US Scientist’s Advice Shocks British Tea Drinkers
US Scientist’s Advice Shocks British Tea Drinkers
今回は紅茶文化の国イギリスで話題になった記事です。アメリカの科学者が紅茶に関する意外な提案をしたことで、紅茶ファンの間に驚きと怒りが広がりました。SNSでも意見が飛び交い、多くの人が自国の紅茶文化への思いを語っています。文中の「outrage」は「激しい怒り」という意味ですが、単なる怒りではなく、“信じられない”とか “受け入れがたい”と感じたときの強い反発を表す言葉です。cause outrage（怒りを引き起こす）、express outrage（怒りを表す）などのように使われます。 あなたは、自分の国の食文化に新しい提案があったら、どのように受け止めますか？
1.Article
Directions: Read the following article aloud.
An American scientist has started a tempest in a teapot by offering Britain advice on its favorite drink: tea.
Tempest in a teapot is an expression to describe a strong, noisy, and angry reaction over something small or unimportant.
Michelle Francl is a chemistry professor at Bryn Mawr College, outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She said tea drinkers should add a little salt to make a perfect cup of tea.
That advice is included in her book Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea. The book was published Wednesday by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Mixing tea with salt water has never gone well for British-American relations. In 1773, American colonists in Boston, Massachusetts, were angry at Britain for adding more taxes to raise money. So they dumped British tea into the sea. The event became known as the Boston Tea Party. It led to the start of the American Revolution.
Francl’s suggestion caused outrage among tea lovers in Britain. They see Americans as coffee drinkers who know nothing about tea. And they think if Americans drink tea at all, they just heat water in a microwave.
“Don’t even say the word ′salt′ to us...” said the etiquette guide Debrett’s on the social media service X, formerly known as Twitter.
Even the U.S. Embassy in London joined the tempest in a teapot. In a social media post, it promised “the good people of the U.K. [United Kingdom] that the unthinkable notion of adding salt to Britain’s national drink is not official United States policy.”
“Let us unite in our steeped solidarity and show the world that when it comes to tea, we stand as one,” the embassy said in the post. “The U.S. Embassy will continue to make tea in the proper way - by microwaving it," it added.
The embassy later said that the post was “a lighthearted play on our shared cultural connections” rather than an official press release.
Francl's book Steeped, however, is no joke. The advice, its publisher said, comes from three years of research and experimentation with more than 100 chemical compounds. The book, the publisher added, “puts the chemistry to use with advice on how to brew a better cup.”
Francl said adding a small amount of salt — not enough to taste — makes tea seem less bitter. This is because “the sodium ions in salt block the bitter receptors in our mouths," she explained.
She also suggests making tea in a warmed pot, shaking the tea bag around, and serving tea in a short and wide cup to keep the heat. And she says milk should be added to the cup after the tea and not before – another issue that often divides tea lovers.
Francl has been surprised by the reaction to her book in Britain.
“I kind of understood that there would hopefully be a lot of interest,” she told The Associated Press. “I didn’t know we’d wade into a diplomatic conversation with the U.S. Embassy.”
Tempest in a teapot is an expression to describe a strong, noisy, and angry reaction over something small or unimportant.
Michelle Francl is a chemistry professor at Bryn Mawr College, outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She said tea drinkers should add a little salt to make a perfect cup of tea.
That advice is included in her book Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea. The book was published Wednesday by the Royal Society of Chemistry.
Mixing tea with salt water has never gone well for British-American relations. In 1773, American colonists in Boston, Massachusetts, were angry at Britain for adding more taxes to raise money. So they dumped British tea into the sea. The event became known as the Boston Tea Party. It led to the start of the American Revolution.
Francl’s suggestion caused outrage among tea lovers in Britain. They see Americans as coffee drinkers who know nothing about tea. And they think if Americans drink tea at all, they just heat water in a microwave.
“Don’t even say the word ′salt′ to us...” said the etiquette guide Debrett’s on the social media service X, formerly known as Twitter.
Even the U.S. Embassy in London joined the tempest in a teapot. In a social media post, it promised “the good people of the U.K. [United Kingdom] that the unthinkable notion of adding salt to Britain’s national drink is not official United States policy.”
“Let us unite in our steeped solidarity and show the world that when it comes to tea, we stand as one,” the embassy said in the post. “The U.S. Embassy will continue to make tea in the proper way - by microwaving it," it added.
The embassy later said that the post was “a lighthearted play on our shared cultural connections” rather than an official press release.
Francl's book Steeped, however, is no joke. The advice, its publisher said, comes from three years of research and experimentation with more than 100 chemical compounds. The book, the publisher added, “puts the chemistry to use with advice on how to brew a better cup.”
Francl said adding a small amount of salt — not enough to taste — makes tea seem less bitter. This is because “the sodium ions in salt block the bitter receptors in our mouths," she explained.
She also suggests making tea in a warmed pot, shaking the tea bag around, and serving tea in a short and wide cup to keep the heat. And she says milk should be added to the cup after the tea and not before – another issue that often divides tea lovers.
Francl has been surprised by the reaction to her book in Britain.
“I kind of understood that there would hopefully be a lot of interest,” she told The Associated Press. “I didn’t know we’d wade into a diplomatic conversation with the U.S. Embassy.”
Jill Lawless reported this story for The Associated Press. Hai Do adapted the story for Learning English.
Source：US Scientist’s Advice Shocks British Tea Drinkers
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