US Embassy in London intervenes amid boiling tea controversy

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US Embassy in London stepped in Wednesday after an American professor made an "unthinkable" suggestion that "threatens the very foundation" of the US-UK "special relationship."

Michelle Francl, a professor of chemistry at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania, authored a just-released book in which she suggested that adding a pinch of salt to tea could help reduce its bitterness, as could squeezing and dunking the tea bag during a quick brewing process.

Francl's conclusions, she said in the book, are based on reading more than 500 papers, consuming over 483 cups of tea, which she said she did not start counting until she was midway through the project, and a wide array of testing that included spiking her tea with various substances, and extensive temperature testing.

Her suggestions, however, are anathema to Britain's tea culture.

Amid the controversy, the US embassy issued a statement in which it emphasized that "tea is the elixir of camaraderie, a sacred bond that unites our nations," and said it "cannot stand idly by" in the face of the "outrageous proposal."

"Therefore we want to ensure the good people of the UK that the unthinkable notion of adding salt to Britain's national drink is not official United States policy. And never will be," it said.

"Let us unite in our steeped solidarity and show the world that when it comes to tea, we stand as one. The U.S. Embassy will continue to make tea in the proper way - by microwaving it," it added, cheekily.