According to George Orwell, there are 11 rules to follow for the perfect cup seal. He was the one who predicted, that tea was here to stay for the long haul. The problem however, is those modern preparations with too much flavoring, preservatives and sweeteners make the tea to totally lose its authentic flavor!

So what the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) decided to do, to commemorate Orwell's 100th birth anniversary is to look closely at his 11 rules. But, what made this endeavor more interesting is the entrance of yet another chemical engineer at Loughborough University, Dr. Andrew Stapley, who commented that Orwell's 11 rules on the perfect cuppa is wrong on some points.

The first point Dr. Stapley questioned was the extravagant preparation of Orwell for a six spoons of tea per pot to make it perfect. This supports the RSC recommendation of only one full single spoon of tea leaves for every teapot. The latter is probably more correct because excellent Darjeeling tea leaves do not follow the principle of more for better taste, and in fact requires only just enough to give the perfect aroma and taste of an authentic Darjeeling tea!

The next point in question is the perfect timing on when to add the milk. RSC has already released a warning that says that pouring of milk in hot tea causes a chemical reaction called "denaturation of milk proteins." This means that at high temperatures the protein content of milk becomes clumped up, which is exactly what happens with spoiled milk. This may not be actually spoiled but, with certain chemical processes there may be ill health effects that can happen.

So to preserve the freshness of the milk, it is best way to pour it at the bottom of the cup and then pour the hot tea. This way the cold milk will cool the tea and not the tea warming the milk, spoiling it and ruining the taste of the entire Darjeeling tea.

Another case in point in Orwell's rules that Stapley did not agree is, that the sugarless tea is the perfect cuppa. Although the addition of sugar is not entirely bad, because it neutralizes the astringency of the tea, too much of it however, will ruin the authentic taste of the Darjeeling tea. And according to Stapley a little milk will not hurt as long as it is not overdone.