of electric kettles in American kitchens. It just seems like you’re fumbling around with > and complicating something that is simple. Just to be clear: I’m not saying that’s what it _is_, merely that’s how it seems… We have an electric kettle at work for meetings if someone prefers tea or hot chocolate instead of coffee made in the brewer. It takes forever. At home I can heat water in a tea kettle on my electric stove in minutes. Right now my 15 year old tea kettle needs replaced as it is starting to show it’s age. ---
**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 12, 2024, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/71 "2024-12-12T13:16:02Z")
My small electric tea kettle (no more than 2 mugs of water fit in it) does not take terribly long to heat that water, despite the 120 current. I got it because i used to boil water in a small cast iron kettle, and it pissed off my husband that i would leave it on the heat until it boiled, often allowing it to boil over a bit. (Page the “things that bother you even though they don’t matter” thread.) So this was a joke present to him. That is, the joke was that i bought it for myself, but it was really for him, because now i don’t let water boil over on the stove. It’s nice because it’s set-and-forget. I fill it, set the temp to 205, and head downstairs to clean the litter boxes. While i do that, it brings the water to the indicated temperature and holds it at that temp for a while. (15 min? 30min? I forget) Then turns itself off. So i do the litter boxes, fix my breakfast, pour the water over my loose tea, and then enjoy breakfast, without anything boiling over, and without worrying about timing. Also, it looks elegant, pours precisely with its little goose neck, and makes for a satisfying little morning ritual. My electric kettle is > **[Amazon.com: OXO Brew Gooseneck Electric Kettle – Hot Water Kettle, Pour Over...](https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Adjustable-Temperature-Electric-Pour-Over/dp/B074KHPS7F)** > > The OXO Brew Adjustable Temperature Pour-Over Kettle lets you take pour-over coffee into your own hands. The handle and body are optimized for effortless balance, and the precise-pour gooseneck spout provides ultimate control. Choose your water... if anyone cares. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/72 "2024-12-12T13:19:08Z")
Bah, it’s BS. Just people holding onto old traditions or that drink tea all day and prefer a kettle on the stove so there is always hot water available. I used to make tea every morning for my drive to work. Zap a pyrex measuring cup with two cups of water and a tea bag in it. Pour it in a travel mug and you are good to go. Hot is hot. Water is a simple compound. ---
**Author:** ![mbh](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/a6a055/32.png) [@mbh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mbh)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 1:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/73 "2024-12-12T13:20:55Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > The English can suck it, the French are definitely better at doing tea. What do the French do differently? ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/74 "2024-12-12T13:24:28Z")
My gf has told friends about our first “date” and how I made her tea after dinner, pouring from an actual teapot that I kept covered with a cozy. I thought that was the way to do it. ---
**Author:** ![ShadowFacts](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/shadowfacts/32/2934_2.png) [@ShadowFacts](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShadowFacts)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 1:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/75 "2024-12-12T13:36:18Z")
The problem with the “mug of water in the microwave, drop in a teabag” method is not the water, it’s the teabag. 95% of bagged tea is swill.\* Get yourself some high quality looseleaf tea and then you’re in business. \*_I massively exaggerated for effect because I am a tea snob. Yes, I know there are high end bagged teas - I occasionally drink them when I am slumming._ ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/76 "2024-12-12T13:39:10Z")
Serve better cakes, for one thing. But seriously - better blends (IMO), and a better atmosphere in the _salon_. I’ve taken tea in various places, from Bath pumphouse on down, and the French just do it better. ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/77 "2024-12-12T13:40:33Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > My small electric tea kettle (no more than 2 mugs of water fit in it) does not take terribly long to heat that water, despite the 120 current. > > I got it because i used to boil water in a small cast iron kettle, and it pissed off my husband that i would leave it on the heat until it boiled, often allowing it to boil over a bit. (Page the “things that bother you even though they don’t matter” thread.) So this was a joke present to him. That is, the joke was that i bought it for myself, but it was really for him, because now i don’t let water boil over on the stove. It’s nice because it’s set-and-forget. I fill it, set the temp to 205, and head downstairs to clean the litter boxes. While i do that, it brings the water to the indicated temperature and holds it at that temp for a while. (15 min? 30min? I forget) Then turns itself off. So i do the litter boxes, fix my breakfast, pour the water over my loose tea, and then enjoy breakfast, without anything boiling over, and without worrying about timing. > > Also, it looks elegant, pours precisely with its little goose neck, and makes for a satisfying little morning ritual. > > My electric kettle is > > [Amazon.com: OXO Brew Gooseneck Electric Kettle – Hot Water Kettle, Pour Over Coffee & Tea Kettle, Adjustable Temperature, Built-In Brew Timer, Stainless Steel, 1L​: Home & Kitchen](https://www.amazon.com/OXO-Adjustable-Temperature-Electric-Pour-Over/dp/B074KHPS7F/ref=asc_df_B074KHPS7F) > > If anyone cares. This actually looks interesting. One of these days I might try this. ---
**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, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/78 "2024-12-12T13:40:45Z")
> [@DemonTree](#): > > How do you know when the water’s hot enough, do you wait for bubbles to appear in the mug? Your microwave oven ought to be very consistent. So a little experimentation will tell you whether e.g. 90 seconds is enough or you need 2 minutes. Then just use that duration every time. IME most ovens get the water and the cup plenty hot enough at 2 minutes, and you will have visible boiling at 2:30. I’m perfectly content to heat / cook almost everything just by repeated pushes of the “add 30 seconds” button. I rarely fuss with exact times. You and/or Husband maybe fussier than I. > [@DemonTree](#): > > I usually take it out and swirl it around a few times halfway through to avoid the superheating - no idea if this is really necessary. Superheating was much more of an issue before microwaves had turntables. Or for people who heated things for far longer than was necessary. As in “Hmm, it’s not boiling; I’ll run it some more.” ---
**Author:** ![Ellecram](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellecram/32/18948_2.png) [@Ellecram](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ellecram)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/79 "2024-12-12T13:41:28Z")
> [@kayaker](#): > > My gf has told friends about our first “date” and how I made her tea after dinner, pouring from an actual teapot that I kept covered with a cozy. > > I thought that was the way to do it… I had a cousin who served tea like this for awhile. Delightful. ---
**Author:** ![asterion](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/4da419/32.png) [@asterion](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asterion)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/80 "2024-12-12T13:49:41Z")
> [@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: Even if that’s the correct temperature, I can’t get that. The laws of physics dictate that I cannot heat water higher than about 95 C. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513.md?page=5)