Braveheart's William Wallace once said: 'They can take our lives, but they will never take our tea.'
At least, that's what I think he said. To be honest, I was far too disturbed by seeing a kilt-clad Mel Gibson painted blue with a shockingly bad Scottish accent to pay much attention to what he was actually saying.
But, basically, us Brits might not have much to go by when it comes to our culinary heritage – fish and chips and steak and kidney pie will haunt our food history for generations to come – but one thing we do know a thing or two about it how to make a good cuppa.
And, as we all know, there's nothing worse than making a hot brew before sitting down to watch our favourite programme only to forget about it 30 minutes later and have the painful decision of making another or gulping it down.
'Oh, I just love a cold cup of tea,' said no one ever.
However, a scientist at the University of Newcastle is now suggesting tea-drinkers heat their cup of tea in a microwave and the reap the health benefits.
According to The Cut, Dr. Quan Voung – an Australian scientist at the University of Newcastle who specialises in exploring ways to 'add value' to natural products – has found that microwaving tea activates 80 per cent of the caffeine, theanine, and polyphenol in the drink and actually improves taste.
Theanine is an amino acid that encourages stress relief, while polyphenols are antioxidants which reduce inflammation, prevent degenerative diseases, and support healthy blood-sugar and blood-pressure levels.
This is Dr Vuong's suggested method for making a cup of tea:
- Put hot water in the cup with your teabag.
- Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds on half power.
- Let it sit for a minute.
The scientist claims microwaved tea – as opposed to stove-heated or boiled from the kettle – provides health benefits equivalent to drinking more than three cups of tea.
Yes, three cups!
It should be said that this Vuong bloke has somewhat of an obsession with microwaving food. Last year, he reportedly microwaved lemon particles and found that they released additional antioxidants and microwaved macadamia skin enhanced the availability of the nut's phenolic compounds.
Anyone else think he has a microwave problem?
Unsurprisingly, Vuong's brewing methods have caused outrage across the United Kingdom.
And, according to the Independent, the subject of microwaved tea continues to cause outrage after David Tennant's character microwaved a cuppa in an episode of Broadchurch last month.
We don't know if this is tea-blasphemy or genius.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
