1.) Is it a bad idea to microwave a cup of tea with the tea bag
already inside it?

2.) Just curious, how many times do you use a tea bag? Just wondering
if others use a tea bag for a cup of water and then fill the cup again
and reuse the same bag.

Thanks.

On Dec 7, 2:08 pm, wrote:
1.) Is it a bad idea to microwave a cup of tea with the tea bag
already inside it?

2.) Just curious, how many times do you use a tea bag? Just wondering
if others use a tea bag for a cup of water and then fill the cup again
and reuse the same bag.

Thanks.


It is a bad idea to prepare tea using a microwave, period. The
microwave de-oxygenates the water and produces a noticeably inferior
brew. It's faster to use an electric kettle and your tea will also
taste better. Tea bags should only be used once.

microwaved water i feel taste not as good in tea.

tea bags i use as long as there's good flavor coming out
which is not often for fine chopped tea-most of the flavor goes out in
the first infusion

if you have 'loose leaf' teabags those might last longer...

On Dec 7, 2:08 pm, wrote:
1.) Is it a bad idea to microwave a cup of tea with the tea bag
already inside it?

2.) Just curious, how many times do you use a tea bag? Just wondering
if others use a tea bag for a cup of water and then fill the cup again
and reuse the same bag.

Thanks.

The only real difference is the amount of time the teabag is sitting
in the water, and/or if the metal staple will create havok with your
microwave. If you have to use a microwave just do the water the least
amount of time to get to temp, and then add the teabag.

It's a rare teabag that stands up to multiple brewings. Some of the
newer pyramid shaped bags which contain real tea leaves can.
Occasionally I'll reuse a regular orange pekoe teabag once because the
second brewing is sometimes better than the first... better being
relative.

HTH,
Dominic

Fran writes:

On Dec 7, 2:08 pm, wrote:
1.) Is it a bad idea to microwave a cup of tea with the tea bag
already inside it?

2.) Just curious, how many times do you use a tea bag? Just wondering
if others use a tea bag for a cup of water and then fill the cup again
and reuse the same bag.

Thanks.


It is a bad idea to prepare tea using a microwave, period. The
microwave de-oxygenates the water

This is kind of academic to me, as I use neither microwave nor bag,
but I'm curious. How would a microwave remove the oxygen from water?

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

On Dec 7, 3:42 pm, Lewis Perin wrote:
Fran writes:
On Dec 7, 2:08 pm, wrote:
1.) Is it a bad idea to microwave a cup of tea with the tea bag
already inside it?

2.) Just curious, how many times do you use a tea bag? Just wondering
if others use a tea bag for a cup of water and then fill the cup again
and reuse the same bag.

Thanks.

It is a bad idea to prepare tea using a microwave, period. The
microwave de-oxygenates the water

This is kind of academic to me, as I use neither microwave nor bag,
but I'm curious. How would a microwave remove the oxygen from water?

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /

Much in the same way that reboiling the same water repeatedly on the
stove de-oxygenates it.

wrote:
1.) Is it a bad idea to microwave a cup of tea with the tea bag
already inside it?

Yes, very bad. It is a recipe for bitterness.

2.) Just curious, how many times do you use a tea bag? Just wondering
if others use a tea bag for a cup of water and then fill the cup again
and reuse the same bag.

For the most part, the cheap tea used in bags will not stand multiple
steeps. You'll notice that the second time around it loses whatever
nose it had on the first steep, and so the bitterness is more evident.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

Lewis Perin wrote:
Fran writes:

On Dec 7, 2:08 pm, wrote:
1.) Is it a bad idea to microwave a cup of tea with the tea bag
already inside it?

2.) Just curious, how many times do you use a tea bag? Just wondering
if others use a tea bag for a cup of water and then fill the cup again
and reuse the same bag.

It is a bad idea to prepare tea using a microwave, period. The
microwave de-oxygenates the water

This is kind of academic to me, as I use neither microwave nor bag,
but I'm curious. How would a microwave remove the oxygen from water?

Extended boiling removes dissolved oxygen from the water. Bringing water
to a boil very rapidly is also more apt to remove dissolved oxygen because
of the vigor of the bubbling, and that's usually what happens in the microwave.

I don't think it's a critical issue, but I can tell the difference between
water boiled on the gas stove and in the microwave. I wouldn't say it's
a critical difference... certainly MUCH less than the difference between
Lipton's and good tea.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

On Dec 7, 4:33 pm, (Scott Dorsey) wrote:

I don't think it's a critical issue, but I can tell the difference between
water boiled on the gas stove and in the microwave. I wouldn't say it's
a critical difference... certainly MUCH less than the difference between
Lipton's and good tea.
--scott
--
"C'est un Nagra. C'est suisse, et tres, tres precis."

I disagree. I do think it's critical. Good quality water heated to
the proper temperature (boiling for black tea) is the most important
factor. I would much rather have a cup of Lipton tea prepared
properly (and I am no Lipton fan) than the most expensive tea in the
world made from water boiled in the microwave.

I'm always amazed at how some people seem insistent on building a
better mousetrap when it comes to preparing tea. I don't understand
the need to make it in the microwave or the coffee maker or pod
machine, when all that is really needed is a kettle and some fresh
cold water. Keep it simple and don't fix what ain't broke.

Since Nigel hasn't chimed in, allow me to point out that the tea in bags
isn't necessarily cheaper than the same brand of loose/bulk tea. It's a
more finely broken leaf, as required for rapid brewing with limited
circulation. It may also contain desirable flakes of dried tea juice -
"instant tea" - which are more brittle than leaf and will tend to join
the fines in the sifting process.

I personally believe that the microwave argument is bogus for a variety
of reasons; likewise the inference that differences in brewed taste from
different water-heating methods are anything but psychological. If they
have any chemical basis at all, it's probably reduction in CO2 and
associated drop in flavor-affecting multivalent cations. I would be
delighted to see scientific evidence that dissolved oxygen affects tea
taste significantly. Beyond that, heating water to boiling in a kettle
is like to degas it much more effectively than a microwave, since the
kettle superheats the water locally - a good way to ensure efficient
removal of dissolved gases. If you microwave a mugful just to boiling,
it will probably contain more oxygen than equilibrium allows at that
temperature, and much more than if it had been "boiled up."

Note also that when a mug of water is microwaved, heat transfer to the
mug will usually be rapid enough to heat of the container almost as much
as the water. When kettle-boiled water is added to a room-temperature
mug, the overall temperature will immediately drop several degrees.
Since the taste of many teas is a sensitive function of brewing
temperature (with black/red teas especially sensitive to off-boil
brewing), microwave-bashers who don't preheat their brewing vessels may
be fooling themselves about what they're making.

Metal in a microwave is rarely a problem if submerged. Even a spoon in a
mug is often fine, depending on exactly geometry. I used to use a
long-handled metal tea ball in an office microwave, and had no problems
with arcing.

Finally, note that unlike kettles, microwave ovens are rarely dedicated
to heating water. Cross-contamination with food odors is probably common.

-DM

"DogMa" wrote in message
...
Beyond that, heating water to boiling in a kettle
is like to degas it much more effectively than a microwave, since the
kettle superheats the water locally - a good way to ensure efficient
removal of dissolved gases.

I don't understand how a kettle can superheat water since it turns to steam
when boiled and evaporates unlike a microwave which can heat water above 212
degrees F with no loss of liquid or even boiling as we see it on the stove.


--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

wrote in message
...
1.) Is it a bad idea to microwave a cup of tea with the tea bag
already inside it?

From a safety standpoint, no, it's a good idea because doing so keeps the
water from exploding.

For flavor, it's your tastebuds - do what you want.

2.) Just curious, how many times do you use a tea bag? Just wondering
if others use a tea bag for a cup of water and then fill the cup again
and reuse the same bag.

With some green teabags, I've used them twice. For black tea, once, only.

Again, they're your tastebuds. Experiment and do whatever you like the best.
I know someone who microwaves a new teabag for the first mug, microwaves
another new teabag for the second mug, then microwaves the two used teabags
together for the third mug and says good flavor is in all three mugs of tea.

--
~~Bluesea~~
Spam is great in musubi but not in email.
Please take out the trash before sending a direct reply.

On Dec 8, 7:39 am, DogMa wrote:

Since Nigel hasn't chimed in, allow me to point out that the tea in bags
isn't necessarily cheaper than the same brand of loose/bulk tea. It's a
more finely broken leaf, as required for rapid brewing with limited
circulation.

I agree.


I personally believe that the microwave argument is bogus for a variety
of reasons; likewise the inference that differences in brewed taste from
different water-heating methods are anything but psychological. If they
have any chemical basis at all, it's probably reduction in CO2 and
associated drop in flavor-affecting multivalent cations. I would be
delighted to see scientific evidence that dissolved oxygen affects tea
taste significantly.

I'm guessing that you've never made tea from water boiled in a
microwave. It's not a subtle difference and it's not psychological.
The resulting brew is undrinkable. I don't need scientific evidence
to tell me when something tastes bad. And the reasons why microwaved
water makes poor tea isn't all that important. It just does.

On Dec 8, 8:18 am, "Bluesea" wrote:
wrote in message

...

1.) Is it a bad idea to microwave a cup of tea with the tea bag
already inside it?

From a safety standpoint, no, it's a good idea because doing so keeps the
water from exploding.


Huh??

Fran wrote:
I'm guessing that you've never made tea from water boiled in a
microwave. It's not a subtle difference and it's not psychological.
The resulting brew is undrinkable. I don't need scientific evidence
to tell me when something tastes bad. And the reasons why microwaved
water makes poor tea isn't all that important. It just does.

Bad guess - please read the rest of the post. In any event, I'm not
arguing that there's no difference, only that the imputation of same to
heating methods is generally vague pseudo-science. I'm a firm pragmatist
when it comes to cuisine, and believe "de gustibus non est disputandum."
It's only when people insist on invoking the authority of science
without bothering to do a little homework that I would affirm that "ars
sine scientia nihil est."

The reasons could be important if one has reason to use a microwave -
e.g., no alternative, as in many office situations - and can easily make
better tea by taking better care. That's why I mentioned food odors,
commonly present in microwave oven as they are fiddly to clean well. The
step-drop in temperature I mentioned is simple to demonstrate. One
might surmise that you don't like microwaved tea because the brew
temperature is hotter than suits you. It's easy enough to check.

Some of us here may appear as rigid fundamentalists, didactic,
intolerant or otherwise inhibiting of tea art. A closer listening might
reveal that we're trying to prevent the propagation of silly, untested
or (in many cases) demonstrably erroneous "received wisdom" that
actually gets in the way of beginners' experimentation to find their own
best preferences.

Have a cup of tea, and speak to personal experience.

-DM