Scientists unveil formula for a great cup of tea

Six minutes to a perfect chai

The secret of serving a perfect cup of tea could lie in a mathematical formula. According to this formula for the ideal brew, it's best to drink a cup of tea exactly six minutes after it's made. The team of researchers from the University of Northumbria, UK, who were commissioned by a milk company, spent 180 hours in the lab testing brewing methods and a panel of volunteers consumed 285 cups of tea. "When enjoying a cup of tea, our palette requires a balance between bitterness and sweetness," said senior lecturer Ian Brown, a food and nutrition expert in the university's School of Life Sciences and lead researcher. "Our findings show that 10 ml is the preferred amount of milk for our cuppas, due to its ability to balance natural bitterness and allow a smoother taste sensation," he added. FINER POINTS TO A GREAT CUPPA The optimum brewing time is two minutes and the ideal amount of milk is 10ml The perfect drinking temperature of 60 degrees Celsius is achieved six minutes later — but after 17 minutes and 30 seconds the tea will be past its best as it falls below 45 degrees Celsius MATHEMATICS IN THE KITCHEN Here's the formula the scientists have come up with: TB + (H2O at 100 degrees centigrade) 2mins BT + C (10ml) 6mins BT = PC (at OT 60 degrees centigrade). TB means tea bag, BT is brewing time, C is milk, PC means perfect cuppa, and OT stands for optimum temperature. The perfect drinking temperature of 60C is achieved six minutes later — but after 17 minutes and 30 seconds the tea will be past its best as it falls below 45C, they said.

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Tired? A cup of hot tea will perk you up, boost brain power

CUP THAT MATTERS

London: Feeling exhausted? Just sip a cup of hot tea, for a study has claimed that drinking the beverage not only gives human brain a lift, but also reduces tiredness.
    Tea drinking has already been linked with lowering the risk of heart disease, cancer and Parkinson's. Other research has shown that drinking tea on a regular basis for ten or more years may help improve bone density.
    Now, Dutch researchers have carried out the study and found that it's the natural ingredients in tea which improve brain power and increase alertness, the latest edition of the 'Nutritional Neuroscience' journal reported.
    For the study, the researchers looked at the effect of key chemicals found in tea on the mental performance of 44 young volunteers.
    The effects of these ingredients, an amino acid called L-theanine — which is also found in green tea — and caffeine at levels typically found in a cup of tea, were compared with a dummy treatment.
    The active ingredients significantly improved accuracy across a number of switching tasks for those who drank the tea after 20 and 70 minutes, compared with the placebo. The tea drinkers' alertness was also heightened, the study found.
    Tea was also found to reduced tiredness among the subjects, who were aged under 40, say the researchers. "The results suggest the combination helps to focus attention during a demanding cognitive task," they were quoted by the 'Daily Mail' as saying.
    Dr Tim Bond, of the industry-backed Tea Advisory Panel, said the latest findings backed a previous study which showed drinking two cups of black tea "improves the ability to react to stimuli and to focus attention on the task in hand". PTI