I put the teabag in first so the hot water will hit it and move it around and release the flavour.
this post was submitted on 14 Mar 2025
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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.
That's why you dunk it a few times until it sinks!
The teabag. Otherwise it would float on top, similarly to why you put cerial in before milk.
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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.
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.
But boiling a tea bag is wrong no matter what your heat source is.
You're absolutely right, but I've only seen this abominable act in a microwave... and even then only on television.
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.
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.
Common sense like this does NOT belong on the internet.
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Water is much more likely to get supersaturated in a microwave, because water heats up in the middle of the container where there are no nucleation points. And supersaturated water heats the tea leaves above 100ºC, which can affect the flavor.
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It is not simply 'just another method to heat water'. There is a significant difference between microwaving and kettle/stovetop. Microwaving risks superheating resulting in flash boiling causing an explosion of steam and boiling water. This is also why microwaved water has foam appear when inserting anything into it. Bubbles that 'should' have formed didn't and are now doing so at the nucleation points whatever you inserted provided.
That foam, while an indication the water was close to erupting, is otherwise harmless but ruins the tea/coffee for me and I'm sure others too.
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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
Tea bag
Set the bush on fire, toss a bucket of water on it, drink the hot bush broth drippings
So primitive, in the least impressive way imaginable
Microwave the water on high for ten minutes, drop the teabag in, and run for my life
Damn, got away on time
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.
How do you milk your teabag?
With a come here motion with your finger(s)
It truly is such a versatile motion
Squeeze against the wall, milk it hard
Through the nipples.
For me:
- Cup.
- Reusable metal tea infuser.
- Loose leaf tea.
- press button on Japanese instant hot water dispenser
- (^this was probably the best $200 I've ever spent, fucking worth every dollar).
You will be deported from Ireland for putting the water in first.
First the filter, then the loose leaves, then water.
Absolutely! Nobody should use teabags, they're subpar and we're allready getting plenty of micro plastics in our bodies.
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.
Tea bag first, then freshly boiled hot water.
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.
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Teabag, honey, hot water and then milk (almond in my case)
Water.
If the cup is not full enough, I'll top it up (and spill the amount again once I get to my table).
The microwave is a fundamental part of the Make Tea -> Forget About Tea -> Reheat Tea cycle.
Also, I have to put the bag in first, because otherwise I've no idea how much room I need to leave for it (which you'd think I'd be able to eyeball by now, but apparently not).
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.
Teabag and sugar, then drown it in a scalding stream of boiling water.
Doesn't really matter, as long as you add the sugar while the liquid is hot enough to go into supersaturated solution.
Then chill and add ice.
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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The coffee grounds.