Brits get salty over US chemist’s tip for a perfect cuppa tea. Now it’s a microwave vs kettle battle

At the chemist's recommendation was being hotly debated on social media, the US embassy weighed in with its own suggestion, which was countered by the UK Cabinet Office.

Representational image | Commons

New Delhi: How do you make the perfect cuppa? That’s the question being hotly debated after an American chemist, Michelle Francl, suggested adding a pinch of salt to one’s tea to make it less bitter. 

Francl, a professor of chemistry at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, made this suggestion in her book called ‘Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea’, released Wednesday. The recommendation, however, has landed her in hot water with British tea lovers, who saw it as an abomination.

The last person I would ask about making tea would be an American…any American

— Martin (@manwith4kids) January 24, 2024

Not since the Boston Tea Party has mixing tea with salt water roiled the Anglo-American relationship so much.
The salt suggestion drew howls of outrage from tea-lovers in Britain, where Americans are seen as coffee-swilling boors who make tea, if at all, in the microwave. /4

— Alan Baxter ♛ (@AlanBixter) January 25, 2024

Soon after it became a hot topic, the US embassy in London released a statement in a humorous tone to distance themselves from Francl’s proposal.

“Tea is the elixir of camaraderie, a sacred bond that unites our nations. We cannot stand idly by as such an outrageous proposal threatens the very foundation of our Special Relationship,” the US embassy said on X. “Therefore, we want to ensure the good people of the UK that the unthinkable notion of adding salt to Britain’s national drink is not official United States policy. And never will be.”

An important statement on the latest tea controversy. 🇺🇸🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/HZFfSCl9sD

— U.S. Embassy London (@USAinUK) January 24, 2024

Instead, the embassy proposed its own method of making tea — “by microwaving it” instead of brewing it, as is the traditional English way. This time, however, it was the UK Cabinet Office that responded. “We appreciate our Special Relationship, however, we must disagree wholeheartedly…Tea can only be made using a kettle,” the Cabinet Office said on X. 

(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)