Neither doctors nor nutritionists advise getting carried away with salt, but a chemistry professor at Bryn Mawr College (Pennsylvania) advises adding salt to tea.
Michel Frankl, in his book Steeped: The Chemistry of Tea, asks to treat its development as advice rather than a recommendation and shares personal observations.
A bit of history
Before adding salt to tea was first suggested, the expert studied a wide variety of sources that preserved details of tea ceremonies.
In particular, he refers to Chinese manuscripts from the 8th century.
They said that salt is an essential ingredient when brewing tea.
The Mongols adopted this habit from the Chinese, then the Kyrgyz, and then the Kalmyks.
Kalmyk tea has been popular in Russia since the 17th century. It was brewed with salt and milk.
Why add salt to tea
The professor came to the conclusion that salt is responsible not for taste, but for chemical processes.
It blocks the taste buds that are responsible for the bitter taste of tea (especially strong tea).
The professor also advises adding a few drops of lemon juice to prevent a film from forming on the surface of the tea.
It is better to pour tea into mugs with thick walls so that it retains its temperature longer.
If you plan to add milk, you need to warm it up.
What you should never do under any circumstances is heat water for making tea in the microwave.
