# 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:** 5
**Author:** ![Mijin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mijin/32/9369_2.png) [@Mijin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mijin)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/81 "2024-12-12T13:53:59Z")
I make my mulled wine in the microwave, and that’s another one where the perfect temperature is supposed to matter. My taste buds do whatever is their equivalent of a shrug. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 1:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/82 "2024-12-12T13:55:54Z")
> [@Gyrate](#): > > 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. Electric kettles are pretty common in Canada (in my experience). ---
**Author:** ![Mighty\_Mouse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mighty_mouse/32/7776_2.png) [@Mighty\_Mouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mighty_Mouse)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 2:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/83 "2024-12-12T14:07:11Z")
My mother is very much anti microwave tea. My parents lived with us for two months when my father was very sick and I made and served mother tea made with microwave boiled water every day. She didn’t notice until near the end of their stay, when she saw what I was doing. Then she says the tea had tasted off all along, but she was too polite to say anything. The idea that my sainted mother is too polite to say anything is risible. ---
**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, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/84 "2024-12-12T14:11:10Z")
This feels like a good place to mention my microwave hot cocoa recipe: Pour a heaping spoonful of white sugar into a mug. Then add a heaping spoonful of very good cocoa powder. (Because cocoa powder is light and “sticky”, this results in about 3 times the volume of cocoa powder as sugar.) Stir together to mix, then add a little milk and mix into a paste. Add more milk and stir to mix the paste into the milk, then add more milk until the mug is comfortably full. Nuke on high for 1 minute. (That’s a single button press on my machine, which no doubt influenced this recipe.) Remove and give it a stir to mix in any stubborn clumps of cocoa in the now-hot milk. Add some vanilla extract to taste. Return to microwave and nuke for another minute. Give it one more stir, and allow to cool to drinking temp. Enjoy. (The second minute gets the milk hot enough to cook it a bit, which is important because cooked milk is part of the flavor of hot cocoa.) This makes excellent cocoa, is quick, and only dirties one spoon and one cup. Also, despite my morning tea ritual, I’m on team, “the microwave works fine if you are using a tea bag”. I often use a microwave to make tea when I’m not home. ---
**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, 2:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/85 "2024-12-12T14:19:17Z")
> [@puzzlegal](#): > > is quick, and only dirties one spoon and one cup. You are a person after my own heart. “Quick with least dirty stuff” is really the main measure of merit for a solo meal. I can prep a hot breakfast of poached egg, some fruit, some yogurt or cottage cheese, and some PB in 4 minutes total, eat it all in another 4, and end up with one small bowl and one spoon used. Toast is optional but adds neither time nor utensils. Back when I was leaving for work at 4am, every minute spent cooking, etaing, or cleaning was a minute not spent sleeping. At that hour, sleep is extra precious. ---
**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 12, 2024, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/86 "2024-12-12T15:51:30Z")
> [@MrDibble](#): > > The English can suck it, the French are definitely better at doing tea. Trying to reignite the Hundred Years’ War, eh? Stranger ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/87 "2024-12-12T15:54:59Z")
Technology Connections did a [video](https://youtu.be/_yMMTVVJI4c) about why Americans are less likely to use electric kettles. The longer boil time due to our pathetic 120V wiring (and sometimes lower amp wiring) is one of several factors. He recommends a particular 1500W kettle and discusses other options near the end. ---
**Author:** ![BippityBoppityBoo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bippityboppityboo/32/5745_2.png) [@BippityBoppityBoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BippityBoppityBoo)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 4:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/88 "2024-12-12T16:18:15Z")
> [@LSLGuy](#): > > My late wife called it “elixir of oil field” Thank you for this~perfect term for _lapsang souchong_ tea. Perversely, if I could only have one tea for the rest of my life, elixir of oil field would be it. Fortunately fate is also allowing me Earl Grey, a stout Irish breakfast tea when called for and strong Iraqi tea with cardamom prepared by new friends from far away places. Never milk, no, no, no. Occasionally a slosh of dark rum may be called for, but only after brewing is completed. Microwave or electric kettle depending on how many cups I want to end up with. A Keurig is adequate for single cups of coffee (providing you load your own grind into a reusable pod) but abysmal for single cups of tea. The water just isn’t hot enough to properly brew tea, it ends up feeble. ---
**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 12, 2024, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/89 "2024-12-12T16:26:24Z")
Teabags? Philistines. I use loose tea leaves (Assam) in a small glass teapot with a built-in strainer. I boil Arrowhead water in an electric kettle and pour it over the tea leaves and set the timer for four minutes. While it steeps, I’m warming my big tea mug in the microwave, then putting some milk in it and microwaving it for twenty seconds more to heat up the cold milk (I like my strong tea very milky, and such a large quantity of milk should be warmed). Add two big spoons of raw sugar to the warm milk and stir while counting down the last minute for the tea to be steeped. Drink while sitting on the sofa and reading the local paper online. Then have a second cup from the same set of leaves. Does anyone else do a second steep on their leaves? It’s not quite as good as the first steep, but it seems a shame to toss out the leaves if there’s still some good flavor in them. ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 4:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/90 "2024-12-12T16:33:15Z")
> [@BippityBoppityBoo](#): > > Never milk, no, no, no. Occasionally a slosh of dark rum may be called for, but only after brewing is completed. I generally don’t add anything to my tea. I’ll sometimes add milk to chai, but even here I’ll more often drink it black. I’ve had a London Fog, which I liked. And if I’m having a basic breakfast tea, I’ll sometimes add a little lemon juice. But ninety-nine percent of the time, it’s just hot water and the tea bag. ---
**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, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/91 "2024-12-12T18:24:38Z")
I don’t add anything to my tea, either. As a kid, i liked to add so much sugar or wouldn’t all dissolve, and i loved the tea-infused sugar sludge at the bottom of the cup. But as an adult i like my tea unadulterated. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/92 "2024-12-12T18:34:50Z")
> [@teelabrown](#): > > Teabags? Philistines. I use loose tea leaves (Assam) in a small glass teapot with a built-in strainer… I have tea specially harvested so that no more than one leaf is collected by the same person. This makes the tea more even, since different people choose tea leaves differently. The only water has to come from exactly 50 feet below the surface of a glacier, and it’s shipped to me within 24 hours of harvesting. I find that water that came in from a few thousand years ago just goes better. The only mugs I use must be from the Ming dynasty. To time the steep period, I use a cesium stopwatch, standing no further than 12 inches from the steeping tea, so I don’t let it over-steep. Finally, I add those little free half-and-half containers that I’ve grabbed from the local diner. Two or three packets, whatever. ---
**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, 6:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/93 "2024-12-12T18:38:14Z")
What? You don’t use milk from free-range aurochs? The horror! ---
**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/94 "2024-12-12T18:45:38Z")
You have to match your dairy animal with the tea you’re drinking. Assam works best with cow milk. Darjeeling works best with goat milk. Which tea works best with water buffalo milk? You might guess oolong but you’d be wrong. Surprise, it’s orange pekoe. ---
**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 12, 2024, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/95 "2024-12-12T18:45:43Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > Finally, I add those little free half-and-half containers that I’ve grabbed from the local diner. Two or three packets, whatever. Nice touch! Stranger ---
**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, 6:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/96 "2024-12-12T18:58:46Z")
Personally, I never liked regular milk in my tea. I prefer heavy cream or whipping cream. Even the powdered fake stuff is better than plain milk. ---
**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, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/97 "2024-12-12T19:02:40Z")
The heavier creams are far superior to milk when added to coffee too. Half and half is just _barely_ creamy enough to impart more flavor than color. ---
**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 12, 2024, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/98 "2024-12-12T19:05:58Z")
> [@mbh](#): > > Personally, I never liked regular milk in my tea. I prefer heavy cream or whipping cream. I, on the other hand, detest the tannic residues of released cured leaves in near-boiling water contaminating my morning pint of heavy cream. A little Beamish, on the other hand, nicely takes the edge off a morning filled with pointless tasks and aimless meetings. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![Treppenwitz](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/treppenwitz/32/3445_2.png) [@Treppenwitz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Treppenwitz)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 7:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/99 "2024-12-12T19:25:26Z")
(Chosen at random - I seem to remember several posts about microwaving the teabag) > [@Little\_Nemo](#): > > You can add tea bags or loose tea to it and heat it in a microwave. When it’s ready, you just sit it on top of your mug. There’s a built-in valve and filter which releases the tea into your mug while keeping all of the leaves in the pot. Actually, now I remember that there may be a reason to not microwave the bag. It _may_ contain plastic. This is a few years old, but explains it pretty well. > **[Teabags: Is there plastic in yours?](https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-50260687)** > > Here's a look at how some of the UK's biggest tea brands are trying to tackle the plastic problem. If you google _is there plastic in teabags_ or similar, it still seems to be an issue (for some bags). Not that I imagine it’s going to kill you, but… j ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [December 12, 2024, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513/100 "2024-12-12T19:51:32Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > Some people even argue that microwaving changes the quality or composition of the water in some way, but there’s very little science to back that up. What? Have they never heard of **Polywater**?? > **[Polywater](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polywater)** > > Polywater was a hypothesized polymerized form of water that was the subject of much scientific controversy during the late 1960s, first described by Soviet scientist Nikolai Fedyakin. By 1969 the popular press had taken notice of Western attempts to recreate the substance and sparked fears of a "polywater gap" between the United States and Soviet Union. Increased press attention also brought with it increased scientific attention, and as early as 1970 doubts about its authenticity were being circ... [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513.md?page=4) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-wrong-with-using-a-microwave-to-make-tea/1011513.md?page=6)