(4203) What steeps tea faster a kettle or a microwave?
Mary Beth Duncan
Bethany Hills


Abstract


For Science Fair I tested steeping tea using a microwave and a kettle to boil water. I thought the water in the kettle would steep the tea to a darker colour than water in the microwave. In my research, I found that for a mild cup of tea it s it is recommended you let the tea steep between 30 seconds and 3 minutes, and for a strong cup of tea you should let it steep for 5-30 minutes. To sweeten tea you shouldn t use sugar because sugar pulls minerals out of the water, instead you should use honey, maple syrup, black strap molasses, barley malt, or sweetener.

To do my experiment I measured 500ml of water in to a measuring cup, and then recorded the temperature, water should be 10°C, after that I put the water in kettle and let boil for 3 minutes then poured the water into a mug,, placed the tea bag in the cup, and let it steep for 5 minutes. Using a strip of white paper labeled kettle . The paper sat in the tea for 1 minute before taking it out and letting it dry. In the microwave,500ml of water was put in a mug and turned on for 7 minutes. When finished, I placed the tea bag in the mug, let it steep for 5 minutes, placed a labelled strip of paper in the mug for 1 minute, and then dried it.

Everyday tea drinkers can use the information from this experiment to choose how to prepare their tea. Using a kettle is faster than using a microwave, and steeps the tea darker. Everyday tea drinkers can use the information from this experiment to choose how to prepare their tea. Using a kettle is faster than using a microwave, and steeps the tea darker.

When I was doing my experiment I saw that when I put the tea bag in the water from the microwave that it stated to bubble more. When I was beginning to test the water to see how long it took to boil (100°C) in the microwave, I found that it took a long time, and that the water cooled down very fast but the kettle water stayed the same temperature for longer. The results of my experiment are that the kettle steeped the tea to the darkest in the allotted time.