I'm a brit living in America. At my office there's no kettle, but we have a hot water dispenser. Today it's broken. When I lamented I can't make a cup of tea, a colleague suggested I microwave the water. Trump is not the only thing that makes this place a hellscape.
@fesshole Honest question: why not? The tea won't care how the water got hot.

@virbonus

I wondered the same. It can’t affect the taste. Is it a principle thing? I boil a kettle on a stovetop every morning for coffee I make in a French press because that’s how I like to do it, but I’d microwave a cup of water for tea in a pinch.

Also don’t really trust the hot water from the tap. Idk why.

@fesshole

@dtm @virbonus @fesshole

It really _does_ affect the taste.

I suspect it's because boiling water in the microwave takes less time and doesn't induce convection currents so that the water retains more dissolved air than when boiled in a pot or a kettle, but that's just my personal theory.

(Re-heating a cold cup of tea in the microwave is fine.)

@skjeggtroll @dtm @fesshole Sincerely doubt that. Solubility of air in water is a direct function of temperature. Of course one should make sure the water has time to equalize the temp.

@virbonus @dtm @fesshole

Yes, but it takes time for the system to reach equilibrium. A bottle of soda doesn't immediately go flat when you open it, after all, but retains its fizz for some time afterwards.

🤓 Damned internet. Now I need to conduct an experiment on the gustatory quality of #tea in conjunction with thermal preprocessing involving a stove pot, an electric kettle, and a microwave. 🤣

🫖 ⚗️🧑‍🔬 #science #humor

@oliver_schafeld

That, and sticking it under your arm for a really long time.

😄