Darren wrote:
Top Spin wrote:
Darren wrote:
A cup of tea should be made fresh every time. NEVER microwave your
tea. When you microwave tea, it changes the chemical composition of
the tea and thus, the taste and purity.
Exactly what changes occur to the chemical composition?
Research could be done on the precise changes that tea undergoes when
microwaved. I do not have the equipment or expertise to carry out such a
study. I will, however, quote you what I have found from a well regarded
professional Tea taster: snip
source: http://www.teatalk.com/general/taste.htm Again i tell you,
Tea is very delicate. My own experience with tea tells me that a
microwaved cup of tea or tea thats been sitting on a slow burner all day,
is a much different tasting and LOWER quality tea than a freshly prepared
cup. Tea preparation should be considered an art form. Subtle changes in
the way we brew tea lead to better tasting, more enjoyable cups. Americans
especially, where tea drinking is gaining in popularity, need to make sure
we arent treating tea as something to be consumed carelessly.



My experience with microwave and with prolonged (hours) steeping has taught
me never to use these techniques: the change in quality is slight but
perceptible with the first, but considerable and unacceptable with the
second. This concurs with Darren's observation.

On the other hand, if you drink tea specifically, or additionally, for its
medicinal properties, and the enjoyment of its flavour and its aroma is low
down in priority, then prolonged steeping may be the preferred procedure.

Black, Green Tea May Slow Alzheimer's Disease
http://my.webmd.com/content/article/96/103548.htm
"The scientists steeped the green tea for 45 minutes in freshly boiled water
and prepared the black tea in boiled water for 30 minutes." in the last but
one paragraph.

Bee.
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[I have found my Shangri-La in ntlworld.]