Scientist says you should add salt to your tea, Yes, Salt!
Professor Frankel points out that a tiny amount of table salt cuts the bitter edge in tea. Salt shuts off the tongue's bitter sensors - the drink feels smoother - yet it stays free of any salty flavor. She asks tea drinkers in Britain to set aside habit and test the trick she worked out at home.
After reading Frankel's work, the cooks at Serious Eats set up a blind test - two cups of the same tea, one with a pinch of salt, one without. Every taster picked the salted cup. One said it reminded him of mild licorice with a faint salt note - another called it rounder and deeper, with no clear salt taste. In each round, the salted tea won.
The team laughed that a British naval judge might be needed to end the argument - yet they agreed the flavor boost was real. They sent thanks to Professor Frankel for a fix so plain that even people who dislike tea might change their minds.
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In her book from the UK's Royal Society of Chemistry, Frankel lists more lab tested advice. Drop lemon juice in the cup to break the foam that forms when water and tea react - take the lid off a takeaway cup so the nose picks up more scent - dunk and press the bag to pull out fewer bitter tannins. For the strongest caffeine hit, wet the bag for thirty seconds, throw that liquid away - steep the same bag in fresh boiling water for five minutes.
Frankel stresses that playing with tea is fair game and it may lead to the best cup you ever brew.
