Have you ever wondered if peanut butter is a liquid? Before reading “Liquid – The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives” by Mark Miodownik, I assumed that it was more of a solid, a paste really but no, as Mark writes, it “flows and assumes the shape of its container – that is what liquids do”.
You’ll learn so much from reading this book: how planes are glued together, what causes a tsunami, why your spit varies in consistency throughout the day (no, really!), how oil lamps work, why waves flow in and out a beach, how biros work; and why tea brewed on an air plane tastes foul; just to name a few.
If the idea of reading a science book makes your eyes glaze over, please give this book a try because it’s such a fun read. Mark Miodownik has a warm, witty, writing style and he’s just an excellent science communicator.
Mark also addresses one of the most contentious questions in the world – do you add milk first or last to make the perfect cup of tea? I wonder if the age old “do you add jam or cream first on a scone?” is as contentious as this one!
I was asked to conduct an experiment of my own, with a lovely test tube of tea from Rosie Lea Tea, to answer that question. I have to lay my cards on the table here – I’m milk last all the way and both Mark and George Orwell(!) agree with me on this, so I’m in good company. But in the interests of science, I gave the experiment a try.
I used my For Life teapot – this has the best tea filter I’ve ever used with no danger of errant tea leaves getting into the pot. First I warmed the pot, then I put one and a half tea spoons of tea into the filter and poured on boiling water. I left it to infuse for five minutes as Mark suggests in his book.
Firstly I tried with with milk last – OMG! A gorgeous cuppa! So, so good! I then brewed another pot and this time poured in milk first into the cup and then added tea. Bleaugh! There’s no way to control how much milk you’re adding and mine had more than I would normally have. It was weird, I could taste that there was indeed a difference and I didn’t like it! So I conclude that Adding Milk Last = The Perfect Cup of Tea. Your mileage may vary of course, so why not try the experiment yourself?
Liquid – The Delightful and Dangerous Substances That Flow Through Our Lives by Mark Miodownik is out now.
Penguin Books supplied me with a copy of the book and a sample of Rosie Lea Tea’s Breakfast Tea in return for an honest review.