Curious Cases

The Tea Leaf Mystery


Listen Later

Today the team examine the chemistry of tea, in answer to the following question sent in by Fred Rickaby from North Carolina:

"When we are preparing a cup of tea and the cup contains nothing but hot, brewed tea we need to add milk and sugar. My wife always adds the sugar first, stirs the cup to make sure it is dissolved and then add the milk. So, is that an optimum strategy for adding milk and sugar to a cup of tea?”

Adam consults Prof Andrea Sella from University College London about the perfect formula for a cup of tea. Inside his tea factory in Kent, Master Blender Alex Probyn teaches Hannah an unusual method for tasting tea.

Most importantly, the duo discovers whether you should add milk first or last. But can tea professionals really tell the difference?

If you have any questions for Drs Rutherford & Fry to investigate send them to [email protected]

Presenters: Hannah Fry, Adam Rutherford

Producer: Michelle Martin

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Curious CasesBy BBC Radio 4

  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8
  • 4.8

4.8

738 ratings


More shows like Curious Cases

View all
Global News Podcast by BBC World Service

Global News Podcast

7,682 Listeners

Business Daily by BBC World Service

Business Daily

517 Listeners

More or Less by BBC Radio 4

More or Less

880 Listeners

Newshour by BBC World Service

Newshour

1,048 Listeners

World Business Report by BBC World Service

World Business Report

294 Listeners

In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,534 Listeners

Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4 by BBC Radio 4

Friday Night Comedy from BBC Radio 4

2,107 Listeners

The Infinite Monkey Cage by BBC Radio 4

The Infinite Monkey Cage

1,926 Listeners

No Such Thing As A Fish by No Such Thing As A Fish

No Such Thing As A Fish

4,875 Listeners

Comedy of the Week by BBC Radio 4

Comedy of the Week

478 Listeners

BBC Inside Science by BBC Radio 4

BBC Inside Science

407 Listeners

The Life Scientific by BBC Radio 4

The Life Scientific

219 Listeners

Unexpected Elements by BBC World Service

Unexpected Elements

364 Listeners

CrowdScience by BBC World Service

CrowdScience

477 Listeners

Evil Genius with Russell Kane by BBC Sounds

Evil Genius with Russell Kane

367 Listeners

Have You Heard George's Podcast? by BBC Sounds

Have You Heard George's Podcast?

233 Listeners

Sliced Bread by BBC Radio 4

Sliced Bread

142 Listeners

Elis James and John Robins by Significant Productions

Elis James and John Robins

314 Listeners

You're Dead to Me by BBC Radio 4

You're Dead to Me

3,171 Listeners

Sport's Strangest Crimes by BBC Radio 5 Live

Sport's Strangest Crimes

65 Listeners

What The F Is Going On? with Mark Steel by WTF Productions

What The F Is Going On? with Mark Steel

92 Listeners

Uncanny by BBC Radio 4

Uncanny

820 Listeners

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley by BBC Radio 4

Lady Killers with Lucy Worsley

551 Listeners

Believe in Magic by BBC Studios

Believe in Magic

641 Listeners

We Can Be Weirdos by Global

We Can Be Weirdos

188 Listeners

The Global Story by BBC World Service

The Global Story

384 Listeners

Miss Me? by Persephonica

Miss Me?

237 Listeners

The History Podcast by BBC Radio 4

The History Podcast

57 Listeners

Rory Stewart: The Long History of... by BBC Radio 4

Rory Stewart: The Long History of...

77 Listeners

Lunchbox Envy by Lunchbox Envy

Lunchbox Envy

56 Listeners

The History Bureau by BBC

The History Bureau

73 Listeners