How much does a cup of tea cost?
Discussion
Working in an office that has a strong environmental policy, I have the following conundrum which I hope all you pH scientists can help with
In an office of 30, we have one 3kw kettle that holds 1.7 litres. (no point in a zip tap as we are moving soon)
We have no set teabreak – you get a cuppa as you want one. I reckon that a total of 150 cups are made during the day including visitors. But which is the more environmentally friendly?
a) only fill the kettle with what you need, starting the boiling process from cold, repetitively throughout the day
b) or fill the kettle to the top, even if you only want to make one cup, knowing that someone will be along shortly, saving the water being heated from stone cold, although being heated twice even though the second cycle won’t take as long.
In an office of 30, we have one 3kw kettle that holds 1.7 litres. (no point in a zip tap as we are moving soon)
We have no set teabreak – you get a cuppa as you want one. I reckon that a total of 150 cups are made during the day including visitors. But which is the more environmentally friendly?
a) only fill the kettle with what you need, starting the boiling process from cold, repetitively throughout the day
b) or fill the kettle to the top, even if you only want to make one cup, knowing that someone will be along shortly, saving the water being heated from stone cold, although being heated twice even though the second cycle won’t take as long.
You could probably get a government grant for studying that.
Second boiled water makes the tea taste worst, so a real teabelly may empty even a hot kettle for a fresh cup, so I would suspect the best bet is to boil only what you need each time.
OR ... do your bit and make a round of brew?
Second boiled water makes the tea taste worst, so a real teabelly may empty even a hot kettle for a fresh cup, so I would suspect the best bet is to boil only what you need each time.
OR ... do your bit and make a round of brew?
aclivity said:
Second boiled water makes the tea taste worst, so a real teabelly may empty even a hot kettle for a fresh cup,
I'm no tree-hugger but this behaviour always baffles me.The tea tastes the same. It's water that's been boiled. If it's been boiled 5 times it's even purer than straight from the tap.
And it's always women that do this.
oyster said:
aclivity said:
Second boiled water makes the tea taste worst, so a real teabelly may empty even a hot kettle for a fresh cup,
I'm no tree-hugger but this behaviour always baffles me.The tea tastes the same. It's water that's been boiled. If it's been boiled 5 times it's even purer than straight from the tap.
And it's always women that do this.
my o/h insists on filtering the water through the brita filter jug before pouring into a bosh kettle with a brita filter in it.
Whenver i pour the water straight from the tap into the kettle and she spots me doing it she has a reaction as though i just pissed in her tea... WTF?
oyster said:
The tea tastes the same. It's water that's been boiled. If it's been boiled 5 times it's even purer than straight from the tap.
Not sure about purer (all the chemicals are still going to be in there).Boiling does however, take oxygen out of the water. Which some people say affects the taste. I have no idea myself as I don't drink tea.
The water is going to cool fairly quickly anyway so think its best to fill with the minimum required.
trickywoo said:
oyster said:
The tea tastes the same. It's water that's been boiled. If it's been boiled 5 times it's even purer than straight from the tap.
Not sure about purer (all the chemicals are still going to be in there).Boiling does however, take oxygen out of the water. Which some people say affects the taste. I have no idea myself as I don't drink tea.
The water is going to cool fairly quickly anyway so think its best to fill with the minimum required.
That sound bollarks to me, I'm no chemist though.
It's still h2o after the boiling process. If boiling took oxygen out of the water you would be pouring hydrogen into your cup, that would be difficult, and taste orrid.
I suspect any change in flavour is from "stuff" in you kettle getting jiggled around and tainting it slightly.
trickywoo said:
I have no idea myself as I don't drink tea.
I'm the same ... it's just behaviour I have noticed, when I asked I was told that it tastes better freshly boiled. Doesn't seem to matter for coffee so much, as far as I can tell. ETA - a quick google suggests it's a commonly held belief: http://uk.encarta.msn.com/encnet/features/Lists/?a...
Edited by aclivity on Thursday 21st May 12:31
ts and giggles, I don't even drink tea. It just annoys the greenies.isee said:
oyster said:
aclivity said:
Second boiled water makes the tea taste worst, so a real teabelly may empty even a hot kettle for a fresh cup,
I'm no tree-hugger but this behaviour always baffles me.The tea tastes the same. It's water that's been boiled. If it's been boiled 5 times it's even purer than straight from the tap.
And it's always women that do this.
my o/h insists on filtering the water through the brita filter jug before pouring into a bosh kettle with a brita filter in it.
Whenver i pour the water straight from the tap into the kettle and she spots me doing it she has a reaction as though i just pissed in her tea... WTF?
dave_s13 said:
I suspect any change in flavour is from "stuff" in you kettle getting jiggled around and tainting it slightly.
I've had some of that before and it does make "things" taste different.If you put stuff into different things, it changes the taste of the things in different ways....also the same if you put different stuff into the same thing.
To keep the tree huggers happy why not suggest that you keep a flask next to the kettle, that way any left over hot water could be stored. After the kettle has been used several times there will be enough hot water to make another round of tea. See if they realise this is a tongue in cheek suggestion.
(This sounds amazingly like a Viz top tip)
(This sounds amazingly like a Viz top tip)
I would think it is more efficient to boil a cup at a time, as whilst the kettle is sitting there full of boiled water it is losing heat all the time.
ETA: You can safely skive an extra few minutes waiting for a full kettle to boil though.
ETA: You can safely skive an extra few minutes waiting for a full kettle to boil though.
Edited by cheshire_cat on Thursday 21st May 14:21
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