cross-posted from: https://reddthat.com/post/46233822

Warning... article contains details of poorly made tea*

I read a horrifying headline about Gen Z making tea in a microwave. How can we campaign against this?

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[–] 3 points 1 year ago

I thought I was committing heresy by using the office hydroboil unit rather than the kettle, but this is just wild.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago

    Microwaves have a pretty bad energy efficiency of 50%. The energy wasted is still very minor but the generation has a high ecological awareness.

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    [–] 17 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Americans I understand, they are savages that don’t know any better. But gen z Brits? I assume they have a kettle at home so this is just unacceptable

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  • [–] 1 point 1 year ago

    It's that their power is feeble. It's half the voltage of ours. Generally a kettle in the UK is 10 Amps. So at 220-240V that's 2.2-2.4kW. In the US they are apparently 12A, so at 110-120V that is 1.3-1.4kW. Feeble, so takes ages to boil water.

    I fear gen Z brits are just watching so much America YouTube & TikTok they think that's how to do it. I really hope I'm wrong.

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  • [–] 8 points 1 year ago* (2 children)

    So, does it produce a better quality drink? Also, no. Dr Tim Bond from the Tea Advisory Panel says that microwaves heat water unevenly, which leads to uneven tea extraction, which leads to a stewed flavour.

    The most likely reason:

    Then why microwave water at all? Well, the answer may be twofold. For one thing, student halls are increasingly prohibiting the use of kettles due to steam setting off alarms, so some young people at university are forced to nuke their water in a microwave …

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  • [–] 4 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    I use a kettle please don’t hurt me but what is wrong with using the microwave to heat the water?

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  • [–] 6 points 1 year ago

    Water in a cup in the microwave can become superheated and explode everywhere. You should have a wooden stick or spoon in the cup to negate this. It's also slower and doesn't heat the water as well.

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  • [–] 3 points 1 year ago (2 children)

    I reheat my cold coffee in the microwave -- I have no issues with this

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  • [+] -8 points 1 year ago (1 child)

    Bit of a boomer drink isn’t it?

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