An interesting alternative that I've found (for when making English breakfast or something similar) is to steep the teabag in the milk first before adding the hot water. I find that it cuts down on the bitterness and makes a much smoother tea.
this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2025
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Teabag, sugar, then water and milk.
I'm not sure how normal this is, largely because this is coming from the same person who pours milk before her cereal LMAO
I've a sweet tooth and like a bit of honey in my tea. So, I put a dab of honey in the cup while the kettle goes, then pour the boiling water in, and use one of those little electric milk frothers to stir it up thoroughly. While the water is still spinning, I toss the tea bag in, and throw the lid on the cup to let it steep for however long.
Teabag, pour water over the bag and if there's a significant amount of detritus coming out of the bag discard that water and repour until the water is clear.
Teabag! It just makes more sense to me...
Teabag
Boiling water
Leave a for a couple of minutes
Remove teabag
Add milk
Kids distract me so I never end up drinking it
How about cooking hotdogs in a kettle?
Fish fingers in the toaster?
I've started leaving the bag in, the OG tea in Spain is gash, need to double bag.
Big Carrefour sells Yorkshire (for a treat) and, Mercadona sells PG Tips.
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Water then bag: I brew in a pot and used to use one of those diffuser baskets that rests just below the lid. I switched to bags but kept the order of operations the same.
The microwave is a fundamental part of the Make Tea -> Forget About Tea -> Reheat Tea cycle.
Also, I have to put the bag in first, because otherwise I've no idea how much room I need to leave for it (which you'd think I'd be able to eyeball by now, but apparently not).
For me:
- Cup.
- Reusable metal tea infuser.
- Loose leaf tea.
- press button on Japanese instant hot water dispenser
- (^this was probably the best $200 I've ever spent, fucking worth every dollar).
I put the teabag in first so the hot water will hit it and move it around and release the flavour.
This is the way!
This is the way
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Doesn't really matter, as long as you add the sugar while the liquid is hot enough to go into supersaturated solution.
Then chill and add ice.
I put some extra fiber and collagen protein in my tea, so I put that in first, pour in the heated water, stir, and then the tea bag. If I'm away and don't have those available, the tea bag first all the way.
Put the tea in a tea infuser thingy. Boil water in a kettle. Pour water in teapot. Let infuse required number of minutes depending the tea. Remove tea holder from tea pot. Enjoy nice tea ;)
Teabag first just because the water will take a bit to heat up and I might as well do it while I'm waiting
Making tea atm, teabag first!
I'm not sure why the hate for microwaves exist. It's literally just another method for making water move fast. It has absolutely no impact on the final product, as hot water is hot water no matter the heat source.
It is not simply 'just another method to heat water'. There is a significant difference between microwaving and kettle/stovetop. Microwaving risks superheating resulting in flash boiling causing an explosion of steam and boiling water. This is also why microwaved water has foam appear when inserting anything into it. Bubbles that 'should' have formed didn't and are now doing so at the nucleation points whatever you inserted provided.
That foam, while an indication the water was close to erupting, is otherwise harmless but ruins the tea/coffee for me and I'm sure others too.
You know you can wait like 15 seconds before opening the microwave and putting something in, right? Even with my electric kettle I give it a few seconds before doing anything.
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Heating water in the mike is fine. Heating already-made tea in the mike is fine. Heating water with a teabag in it in the microwave is the vilest act.
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I've had microwaved water for tea a few times.
For some reason the water always starts foaming up a little bit when it's from a microwave instead of a normal kettle. I don't know why or what the difference is, but I prefer non-foamy water.
Water foaming when heated is caused by impurities in the water rather than the heating mechanism. So whatever is causing your water to foam is in it either way
I think the issue is that the teabag has to be shocked with boiling water at 100C, not dampened in increasingly hot water. It may not taste as good.
I don't know if you can boil water in a microwave, but it's not a kettle, it's a closed container and you can expect loads of vapour from boiling.
Finally, microwave doesn't heat stuff evenly, so you may end up with parts of the water superheated, and explode in your face when you take out the cup from the microwave. https://products.geappliances.com/appliance/gea-support-search-content?contentId=18822#%3A%7E%3Atext=Microwaved+water+and+other+liquids%2Cit%2C+which+can+cause+injury
You can still heat the water to your desired temp add the tea bags after. I don’t understand how your first point has relevance between a kettle vs microwaved cup
Yes you can easily boil water in the microwave.
The explosion isn’t a real common occurrence, otherwise you’d hear about it much more. Steam from a kettle can harm people as well
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Water is much more likely to get supersaturated in a microwave, because water heats up in the middle of the container where there are no nucleation points. And supersaturated water heats the tea leaves above 100ºC, which can affect the flavor.
It would only be able to heat the tea to above 100C if that point of zero nucleation remained undisturbed, and the tea held directly within it; in other words, it's not possible.
Assuming there's an amount of water within the cup that is above 100C, while the rest is at or below 100C. As soon as you grab the cup out of the microwave, the water will start to slosh around in the cup, equalizing the temperature. If there are any major hot spots remaining, they will be well below 100C, and almost completely equalized when the tea bag is added.
It would only be able to heat the tea to above 100C if that point of zero nucleation remained undisturbed, and the tea held directly within it; in other words, it’s not possible.
To be clear, the liquid water flashes into steam as soon as it contacts the leaves, so technically it isn’t the supersaturated water itself heating the tea over 100º. But the steam it produces is above 100º, and that’s what heats the tea.
I don’t believe this to be true.
Edit: since the replies aren’t very polite, let me be more clear. This isn’t a concern. Any modern microwave with a turntable doesn’t have this problem
Science doesn't give a fuck about your "beliefs"
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Yes, this is one of the more bizarre cultural differences. I have seen people from the UK object strongly to Microwaving water.
Microwaving food definitely affects the way it tastes because it heats unevenly. Cooking foods different ways affects the outer browning, moisture levels, etc.
Heating water in a kettle on the stove, an electric kettle, a sauce pan, or a microwave doesn't change the water! If you don't want to seep tea in boiling water, then let it cool slightly first.
True, but also disgusting and you should be ashamed.
I agree, while scientifically accurate, absolutely heretical.
I live in the US and I strongly object to microwaving water. But I am also /really/ into tea so I avoid tea bags as much as possible.
Part of the cultural difference is that US is largely 110 and the UK is 220. It’s faster and easier to use an electric kettle. In the US, the microwave heats up the water “faster” vs the stove or an electric kettle
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You will be deported from Ireland for putting the water in first.
Microwave the water on high for ten minutes, drop the teabag in, and run for my life
Damn, got away on time
Water
Teabag. Make sure the water doesn't hit straight on the teabag, but kinda dunk it so it's fully wet while pouring.