In a recent study commissioned for British Science Week, researchers have found that most British tea drinkers do not steep their tea long enough to develop the best flavour.

Even though the British are perhaps the best-known tea drinkers, a study notes that most do not know how to make a proper cup.

New research commissioned for British Science Week has found that, among 1,000 survey participants, 80 percent don’t allow the tea to steep as long as the two to five minutes recommended by experts. 

Only 16 percent of people follow these guidelines while 37 percent wait between one and two minutes.

Experts believe a longer brewing time is needed to release the 30,000 different chemicals in tea leaves which contribute to a more sophisticated and complex drink. 

The survey also found that the vast majority – 91 percent – preferred to drink English Breakfast tea from a ceramic mug with no added sugar. 

Nearly half, or 47 percent, allowed the beverage to cool for five minutes before drinking which is considered to be proper technique. 

As for adding milk before or after the hot water, 69 percent preferred it after to allow the tea to steep first. 

It has been estimated that the British drink 165 million cups of tea per day.

Drinking two cups of hot chocolate a day may help older people keep their brains healthy and their thinking skills sharp, according to a new study.

US researchers studied 60 people with an average age of 73 who did not have dementia. The participants drank two cups of hot cocoa per day for 30 days and did not consume any other chocolate during the study. They were given tests of memory and thinking skills. They also had ultrasounds tests to measure the amount of blood flow to the brain during the tests

Of the 60 participants, 18 had impaired blood flow at the start of the study. Those people had an 8.3 per cent improvement in the blood flow to the working areas of the brain by the end of the study, while there was no improvement for those who started out with regular blood flow.

The people with impaired blood flow also improved their times on a test of working memory, with scores dropping from 167 seconds at the beginning of the study to 116 seconds at the end. There was no change in times for people with regular blood flow.

A total of 24 of the participants also had MRI scans of the brain to look for tiny areas of brain damage. The scans found that people with impaired blood flow were also more likely to have these areas of brain damage.

source: IndianExpress/GraphicNews

thinking skill– gondolkodási képesség
sharp – éles (elme)
according to – valami szerint
researcher – kutató
average age – áltag életkor
dementia – elmezavarodottság, demencia
participant – résztvevő
to consume – fogyasztani
study – tanulmány
ultrasound – ultrahang
to measure – mérni
amount – mennyiség
blood flow – véráramlás
improvement – haladás, fejlődés
score – pont, pontszám
tiny – pici
brain damage – agykárosodás
scan – ultrahangfelvétel