What does the British think about iced tea?

The British like their tea with milk, sugar, lemon or just plain.According to the Tea and Infusions Organisation, the British consume 60 billion cups of tea a year.It takes more than 900 cups a year for every man, woman and child in Great Britain.

Tea has become ingrained in the British way of life, from the humble tea break to the afternoon tea to be enjoyed in a jacket and tie at the very swankiest of London hotels.

The taste of this beloved beverage, what are the molecules behind it?How do you take your tea?

To answer that, we need to find out what makes tea taste the way it does.Tea is affected by how it is grown, processed, and brew.Tea bushes are grown in terraces all over the tropics and subtropics.If the intent is to make certain kinds of green tea from them, growers will make sure they are shaded with nets or mats.Less sun causes them to produce more chlorophyll as well as fewer polyphenols, a class of molecules that impart tea's singular astringency.

Some of us like that taste, and tea processing can make it better.New leaves and buds are laid out to dry after being plucked from a bush.How long they lie again depends on the tea they are drinking.Green tea leaves are almost immediately tossed in a hot pan or steamed, but it is actually cooked, or at least heat-treated.The leaves are dried and then cooked.Black tea is the most popular tea in the world, accounting for 80% of the tea drunk world-wide.

As the tea leaves are drying, tea plant enzymes are transforming simple molecule into more complex ones.The longer the tea is dried, the harder it is for the enzymes to work.Theaflavin, a tangle of carbon rings, is the most famous in tea-chemistry circles and is responsible for some of the ruddy colour of black teas.

Firing the tea leaves stops the process.There isn't much theaflavin or related molecule in green teas.Hundreds of other compounds build up in the tea over time, their roles in crafting tea's bouquet and taste are not yet clear.Each kind of tea has a different chemical profile.

There is growing interest in knowing if tea has any medical benefits.There is conflicting evidence on whether tea-drinking provides benefits beyond warm hands and an alert mind, despite the fact that it appears that tea can protect cells in a dish from some kinds of damage.

Stimulants, of course.It is still plenty for a mid-afternoon pick-me-up if you drink brewed tea.Coffee and tea have the same amount of caffeine, but tea has a different high.If this is the case, it is because of theanine, which is found in tea.When volunteers consume both caffeine and theanine, they show better ability to switch between tasks than if they only consumed caffeine alone.The effect of theanine is not enormous because the amount in a given cuppa may not be the same as the doses given during a study.The coffee will give you a boost.

That is what makes tea taste good.Why do British people care so much about these melanges of molecules?What do you think about tea type and how you drink it?

Kate Fox writes in her book that there are several clear messages sent when a Brit makes a cup of tea.The strongest brew of black tea is usually drunk by the working class.As one goes up the social ladder, the brew gets weaker.

Milk and sweetener have their own codes.She writes that if you take more than one spoon of sugar in your tea, you are definitely working class.Rules include when and how milk is added.Making a point of drinking Lapsang Souchong with no sugar or milk can be a sign of class anxiety in the middle class, according to Fox.

There are a lot of historical reasons for why tea came to Britain.One could come up with a number of reasons why the current state of affairs was inevitable, such as boiling water to make tea being less likely to give you a stomach bug.

Something that seems to apply here was pointed out to me by a food scientist.He believes that food choices are driven by one's environment.You can develop a taste for almost anything if you like what you don't have an innate quality to it.The culture of a food or drink may affect its importance in your life.

Some believe that taking sugar in your tea could affect your social standing.