Last month, David Tennant’s character in the British drama Broadchurch placed a cup of tea in a microwave. It was apparently quite a controversial gesture, as evinced by the reaction it sparked in many alarmed viewers who were unable to process the fact that there are some humans who warm their tea in microwaves. But this chatter—some may call it an incident—has sparked a renewed interest in a study conducted five years ago, with findings that suggest Tennant’s character wasn’t so crazy after all.
In 2012, Dr. Quan Vuong, a food scientist at Australia’s University of Newcastle, conducted multiple experiments that concluded microwaving black and green tea may be the most surefire way to activate its most desired chemical compounds—certainly more than the traditional stovetop method would yield. In the study, published in the Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, Dr. Vuong determined that the microwave method coaxes out 80% of the tea's natural catechins (antioxidants) and 92% of its caffeine content, compared to the measly 62% and 76%, respectively, gained from steeping tea leaves in kettle-boiled water for two to three minutes.
Vuong's suggested method for heating tea? Put warm water in a cup with your tea bag, heat the cup in the microwave for 30 seconds on half power, let it sit for a minute, and sip. I should note that aggregated reports of his study spreading across the internet over the past 24 hours have declined to mention how the water gets warm in that first step. Peeking at the study's abstract, though, suggests that the water must have already been boiled before it's put in the microwave. Likweise, though other outlets have referred to black tea in addition to green tea, this particular study refers only to green tea.
Vuong is something of a microwave scholar; just last year, he determined that sticking lemon pomace in a 480-watt microwave for five minutes amplified its phenolic content and antioxidant activity significantly, and he's got a body of work all about microwave-assisted heating and what it does to certain foods. If you’re interested, dive in to the rest of his research. As for his findings about tea, he’s assumed a somewhat radical position to go along with his chemical claims. Vuong's argued that sticking it in the microwave makes for a tastier cup of tea. More nutritious, okay. But delicious? I don’t know, doctor. Not so fast.
Do you microwave your tea? Let us know in the comments.
Written by: Mayukh Sen
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21 Comments
Water is worse if injested after being heated in the microwave. Search for yourselves Google microwave and your health or better yet see an Iradologist they'll be able to tell you about microwave radiation in your body from drinking tea nuked.
What is troubling is that the temperature of the pre-warmed water is not defined, nor is the wattage of the microwave. Most American microwaves are in the 1000-1500 watt range.
30 seconds at half power in even the most powerful of microwaves is not going to heat the water (or anything else) much.
second, if the staple is submerged in water, there is no issue at all.
the instructions for the microwave i have now say that i can submerge a metal tea ball in a non-metal pot of water (as long as i submerge the metal chain as well and don't hook it over the edge of the pot) and microwave as usual. as long is the metal is in water, no harm is done.
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