Don't boil water more than once

[snopes]

Comment: I have a co-worker that refuses to use previously boil water when
making her cup of tea. She claims that boiling water twice or more is bad
for you. She will come in to our office lunchroom to get a cup of tea.
She will dump out the kettle - even if the water was just boiled 5 mins
ago - and refill it with fresh water. Our kettle is cleaned with vinegar
to remove the lime deposits that accumulate in the kettle. Is there any
truth to this or is this another myth?

[tribrats]

I'd hate to think how many times the water in the teapot my folks had was re-boiled. It would be filled and used until almost empty.

During the winter it would be left on the woodstove all the time to help with humidity.

[Aimee Evilpixie]

It's not bad for you, but every time you re-boil the water it loses some of the oxygen content and it won't taste as good when you make a cup of tea. I like to start from a fresh kettle but I'll re-boil the same one once or twice.

[Beachlife!]

Originally Posted by Aimee Evilpixie

It's not bad for you, but every time you re-boil the water it loses some of the oxygen content and it won't taste as good when you make a cup of tea. I like to start from a fresh kettle but I'll re-boil the same one once or twice.

Boiling also concentrates any inpurities in the water. I usually dump out the kettle and use fresh water each time, but like you, I'll reboil once or twice on occaison.

[tribrats]

That could explain why when there was less company coming over (people moved) Mom started dumping and changing out the water. Used to be one kettle only lasted a little while but after relatives and friends moved, meaning less company, a kettle would have lasted all day.

I don't drink coffee or tea so I don't have a kettle. We have an electric pot but that doesn't get used. On the rare occasions I want tea, I nuke it. Well, I will if I can figure out this microwave. I'm one of those old fashioned types that heats stuff up on the stove or in the oven.

[Beachlife!]

Douglas Adams entirely changed the way my entire family makes tea.

[Tweetilynn]

Do you ask your computer to do it?

[jimmy101_again]

Originally Posted by Beachlife!

Boiling also concentrates any inpurities in the water. I usually dump out the kettle and use fresh water each time, but like you, I'll reboil once or twice on occaison.

Only for non-volatile impurities. For volatile impurities, like dissolved air and gasoline ... ( ) boiling reduces the concentration of the impurities.

I would expect that boiling water once removes all the dissolved oxygen (unlike what Evilpixie said).

[Nick Theodorakis]

Originally Posted by Aimee Evilpixie

It's not bad for you, but every time you re-boil the water it loses some of the oxygen content and it won't taste as good when you make a cup of tea. I like to start from a fresh kettle but I'll re-boil the same one once or twice.

Water that has been boiled even once has negligible oxygen content:

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/ai...ter-d_639.html



Nick

[A Turtle Named Mack]

I can't taste the difference, but as a matter of course, I only fill the kettle a little more than what I need for the use at hand. That also keeps from concentrating impurities.

[Aimee Evilpixie]

Originally Posted by Nick Theodorakis

Water that has been boiled even once has negligible oxygen content:

Nick

Then that would definitely cause a less tasty cup of tea.

[zerocool]

Originally Posted by Nick Theodorakis

Water that has been boiled even once has negligible oxygen content:

http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/ai...ter-d_639.html



Nick

However, as soon as the water cools down and sits for a while, oxygen will start dissolving into it again. And, a fresh cup of tea will also have no oxygen in it, since all the oxygen is removed the first time you boil it too.

[Nick Theodorakis]

Originally Posted by Aimee Evilpixie

Then that would definitely cause a less tasty cup of tea.

How do you make tea without boiling water?

Nick

[snapdragonfly]

Originally Posted by Nick Theodorakis

How do you make tea without boiling water?

Nick

Well, there's sun tea, but it is generally served on ice. I'd also like to know how one can have a cup of hot tea without making the water, well - hot.

[Aimee Evilpixie]

Originally Posted by Nick Theodorakis

How do you make tea without boiling water?

Nick

Sorry, I was joking about the subsequent boilings. "Now it's down to NEGATIVE oxygen! How can that even happen?"!

[marrya]

Well, duh, that's why you have to blow on it before you take the first sip...

[Richard W]

Originally Posted by tribrats

I'd hate to think how many times the water in the teapot my folks had was re-boiled.

You boiled water in a teapot?

I generally fill my kettle half to two-thirds up, and keep using the water until it's too low, then fill it again. I guess it takes three boilings / mugs to empty, on average, but usually two of those are close together and the water is still hot when I reboil for the second cup. The only slight problem is limescale because this is a hard water area - sometimes if I misjudge and have to empty the kettle completely, I get bits in the mug. Other than that, this works fine.

[Eddylizard]

Similar things that are said of dubious veracity:

1: To make a decent cup of tea the water needs to be at 100 degrees C. Since water boils at lower temperatures at higher altitudes you cannot make a cup of tea on a high mountain.

2: The teapot should be warmed before making the tea by leaving some hot water in it for a short while.

I've never attempted to make tea on a mountain top, but I never warm the pot and notice no difference.

Then there's the old "milk first then tea" vs "tea first then milk" argument.

[DadOf3]

The hotter the water, the better the tea steeps. That means you want it to be as close to 100C as possible.

The idea behind warming the pot first is that a hot pot keeps the water inside it hotter longer, allowing the tea to steep with the hottest water possible for the longest length of time. Putting the pot on a burner on the stove accomplishes the same thing.

When I order tea in a restaurant, I always ask them to put the bag in the cup / little teapot first, so that at least the not-nearly-hot-enough water has a fighting chance of hitting the teabag at a temperature that will let it steep. I hate it when they pour the water into the cup or pot, let it sit there for a minute, then bring me the rapidly-cooling water with the teabag separate. By the time I get the bag into the water, I just know I'll have a lousy cup of tea.

[pinqy]

Originally Posted by Eddylizard

Similar things that are said of dubious veracity:

1: To make a decent cup of tea the water needs to be at 100 degrees C. Since water boils at lower temperatures at higher altitudes you cannot make a cup of tea on a high mountain.

Well, at high altitude, water does boil at a lower temperature, so you cannot get the water to 100C, so no, tea isn't quite the same at higher altitude, but unless you're a complete snob, it doesn't really make a difference.

2: The teapot should be warmed before making the tea by leaving some hot water in it for a short while.

Well, a cold tea pot will cool the tea quicker than a warm teapot. So making sure the teapot isn't too cool will make a difference.

Then there's the old "milk first then tea" vs "tea first then milk" argument.

This one is sort of true. If the tea is still at or really near 100C then milk, especially (only?) whole milk can curdle when it's added because it is changing temperature too quickly. If you put the milk in first, then slowly adding the tea raises the temperature slower, so the milk won't curdle. Same thing with adding eggs or milk to sauces.

BUT....usually the tea is not hot enough to cause the milk to curdle because sitting in the tea pot, while it brews, cools it down a bit, and then pouring it into the cup cools it down some more, so in the majority of cases, it won't make any difference which you add first.