3 ms·

>Your reaction (as mine was) is that it is impossible to tell the difference. If you pour the milk into the tea, the first bit of milk will heat to nearly boil

>Your reaction (as mine was) is that it is impossible to tell the difference. If you pour the milk into the tea, the first bit of milk will heat to nearly boiling, scalding it and changing its flavor. If you pour the tea into the milk, you don't have that problem.

skore 14y ago
And, according to some research[0], no matter which way you pour it, milk will make the tea worse. (And as a personal note - if you need milk to make your tea taste good, maybe you just don't have good tea?) [0] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6241139.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6241139.stm
- mistercow 14y ago
  The health problem can be solved by using a non-dairy milk like almond milk (which is also objectively tastier). As far as snootiness, I really think it's just a matter of personal preference. I enjoy it either way, although it can certainly mask the flavor of bad tea.
waivej 14y ago
I drink watered down orange juice. It mixes evenly if you pour the water first. Otherwise the concentration is higher and the temperature is lower near the bottom of the glass.
- mistercow 14y ago
  I'd hypothesize that that's a different effect. Orange juice is denser than water, so if you pour water into orange juice, a lot of it will float on top. If you pour orange juice into water, on the other hand, the orange juice will sink through the water, mixing relatively evenly. By the same reasoning, tea should actually mix better if you add the tea first, since milk has about the same density as orange juice and tea has about the same density as water. But in the case of tea and milk, you just have to bite the bullet and stir it manually if you want to avoid scalding.
jlees 14y ago
With bagged tea, leaving the bag in the milk while the kettle boils tends to take away an aspect of bitterness, which makes breakfast tea taste extraordinarily lovely. Though, having recently discovered the joys of quality leaf tea made properly, I have to quantify that with "extraordinarily lovely for PG Tips".
pekk 14y ago
Really? Can you tell that flavor with 100% accuracy if you are blindfolded and someone else has poured the cups? What chemical change in the milk accounts for "scalding"?
- mistercow 14y ago
  >Can you tell that flavor with 100% accuracy if you are blindfolded and someone else has poured the cups? I'm pretty sure I could if you let me practice beforehand. There's a pretty distinctive smell to scalded milk. >What chemical change in the milk accounts for "scalding"? Protein denaturing. It's a well documented effect in milk, and some recipes even specifically call for it. It's just not great in tea.

skore 14y ago

And, according to some research[0], no matter which way you pour it, milk will make the tea worse. (And as a personal note - if you need milk to make your tea taste good, maybe you just don't have good tea?) [0] http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6241139.stm http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/6241139.stm

mistercow 14y ago
The health problem can be solved by using a non-dairy milk like almond milk (which is also objectively tastier). As far as snootiness, I really think it's just a matter of personal preference. I enjoy it either way, although it can certainly mask the flavor of bad tea.

waivej 14y ago

I drink watered down orange juice. It mixes evenly if you pour the water first. Otherwise the concentration is higher and the temperature is lower near the bottom of the glass.

mistercow 14y ago
I'd hypothesize that that's a different effect. Orange juice is denser than water, so if you pour water into orange juice, a lot of it will float on top. If you pour orange juice into water, on the other hand, the orange juice will sink through the water, mixing relatively evenly. By the same reasoning, tea should actually mix better if you add the tea first, since milk has about the same density as orange juice and tea has about the same density as water. But in the case of tea and milk, you just have to bite the bullet and stir it manually if you want to avoid scalding.

jlees 14y ago

With bagged tea, leaving the bag in the milk while the kettle boils tends to take away an aspect of bitterness, which makes breakfast tea taste extraordinarily lovely. Though, having recently discovered the joys of quality leaf tea made properly, I have to quantify that with "extraordinarily lovely for PG Tips".

pekk 14y ago

Really? Can you tell that flavor with 100% accuracy if you are blindfolded and someone else has poured the cups? What chemical change in the milk accounts for "scalding"?

mistercow 14y ago
>Can you tell that flavor with 100% accuracy if you are blindfolded and someone else has poured the cups? I'm pretty sure I could if you let me practice beforehand. There's a pretty distinctive smell to scalded milk. >What chemical change in the milk accounts for "scalding"? Protein denaturing. It's a well documented effect in milk, and some recipes even specifically call for it. It's just not great in tea.