Tea leaves causing bubbles, wtf?

[Lifted]

Obviously the teas leaves have been contaminated with avian flu.

Nice knowing you janas. 🙁

 

[OutHouse]

The boiling action is caused by the temperature difference between the tea leaves and the water. I learned that in college.

so if a ice cube is thrown in it would erupt like a volcano?

i think were asleep in that class and dreamed it up.

 

[Golgatha]

Boiling is NOT a function of only temperature.

Temperature, pressure, and purity of the substance.

 

[Golgatha]

so if a ice cube is thrown in it would erupt like a volcano?

i think were asleep in that class and dreamed it up.

Throw a package of Mentos in there!

 

[OutHouse]

OP ive had the same thing happen with pasta.

 

[preslove]

1. You used WAY too hot water. Green tea should be infused at 170-180 degrees. Or, when small bubbles form (way before actual boiling).

2. You pour the water on top of the leaves, not put the leaves in the water. This is a pretty big deal.

 

[seepy83]

You shouldn't make tea, especially green tea, with boiling water.

What?! Yes you should make most teas with boiling water. They do not steep properly without boiling water. Green Tea is one of the few exceptions to that but you still want the water to be around 180°F (almost boiling).

 

[Phoenix86]

2. You pour the water on top of the leaves, not put the leaves in the water. This is a pretty big deal.

Interesting, why?

 

[Phoenix86]

2. You pour the water on top of the leaves, not put the leaves in the water. This is a pretty big deal.

Interesting, why?

 

[torpid]

What?! Yes you should make most teas with boiling water. They do not steep properly without boiling water. Green Tea is one of the few exceptions to that but you still want the water to be around 180°F (almost boiling).

White tea and oolong are also best below boiling. Many black teas will contain some delicate leaves that are less processed and therefore using boiling water may make them bitter as well.

 

[bobdole369]

Green tea should not be brewed just off the boil. Treat the green tea right, brew at 180f (or 80ish C).

 

[NikolaeVarius]

1. You used WAY too hot water. Green tea should be infused at 170-180 degrees. Or, when small bubbles form (way before actual boiling).

2. You pour the water on top of the leaves, not put the leaves in the water. This is a pretty big deal.

Isn't there also something about making the cup warm prior to pouring in the water to spread the flavor more evenly?

 

[bobdole369]

God so much fail in this thread. Were you microwaving the water?

sounds like the water may have been superheated

Exactly, and the energy added + the nucleation site added by the tea leaves caused the water to boil furiously.

To repeat and see if this is the case, heat the water in the same manner, and take the mug or whatever and rap it on a desk, or add a room temp fork. If it also does the same - definitely the superheated water reaction.

 

[bobdole369]

so if a ice cube is thrown in it would erupt like a volcano?

i think were asleep in that class and dreamed it up.

Yes actually.

See this thread:

http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=49950

 

[the DRIZZLE]

What?! Yes you should make most teas with boiling water. They do not steep properly without boiling water. Green Tea is one of the few exceptions to that but you still want the water to be around 180°F (almost boiling).

I'd say 180 is the upper limit for green tea, some people brew it much lower. That's 30 degrees away from a full boil. IMO black tea should be brewed around 190.

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

Only if the tea leaves are hotter than the water. Also, the heat needed to boil water is very high and I'm sure the heat capacity of tea leaves is quite low.

Sound like you know a lot about chemistry.
Need help.
Meth lab
Will pay handsome

 

[crashtestdummy]

Sound like you know a lot about chemistry.
Need help.
Meth lab
Will pay handsome

One of my professors decided to show us how to make meth one day in class. One of the students asked him if he ever made it himself. His response: "I was a grad student in the 60s, we all made meth." 😱

 

[Fritzo]

I'm not telling you why this happened...not for all the tea leaves in China.

 

[Joseph F]

One of my professors decided to show us how to make meth one day in class. One of the students asked him if he ever made it himself. His response: "I was a grad student in the 60s, we all made meth." 😱

:thumbsup:

 

[LiuKangBakinPie]

One of my professors decided to show us how to make meth one day in class. One of the students asked him if he ever made it himself. His response: "I was a grad student in the 60s, we all made meth." 😱

I hope you asked him WTF happened to the world

 

[rivan]

http://www.lmgtfy.com/?q=superheated+water+bubbles

LMGTFY has had an upgrade since I last was there.

http://live.lmgtfy.com/

Behold, and win.

First gem found via the live feed:
http://vimeo.com/17627120

 

[janas19]

One of my professors decided to show us how to make meth one day in class. One of the students asked him if he ever made it himself. His response: "I was a grad student in the 60s, we all made meth." 😱

Yeah man. LSD was studied by professors at Harvard. They gave it out to their subjects. Lol.

 

[crashtestdummy]

Yeah man. LSD was studied by professors at Harvard. They gave it out to their subjects. Lol.

That's a little different. LSD was being examined for therapeutic uses. I'm pretty sure my prof was just using it for fun/working late.

 

[preslove]

Interesting, why?

Whenever you want to impart properties of a solid (ice, tea, powder, etc) you pour the water over it, not pour it into the water.

For tea, you want as big an infuser area as possible. The chinese often just put the tea in a glass tumbler and pour the water over, and drink from that. You want the tea to swirl around and get all their surface area exposed to as much moving water as possible. The swirling is called "The agony of the leaves." I use this for green teas: http://www.amazon.com/Adagio-Teas-16-Ounce-Ingenuitea-Teapot/dp/B000FPN8TK

Isn't there also something about making the cup warm prior to pouring in the water to spread the flavor more evenly?

Gung fu style, you're supposed to. I don't really know the reasoning behind it, beyond tradition. I don't know if it actually affects the taste.

 

[Gothgar]

You dont want the water that hot