University study highlights poor tea brewing habits
UK's prestigious University College London claims the vast majority of tea drinkers do not brew tea correctly by not letting it steep long enough. After studying the habits of 1,000 British tea drinkers, scientists discovered that although three quarters drink tea daily and the nation consumes 165 million cups every day, 80% of drinkers do not let the leaves brew long enough. Most drinkers infuse tea for 2 minutes at most, instead of the 5 minutes usually required to bring out the complex flavors emanating from thousands of different molecules. For a fuller infusion, the study also recommends steeping loose tea leaves in a teapot instead of using teabags in a mug.