ISO 3103 is a standard published by the International Organization for Standardization (commonly referred to as ISO), specifying a standardized method for brewing tea, possibly sampled by the standardized methods described in ISO 1839. [1] It was originally laid down in 1980 as BS 6008:1980 by the British Standards Institution, [2] and a revision was published in December, 2019 as ISO/NP 3103. [3] It was produced by ISO Technical Committee 34 (Food products), Sub-Committee 8 (Tea).
The abstract states the following:
The method consists in extracting of soluble substances in dried tea leaf, contained in a porcelain or earthenware pot, by means of freshly boiling water, pouring of the liquor into a white porcelain or earthenware bowl, examination of the organoleptic properties of the infused leaf, and of the liquor with or without milk, or both.
This standard is not meant to define the proper method for brewing tea intended for general consumption, but rather to document a tea brewing procedure where meaningful sensory comparisons can be made. An example of such a test would be a taste-test to establish which blend of teas to choose for a particular brand or basic label in order to maintain a consistent tasting brewed drink from harvest to harvest.
The work was the winner of the parodic Ig Nobel Prize for Literature in 1999. [4] [5]
To maintain consistent results, the following are recommendations given by the standard:
An annex of the standard describes two alternative pots (310 ml and 150 ml) and corresponding bowls (380 ml and 200 ml) “which are in widespread use” for tea tasting, including engineering drawings of their cross sections. The type of pot described is also known as a taster's mug.
The protocol has been criticized for omitting any mention of prewarming the pot. [7] Ireland was the only country to object, and objected on technical grounds. [8]
Tom Scott noted that people commonly interpret the standard as a prescriptive way of making the standard tea. He stated that the standard is intended to let people create a reproducible 'okay' tea. [6]
In 2003, the Royal Society of Chemistry published a press release entitled "How to make a Perfect Cup of Tea". [9]
A teapot is a vessel used for steeping tea leaves or a herbal mix in boiling or near-boiling water, and for serving the resulting infusion which is called tea. It is one of the core components of teaware.
Chinese tea culture includes all facets of tea found in Chinese culture throughout history. Physically, it consists of tea cultivation, brewing, serving, consumption, arts, and ceremonial aspects. Tea culture is an integral part of traditional Chinese material culture and spiritual culture. Tea culture emerged in the Tang dynasty, and flourished in the succeeding eras as a major cultural practice and as a major export good.
Drip coffee is made by pouring hot water onto ground coffee beans, allowing it to brew while seeping through. There are several methods for doing this, including using a filter. Terms used for the resulting coffee often reflect the method used, such as drip-brewed coffee, or, somewhat inaccurately, filtered coffee in general. Manually brewed drip coffee is typically referred to as pour-over coffee. Water seeps through the ground coffee, absorbing its constituent chemical compounds, and then passes through a filter. The used coffee grounds are retained in the filter, while the brewed coffee is collected in a vessel such as a carafe or pot.
"A Nice Cup of Tea" is an essay by English author George Orwell, first published in the London Evening Standard on 12 January 1946. It is a discussion of the craft of making a cup of tea, including the line: "Here are my own eleven rules, every one of which I regard as golden."
The Korean tea ceremony is a traditional form of tea ceremony practiced in Korea. Darye literally refers to "etiquette for tea" or "tea rite" and has been kept among Korean people for over a thousand years. The chief element of the Korean tea ceremony is the ease and naturalness of enjoying tea within an easy formal setting.
A coffee cup is a cup for serving coffee and coffee-based drinks. There are three major types: conventional cups used with saucers, mugs used without saucers, and disposable cups. Cups and mugs generally have a handle. Disposable paper cups used for take-out sometimes have fold-out handles, but are more often used with an insulating coffee cup sleeve.
The cup is a cooking measure of volume, commonly associated with cooking and serving sizes. In the US, it is traditionally equal to one-half US pint (236.6 ml). Because actual drinking cups may differ greatly from the size of this unit, standard measuring cups may be used, with a metric cup being 250 millilitres.
A tea set or tea service is a collection of matching teaware and related utensils used in the preparation and serving of tea. The traditional components of a tea set may vary between societies and cultures.
Gongfu tea or kung fu tea, literally "making tea with skill", is a traditional Chinese tea preparation method sometimes called a "tea ceremony". It is probably based on the tea preparation approaches originating in Fujian and the Chaoshan area of eastern Guangdong. The practice involves using smaller brewing vessels and a more potent leaf-to-water ratio than in Western-style brewing. Today, the approach is used popularly by teashops carrying tea of Chinese or Taiwanese origin, and by aficionados and trained masters as a way to fully realize the taste of a tea selection, especially a finer one.
Coffee preparation is the process of turning coffee beans into liquid coffee. While the particular steps vary with the type of coffee and with the raw materials, the process includes four basic steps: raw coffee beans must be roasted, the roasted coffee beans must then be ground, and the ground coffee must then be mixed with hot or cold water for a specific time (brewed), the liquid coffee extraction must be separated from the used grounds, and finally, if desired, the extracted coffee is combined with other elements of the desired beverage, such as sweeteners, dairy products, dairy alternatives, or toppings.
Jebena is a traditional Ethiopian and Eritrean flask made of pottery and used to brew Arabic coffee. It is also widely used in Sudan and parts of Egypt, the coffee itself is called bunna.
Tea tasting is the process in which a trained taster determines the quality of a particular tea. Due to climatic conditions, topography, manufacturing process, and different cultivars of the Camellia sinensis plant (tea), the final product may have vastly differing flavours and appearance. A trained tester can detect these differences and ascertain the tea's quality prior to sale or possible blending.
Jolpan, or snacks, are often served at breakfast in the cuisine of Assam, although they may also be served at Bihu festivals or weddings. The word jolpan includes all the preparations namely jolpan, pitha, laru and tea. Other common items served for breakfast may include roti, luchi, ghugni and sometimes paratha etc. Jolpan are also found in Bengal. The word literally derives from "water and betel leaf" but can mean any snack.
Since the 17th century, the United Kingdom has been one of the world's largest tea consumers, with an average annual per capita supply of 1.9 kilograms (4.2 lb). Originally an upper-class drink in Europe, tea gradually spread through all classes, eventually becoming a common drink. It is still considered an important part of the British identity and is a prominent feature of British culture and society.
A ttukbaegi (Korean: 뚝배기) is a type of oji-gureut, which is an onggi coated with brown-tone ash glaze. The small, black to brown earthenware vessel is a cookware/serveware used for various jjigae (stew), gukbap, or other boiled dishes in Korean cuisine. As a ttukbaegi retains heat and does not cool off as soon as removed from the stove, stews and soups in ttukbaegi usually arrive at the table at a bubbling boil.
Matcha (抹茶) is a finely ground powder of specially grown and processed green tea leaves that originated in China. Later, the characteristic green color of modern matcha was developed in Japan, where most matcha is produced today. In the 12th century at the latest, Chinese compressed tea, the raw material for matcha, was introduced to Japan. When the production of compressed tea was banned in China in 1391, matcha was abandoned in China but continued to develop in Japan thereafter.
Doodh pati chai is a tea beverage, originating from the Indian subcontinent, consumed in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Afghanistan and Nepal in which milk, together with sugar, is boiled with tea. Doodh pati is different from saada chai, in that it only uses milk and tea. This tea is quite common in South Asia. It is marginally costlier than the regular, water-based saada chai.
Black tea is a type of tea that is more oxidized than oolong, yellow, white, and green teas. Black tea is generally stronger in flavour than other teas. All five types are made from leaves of the shrub Camellia sinensis, though Camellia taliensis is also rarely used.
A rice wine cup is a vessel for drinking rice wine. In China, Japan and Korea, the traditional rice wine cups are usually round and shallow, in contrast to the deeper wine glasses of Western culture.
Nowhere, however, is there mention of the ritual of warming the pot, central to the mystical British Tea Ceremony.
The member body of the following country expressed disapproval of the document on technical grounds: Ireland