The poorengineer returns, with a cup of tea!

While the poormedic sorts itself out regarding whether it wants to resume blogging, I have uncovered the following gem!

BS6008: Method For Preparation Of A Liquor OF Tea

For the uninitiated, BS stands for British Standards Institute, who along with DIN, JISC, ISO et al govern the lives of engineers (among many others) with their standards publications to make sure that a screw thread rolled in China will will fit into a nut manufactured in the United States.

Someone must have had ample time on their backsides to bother penning 5000 words over 6 pages to ensure professional tea testers had an unfailing reference in their esteemed professions.

Such dedication. Superbly impressive. I'm sure this was what the chaps at the Ig Noble Awards selection panel thought too, because BS6008 beat a few other wordy entries to claim Ig Noble's literary award for long windedness.

I shall leave you readers with an abridged version to make the perfect cuppa.

1. Use 2g of tea (+/-2%) for every 100ml of water
2. Tea flavour and appearance will be affected by hardness of water used
3. Fill the pot to within 4-6mm of the brim with freshly boiled water
4. After the lid has been placed on top, leave the pot to brew for precisely six minutes
5. Add milk at a ratio of 1.75ml to every 100ml of tea
6. Lift the pot with the lid in place, then "pour tea through the infused leaves into the cup"
7. Pour in tea on top of the milk to prevent scalding of the milk. If you pour your milk in last, the best results are with a liquor temperature between 65 - 80 degrees Celcius

This is, of course assuming that you are using a pot made of "white porcelain or glazed earthenware, with its edge partly serrated and provided with a lid, the skirt of which fits loosely inside".

Enjoy.