Suppose you´re in a hurry and the morning tea is very hot. You have exactly 2 minutes and then you have to go to work. You can help tea to cool by adding 100 ml of cold milk. The question is what is the best way to add the milk to have the lowest final temperature of tea after two minutes. Is it better to add it in the beginning or at the end of two minutes? Or is there any better way?
What is the best way of cooling tea?
Is this a trick/loaded question? The time it took you to consider this problem would likely have been more than the two minutes that you'd like to shave off in your morning routine... Having said that my answer will be constrained to household items helping you; I can easily say supercool your tea with milk that has been frozen via liquid nitrogen. Of course... that is my idea (in a less extreme measure). Aliquot out, in varying amounts, milk into an ice cube tray. The key here is varying amounts. Then, every day, make your tea and place the iced milk cube in your hot tea at a time that is most convenient and efficent for you. Be consistent with this routine from this point on. After two (or less) minutes of cooling, have your tea. Two factors to consider: is it cold enough? and does having a solid piece of milk bother you (because it is there and/or because it continues to cool your tea beyond your satisfaction)? The first question is easy to answer. The second question will be answered by using a different amount of iced milk cube the next morning... until you figure out what is best for you.
Of course... if you didn't superheat your tea in the first place....
Of course... if you didn't superheat your tea in the first place....
freezing milk denatures the proteins... Every find that if you freeze a carton of milk solid you might want to dump it.....
I'd say use a flask so you can take the tea with you....
getting to the cooling idea generally i'd say cyrogenically frozen milk under liquid nitrogen too, don't forget cyrogenic fluids to protect the proteins/lactobacteria.
getting to the cooling idea realistically I'd say transfer to bigger mug, add extra cold water and then milk/sugar as desired. Works for me all the time. Remember, bigger mug means more cold water without disturbing the taste, just balance milk and cold water.
I'd say use a flask so you can take the tea with you....
getting to the cooling idea generally i'd say cyrogenically frozen milk under liquid nitrogen too, don't forget cyrogenic fluids to protect the proteins/lactobacteria.
getting to the cooling idea realistically I'd say transfer to bigger mug, add extra cold water and then milk/sugar as desired. Works for me all the time. Remember, bigger mug means more cold water without disturbing the taste, just balance milk and cold water.
Hey...with "another way of cooling it" I didn´t mean using liquid nitrogen, but some other algorithm of adding it for example add 20 ml of milk after 10 sec and the rest at the end. Btw try to stock liquid nitrogen. It is not an easy task.
Having gone on camping trips with ice coolers, we froze milk all the time and used it as ice, and then just drank and used the melted milk. We used skim milk, but I know that skim milk is just different in content of fat, not protein, right? Our once frozen/thawed out milk was absolutely fine.
Now, back to the OP...
Are you a math teacher?!?!
Now, back to the OP...
Are you a math teacher?!?!
Dump an ice cube into it or cold tap water... Learn to balance the liquids to make the drinking temp tea I guess.
| girlinjapan wrote: |
| Having gone on camping trips with ice coolers, we froze milk all the time and used it as ice, and then just drank and used the melted milk. We used skim milk, but I know that skim milk is just different in content of fat, not protein, right? Our once frozen/thawed out milk was absolutely fine.
Now, back to the OP... Are you a math teacher?!?! |
No, I'm not a math teacher. I'm a crazy physics student
. The problem is a very complex one, but all you need is basic physics and a lot of physical intuition. Concentrate on temperature gradient and you get a good idea to start. But the answer is not : "The temperature gradient is bigger at the beginning so the heat flow is bigger, too...I add milk at the and of two minutes" It's little bit more complicated!Infact I have a similar problem.
Putting the tea in a conductive mug will assist in heat dissapation. Putting the tea in standard ceramic/china mugs will insulate it, put it in a thick metal mug, this will act as a heat sink. Then put this on something conductive like a metal plate.
Also using a mug that has an exceptionally large surface area will decrease the cooling time. Drinking tea from a Spode cup is possible after just one minute due to the thinness of the porceleine and the large surface area. Ofcourse decreasing the temperature of the milk further will also aid your cause, not necessarily by freezing it, but just lowering the temp of your fridge a notch or two.
I think my suggestions are sound if you don't want to get into using super-cooled milk just to drink tea quickly. Oh also it is possible to switch the kettle off a little early, before the automatic cut-out, this will ensure the tea is not quite at boiling point, still allowing it to be easily brewed, but shaving a few degrees off the starting temp.
Putting the tea in a conductive mug will assist in heat dissapation. Putting the tea in standard ceramic/china mugs will insulate it, put it in a thick metal mug, this will act as a heat sink. Then put this on something conductive like a metal plate.
Also using a mug that has an exceptionally large surface area will decrease the cooling time. Drinking tea from a Spode cup is possible after just one minute due to the thinness of the porceleine and the large surface area. Ofcourse decreasing the temperature of the milk further will also aid your cause, not necessarily by freezing it, but just lowering the temp of your fridge a notch or two.
I think my suggestions are sound if you don't want to get into using super-cooled milk just to drink tea quickly. Oh also it is possible to switch the kettle off a little early, before the automatic cut-out, this will ensure the tea is not quite at boiling point, still allowing it to be easily brewed, but shaving a few degrees off the starting temp.
Yes, the heat flow from hot tea is dependent on many variables, such as the area of mug, the material and temperature gradient. The heat flow can be written as:
j(heat flow) = - K(thermal conductivity)*(gradient of temperature)
But for the given material and shape of mug, given initial temperature gradient and given amout of tea and given! temperature and volume of milk, there exists only one ideal solution to the problem.(You cannot use your breath to cool the tea, too)
j(heat flow) = - K(thermal conductivity)*(gradient of temperature)
But for the given material and shape of mug, given initial temperature gradient and given amout of tea and given! temperature and volume of milk, there exists only one ideal solution to the problem.(You cannot use your breath to cool the tea, too)
| Lennon wrote: |
| freezing milk denatures the proteins... Every find that if you freeze a carton of milk solid you might want to dump it.....
|
In principle, I somewhat agree; freezing any protein solution will denature proteins. But certainly not all. In practice, if you have ever had a child whose mother breastfed him/her, then one of the tried and true practices (AAP approved) for storage is freezing expressed milk. Upon thawing, the milk will separate. Simply shake (or in this example with the tea, stir) and voila. This is, of course, in support of a similar posts' anecdote about frozen milk.
But really, this is too academic a problem. Certainly, if you just figured out exactly the perfect amount of time to microwave the water you use to infuse your tea with, then no cooling is required, no extra mug needed and no time (or energy) wasted.
Pour your tea into one of those mugs that are put int the freezer with the gell inside. Pur it in from as high as you can do neatly, Swirl the tea in the mug, stirring also. It'a all about surface area and dissipation of heat, absorbtion of cool.
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