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Energy Efficient Tea

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Genetically modify strains of tea so that they release their flavours at lower temperatures. Then, change the standard thermostat on kettles to something less hot.

The first benefit would be that we would use far less electricity brewing up. The second benefit would be that we wouldn't have to wait as long for our cuppa to cool down.

Fishrat, Sep 03 2010

Sun Tea http://www.wikihow.com/Make-Sun-Tea
Solar beverage prep. [csea, Sep 03 2010]

VacuuKettle VacuuKettle
Boils fine with less heat! [bungston, Sep 08 2010]

LIPTON Cold Brew tea http://www.liptont..../blk_cold_brew.aspx
Fresh brewed. Iced Tea in minutes! Brews in cold water 100% Real Tea! [baconbrain, Sep 10 2010]

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       alternatively we could magically GM to release its flavour only in close-to-freezing water: iced-tea on the vine.
FlyingToaster, Sep 03 2010
  

       //Genetically modify strains of tea so that they release their flavours at lower temperatures.//   

       The first 8 words of this sentence are grounds for deletion.   

       "Genetically modify X so that it does Y" isn't really an idea.
MaxwellBuchanan, Sep 03 2010
  

       …as in "Genetically modify turnips so that they solve the Middle East problem".
hippo, Sep 03 2010
  

       I find that sticking some tea leaves or bags into a jar of water and shoving all that into the refrigerator makes for a nice cold drink whenever I want it.   

       It isn't a strong, steaming cuppa, but it isn't acidic, it is easy and it helps with hydration to have it weak. It's also quick to put together, if not quick to have ready, and it is convenient. And I like the taste.   

       So baked, and GM. [-]
baconbrain, Sep 03 2010
  

       //Genetically modify turnips so that they solve the Middle East problem//   

       Actually, that's probably worth a shot.
MaxwellBuchanan, Sep 03 2010
  

       And the only possible hope.
baconbrain, Sep 03 2010
  

       If it did work, it'd be a real turnip for the books.
nineteenthly, Sep 03 2010
  

       Tibetians drink a lot of tea, don't they? And the boiling point of water is lower up there isn't it?
mouseposture, Sep 03 2010
  

       Yeah, like, from Tibetia.
MaxwellBuchanan, Sep 04 2010
  

       I'd say that if they are in Tibetia, the point where they are boiling their water is probably quite high.   

       That is where they butter their yaks, innit?
baconbrain, Sep 04 2010
  

       //tea releases its flavour at a lower temperature// since "flavour" is an assemblage of various chemical molecules, exactly how are you planning on getting them to give it up at a lower temperature ? GM, even if not verboten, won't work.
FlyingToaster, Sep 04 2010
  

       Totally not my field, but I expect that tea flavor molecules respond to energy (Joules=watt-seconds), rather than static temperature (watts,) over some range, so a longer exposure to lower temp may work similarly, if not identically.
csea, Sep 04 2010
  

       Ok ok, it's GM. I haven't been here for a while and I forgot! You'd think I'd drawn a mustache on your grandmother, the way you jump up and down!   

       So, GM, yes ok. MFD.   

       bigsleep is closest to the idea; especially the bit about cooler tea losing its primary function of purification. In many countries (including where I live) it is not necessary to boil and purify our drinks, so there is no need to heat the water to the highest temperatures.   

       So rather than 'magically create something through GM to resemble something baconbrain spuriously claims to have previously done in his/her fridge' the point is 'make the world a more energy efficient place by helping people to notice that they are doing something unnecessary simply because one part of the world has modernised (civilized water treatment) where another part hasn't (boiling water because that's what our grandparents did).   

       All of that said, you can shout "modify x so that it does y isn't really an idea" as loudly as you like; I shall sleep soundly in the knowledge that this idea in some small way was a catalyst for solving the Middle East conflict with turnips.
Fishrat, Sep 04 2010
  

       Fishrat, GM away...If it were not for GM, there would be a whole lot less of the bakery to play in...you know.
blissmiss, Sep 04 2010
  

       I think that arguably once you bring homeopathy into things, you're invoking free will; the water would have to want to cool down. Wouldn't it?
Fishrat, Sep 04 2010
  

       Do you know Ian, Count Arthur Strong himself couldn't have put those words into better words himself.
Fishrat, Sep 04 2010
  

       [marked for later reading]
po, Sep 04 2010
  

       What you need, is to drink coffee. Following a suggestion made on here a few years back, i took to leaving fresh coffee grounds steeping, covered, in cold water overnight, then straining them, heating them to considerably below boiling point - and there's the rub - and proceeding to drink the absolutely fantastic coffee which resulted. It saves energy because it doesn't get up to boiling point.
nineteenthly, Sep 04 2010
  

       hmmmmm, i know we're supposed to automatically dislike GM ideas for the same reason we should dislike ideas based on magic but i dont really think this one falls so tightly into those rules. Surely the main reason we go against the //Genetically modify X so that it does Y// concept is to prevent people saying absolutely anything such as //Genetically modify turnips so that they solve the Middle East problem// or "genetically modify celery so that it becomes a super-fuel capable of producing more power than a nuclear reactor" but in this case the idea seems quite sound, as it could be possible, a variety of teas leaf with a higher surface area for example may help brewing times and possibly require a lower temperature? however im staying neutral as i believe there are better ways to make energy efficient hot beverages
ComatoseSheep, Sep 04 2010
  

       Yeah, what Coma said.
blissmiss, Sep 04 2010
  

       Cultivated parsley leaves have a higher surface area than wild because they're twiddly. This means they are more susceptible to frost, but may also mean they infuse faster in parsley tea. Therefore there is a conceivable breeding- oriented genetic modification which seems to mean infusion would occur faster at least at the same temperature, but i think the temperature would make no difference. Not knowing enough about tea, i don't know what else to say.
nineteenthly, Sep 04 2010
  

       At the very least this is a good marketing idea, even if only using existing types of tea that have been "scientifically proven" to make a good cuppa at relatively low temperatures.
xaviergisz, Sep 04 2010
  

       Upon reading [Fishra]'s anno, I am taking off my fishbone. He/she/it's use of "GM" in this case could easily hve been replaced with "selectively breed" and the idea would stiil stand--we humans have been selectively modifying tea for a long time now, and the original stuff probably wouldn't do so well in a jar of cold water in my fridge.   

       The goal, to reduce energy usage (which my fridge-brewing probably doesn't do), is a worthy one. We no longer need to purify water, which tea does both by requiring boiling and by bringing in some tannins.   

       And the last line, making it faster to get a drinkable cuppa, deserves a croissant.   

       How do I write a [do not delete]? [+]
baconbrain, Sep 04 2010
  

       //"selectively breed"//is there evidence that tea can be selectively bred to release flavour at a lower temperature ? Is it somehow reasonable-to-assume ? or is it just "GM can do anything".   

       I rather pride myself on my laziness: "iced tea" for me means dropping a bag or leaves into a glass of water, adding ice and waiting awhile. In doing so I've noticed that   

       - the caffeine comes out of the tea leaves right away, long before the flavour starts seeping out
- black tea will just get stronger the longer you leave the bag/leaves in, whereas green tea there's a window you have to respect for taking the leaves out: too soon and it's weak, too long and it's bitter.
  

       for anybody's future endeavours into teaology.
FlyingToaster, Sep 04 2010
  

       Though i hail from Boreonesia, i fail to partake of tea and can therefore not answer this question: how do you know iced tea is the same drink as English- style tea? We do this whole thing where we swill hot water round the pot, take it to the kettle, add one spoonful to the pot and so on because, well partly because we live on a continental island off Eurasia and that's what island nations off the coast of Eurasia are supposed to do, but also because people here insist on having tea with the requisite processes which can only occur close to the boiling point of water. So nice iced tea may have no connection to "nice" tea of the English variety.
nineteenthly, Sep 04 2010
  

       Proper iced tea is made from tea steeped in boiling water.
FlyingToaster, Sep 04 2010
  

       So in other words it's a cold version of hot tea.
nineteenthly, Sep 04 2010
  

       Think of it as tea to enjoy while in the sauna; the proper background is local bikinis and beating hot sun and putting the rest of the world on hold for a few minutes.   

       There is however no excuse for iced coffee.
FlyingToaster, Sep 04 2010
  

       It can start off cold and get hotter.
nineteenthly, Sep 04 2010
  

       Is there an m-f-d category for 'mucking about with tea', at all? If so, I'd like to invoke it please. In the meantime, I suppose I'll have to settle for dunking a fishbone in Fishrat's cup of whatever muck he is drinking!
DrBob, Sep 10 2010
  

       I just found some Lipton Cold Brew Tea in my cupboard. See link.
baconbrain, Sep 10 2010
  


 

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