this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2025
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And no, the microwave is not a valid option.

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[–] Hadriscus@lemm.ee 9 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

Take your hatchet and slash some leaves in the misty fields of Kerala. Make sure it's monsoon flush, so roughly july to september. Then, chop up an old Ginkgo Biloba that looks wise. Leave it to dry in a Kenyan plain for three years, and head for Nepal. There, you will gather the purest glacier water there is. By then, your tea leaves will be dust. Go buy some Lipton and microwave tap water, it's all you can do at this point. And, uh, teabag first

[–] JoeKrogan@lemmy.world 2 points 3 hours ago

Teabag, honey, hot water and then milk (almond in my case)

[–] Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

Water.
If the cup is not full enough, I'll top it up (and spill the amount again once I get to my table).

[–] fum@lemmy.world 3 points 5 hours ago

Tea bag first, then freshly boiled hot water.

[–] beeng@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 4 hours ago (1 children)

Tea bags got many microplastics...

[–] meekah@lemmy.world 1 points 1 hour ago

I recently learned this and bought one of those sieve tongs , but because I still have a bunch of tea bags left over, I opted to just rip them open and put the tea in the tongs. Works like a treat, once you figure out how to rip them without spilling everything lol

[–] lengau@midwest.social 2 points 6 hours ago

Milk, then water, then I empty the teabag into it. Duh.

I also like to put the water in the bowl before I pour the cereal in.

[–] Bilaketari@reddthat.com 2 points 7 hours ago (2 children)

Neither. Tea bags are for chumps. It's so much tastier to use fresher loose tea leaves of whatever mix you prefer (and you can control how strong you make it, plus you end up with less waste). I just boil the water in the microwave then when it's hot I take it out and add the tea.

[–] Appoxo@lemmy.dbzer0.com 2 points 4 hours ago* (last edited 4 hours ago)

You can buy empty tea bags to gill with loose tea...

[–] Gold_E_Lox@lemmy.dbzer0.com 4 points 7 hours ago (1 children)

unfortunately, i believe the microwave was not an option.

[–] Bilaketari@reddthat.com 2 points 6 hours ago

Does it make a difference that the tea is never in the microwave? It's only the method for heating a single cup of water, not of heating the water+tea set.

[–] Condiment2085@lemm.ee 7 points 10 hours ago
[–] nichtburningturtle@feddit.org 22 points 15 hours ago (3 children)

The teabag. Otherwise it would float on top, similarly to why you put cerial in before milk.

[–] Apytele@sh.itjust.works 1 points 7 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago)

if you do the characteristic "teabagging" motion it saturates quickly. tbh I do it whichever way is most convenient since I'm almost always brewing on the way from one task in one part of my work area to a different one somewhere else. What I put into the travel mug first has much more to do with which one I get my hands on first than it does with any personal preference.

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 2 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

You use so much milk and so little cereal that the cereal would float?

[–] ech@lemm.ee 2 points 12 hours ago
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[–] Pixel@lemmy.sdf.org 1 points 8 hours ago
[–] YurkshireLad@lemmy.ca 52 points 20 hours ago (2 children)

I put the teabag in first so the hot water will hit it and move it around and release the flavour.

[–] AwkwardPea@lemm.ee 11 points 19 hours ago (1 children)
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[–] NoSpotOfGround@lemmy.world 6 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

That's a great way to make the air inside the teabag expand but not be able to escape through the wet paper, making the teabag float on top of the water like a confused little fish that just escaped a dentist's aquarium.

[–] other_cat@lemmy.zip 3 points 12 hours ago

That's why you dunk it a few times until it sinks!

[–] earphone843@sh.itjust.works 32 points 20 hours ago (35 children)

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.

[–] Nemo@slrpnk.net 23 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

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.

[–] earphone843@sh.itjust.works 7 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

But boiling a tea bag is wrong no matter what your heat source is.

[–] Nemo@slrpnk.net 4 points 17 hours ago

You're absolutely right, but I've only seen this abominable act in a microwave... and even then only on television.

[–] AmidFuror@fedia.io 14 points 19 hours ago (5 children)

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.

[–] chonglibloodsport@lemmy.world 1 points 8 hours ago

To avoid the uneven heating just turn down the microwave power! No one does this and everyone complains about uneven heating! I get great reheating results from my microwave just by turning down the power and running it for longer.

This is how microwaves used to work decades ago when they were lower power by design. Over time the microwave power arms race resulted in them getting much too powerful for even reheating.

[–] AmidFuror@fedia.io 4 points 15 hours ago (1 children)

Lots of comments on superheating, mostly to the parent comment, but I'll put a response here.

You can avoid superheating by putting a reasonable time on the microwave based on the amount of water you're heating. Especially for something you do again and again, you should be able to quickly get experience with this.

[–] blackbrook@mander.xyz 3 points 14 hours ago

Common sense like this does NOT belong on the internet.

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[–] kozy138@lemm.ee 6 points 14 hours ago (1 children)

Depends what tea I'm making. For green and white teas I will add water first (175-185F) then steep the tea bag for 3-4 minutes.

If I'm making black tea or some fruity/herbal tea, I will toss the bag in first, then pour in boiling water and steeping for 3-5min depending on preference.

[–] thelsim@sh.itjust.works 1 points 9 hours ago

Same for me. I like drinking white jasmine tea, but the flavor becomes too bitter if you pour boiling water over the leaves. It’s better to drink at 80 or even 70 degrees (sorry, don’t know the F one).

I used to make tea for my coworkers back when we had a team room and got way into it. I had my own little kettle, all kinds of tea leaves, a weighing scale spoon and even a thermometer :)
I learned that pre-heating your kettle was important for black teas because boiling water would drop to 90 degrees or even less if you didn’t.

[–] Mothra@mander.xyz 7 points 16 hours ago

This depends on the water temperature. I boil mine, so I pour water first, wait a bit, then put the bag. If I do the other way around, sometimes the tea gets burnt and tastes too bitter, which I don't like.

I could also heat the water to a lower temperature but I don't have one of those fancy kettles with temp selection, and I usually get distracted to interrupt the kettle before it boils. But, if the water is hot enough already but not just boiled, then I'll put the bag first, then the water second.

[–] whotookkarl@lemmy.world 11 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

Set the bush on fire, toss a bucket of water on it, drink the hot bush broth drippings

[–] Gradually_Adjusting@lemmy.world 4 points 17 hours ago

So primitive, in the least impressive way imaginable

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 3 points 13 hours ago

Teabag and sugar, then drown it in a scalding stream of boiling water.

[–] Brewchin@lemmy.world 9 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

They're designed to deliver the maximum amount of flavour in ~20 seconds.

So: bag first, then just-boiled water. Wait/steep for 20-60 seconds, fish out the bag with a teaspoon and squeeze against the cup, and then milk.

[–] Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works 8 points 17 hours ago (3 children)

How do you milk your teabag?

[–] toiletobserver@lemmy.world 12 points 17 hours ago (1 children)

With a come here motion with your finger(s)

[–] Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works 7 points 17 hours ago

It truly is such a versatile motion

[–] ech@lemm.ee 2 points 12 hours ago

Through the nipples.

[–] civilconvo@sopuli.xyz 3 points 15 hours ago

Squeeze against the wall, milk it hard

[–] Nemo@slrpnk.net 9 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

First the filter, then the loose leaves, then water.

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[–] ThisIsAManWhoKnowsHowToGling@lemmy.dbzer0.com 11 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

Microwave the water on high for ten minutes, drop the teabag in, and run for my life

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[–] recursive_recursion@lemmy.ca 10 points 20 hours ago* (last edited 19 hours ago)

For me:

  1. Cup.
  2. Reusable metal tea infuser.
  3. Loose leaf tea.
  4. press button on Japanese instant hot water dispenser
    • (^this was probably the best $200 I've ever spent, fucking worth every dollar).
[–] frightful_hobgoblin@lemmy.ml 10 points 20 hours ago

You will be deported from Ireland for putting the water in first.

[–] Hossenfeffer@feddit.uk 3 points 16 hours ago (1 children)

Hot water in the base chamber of the pot. Coffee in the funnel. Top chamber screwed on. Put on a high heat until the coffee is ready.

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