And the rationale behind bringing the water up to the desired temp
without letting it boil (assuming the water is from a safe source) is
that this retains more of the dissolved oxygen. Of course, it requires
a bit of attention to stop the heating at the right time. Some people
feel it is easier to allow the water to boil, especially if one has a
kettle which automagically cuts off once the water boils, and then
keep an eye on it as it cools.

Alan

On May 22, 3:53 am, Michael Plant > wrote:
> On 05/22/2007 06:01:42 Bernd Pollermann > wrote:
>
> there was recently a discussion about the two methods of making tea with
>
> > let's say 80 centigrade water.
> > 1) let the water boil and then let it cool down
> > 2) heat the water up to 80 centigrade only
> > Unfortunately I was cut off the news group for a while, and now the
> > discussion has disappeared.
> > Could anybody give me the result of this discussion? Or wasn't there any
> > definite conclusion?
> > Thanks in advance,
> > Bernd
>
> Bernd, there is *never* a definitive conclusion for these issues. Some go one way, some go the other. That was the gist of the end of the discussion. Rationale behind the boil and let the water cool down solution is thought to derive from areas and times where and when water was bad and needed to be boiled. Some people said that in China "fish eye" water is considered bad water and full roiling water is considered good -- whatever that means. Personally, I often boil the water and let it cool, although our water here in New York City is just fine and quite healthy -- whatever that means. This is all from memory, so it might be less than perfect, as am I.
> Michael