I’ve never seriously thought about it before, but a second cup of tea, using the same water re-boiled, is never as good as the first.

According to one of Britain’s leading tea experts - among which I number myself, although few boffins consult me - reheating a cuppa is preferable to sticking the kettle back on without changing the water. Re-boiling removes the oxygen and nitrogen from the drink.

The fact emerged after a social media hoo-ha erupted when David Tennant reheated his tea in a microwave during an episode of Broadchurch. Microwaving, says the expert, is “just moving the molecules around” and does the cuppa no harm at all.

I’ve always been repulsed by the idea of a microwaved cup of tea, but intend to have a go to test the theory. I have a few thoughts, though, which tea academics may want to mull over:

*Tea always tastes better in a white mug. Dark coloured mugs, or mugs with dark insides make tea taste weak and flavourless. White mugs definitely produce a superior tea. Even better, a tea pot with cups and saucers, as my parents serve it. Tea from bone China tastes particularly good. I recently visited a hotel for afternoon tea, which was served in a pot with dainty bone China cups. It was honey-coloured and delicious. I was, however, caught up in a dilemma as to whether to stick a crooked little finger out at the side or keep it in.

*Milk should go in first, the way my parents always make tea. I always get a lovely brew at their house. Apparently, it is seen as middle or working class to put milk in first. Upper classes do the opposite.

Arguments rage about this. Taylors Yorkshire Tea refer to it as ‘the great milk debate', with a web page devoted to whether people are a ‘miffy’ (milk in first) or a tiffy (tea before milk). At home, where we use mugs, I slosh the milk in second, so maybe I’m subconsciously trying to move up in the world and distance myself from my humble ‘milk in first’ roots.

*Tea needs to be hot and when poured should be drunk immediately. I can’t understand people who have tea served with a meal, leaving it to stand throughout, before drinking a stewed, tepid cuppa. As my youngest daughter would say, gross.

We British take our tea drinking extremely seriously. Where would we be without it? I recently sent a friend a greeting card saying ‘with a cup of tea anything is possible’. At times of stress and worry, we have the answer, “put the kettle on,” or “let’s have a brew.” The healing properties in a cup of tea are immeasurable. Just the feel of it in your hand is comforting. No other drink can pick you up, calm you down, refresh and revive you in equal measure.

As I write this, I am looking forward to my afternoon cup at work, when I will make tea for myself and one for my colleagues, who is an Earl Grey fan.

As Henry James said: “There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.” At my desk at work, it isn’t quite a ceremony, but a treasured moment nonetheless.

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