You might have seen the deeply disturbing news that a US scientist has claimed that putting salt in your tea makes for the ‘perfect brew’ — but we’ve all seen the kind of barbaric things Americans do to the good stuff.
However, if there’s one thing we pride ourselves on here in Greater Manchester it’s being open-minded, so we didn’t want to just go ahead and condemn them right from the off.
With that in mind, we decided to give the latest US trend — backed by so-called ‘science’, might we add — a go and made a cup of tea before proceeding to butcher it with salt for some reason.
Here’s our review. Let’s just say it’s a short one.
Make that a big, fat, honking NO. We can’t think of anyone less qualified to judge a ‘good’ cup of tea than a US scientist who’s clearly never had a proper brew in their life.
Yes, believe it or not, putting SALT doesn’t make a cup of tea any better and while opinions in the office ranged from everything between “just tastes like a cup of tea” (from someone who rarely drinks tea, by the way” and “now all I can taste is the sugar” to “absolutely disgusting”.
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If we were to take a general consensus from The Manc employees’ reactions, Amy probably summed it up at the end there: “Take that away from me”.
For those of you wondering what the logic is behind this whole monstrosity, Professor Michelle Francl who works in the chemistry department at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania recently claimed that putting salt in tea blocks the receptor which makes tea taste bitter, especially when it has been stewed.
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Not only that, she even had this nonsense published in a book, citing old Chinese manuscripts from the 18th century in her research. Nevertheless, it didn’t stop the official US Embassy in London from issuing a statement by way of an apology and assuring they never intended to cause a diplomatic incident.
While we've got you, we need a conversation about what constitutes a biscuit.
We tried everything from the recommended pinch of salt to pretending it was sugar and putting a teaspoon in, but the only thing that stayed the same was our contempt for the end product. But we were genuinely surprised how just a bit of salt completely took away almost all of the tea flavour. Science init.
In summation, we’re going to ahead and declare salt in tea absolute heresy and anyone who says otherwise should be taken to court and stand trial for crimes against the tea-drinking world.
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Sorry, Michelle, we’re sure you’re a nice lady (though you’re skating on thin ice) but you’re simply wrong. This is advice for people who don’t like tea as it seems to take away the taste of the leaves full stop, so as Dean quite rightly put it, what’s the point?
Sweeten your tea if you need to, millions of Brits do it every day and everyone likes it a certain way, but we’ll throw hands with anyone who backs putting salt in tea, American or otherwise. You can keep this horror to yourself as well.
Featured Image — The Manc Group/Ivan Calderon (via Unsplash)
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Major pop star crowns humble rice and three cafe as ‘Jewel of Manchester’ ahead of sold-out gig
Thomas Melia
A beloved city centre takeaway has been given the title of ‘Jewel of Manchester’ by chart-topping UK singer Sam Smith.
Known for hits like ‘Stay With Me’, ‘I’m Not The Only One’ and more recently ‘Unholy’, UK pop-ballad act Sam Smith also likes to drop a food review every once in a while.
Currently on the road with a run of shows in Manchester and London for their ‘To Be Free’ live shows, Sam Smith is stopping off at some of our city’s much-loved spots.
On their food-reviewing account titled ‘Sam Served’, where they adopt the aptly-fitting nickname ‘Ham Smith’, Sam has visited restaurants across the globe – and most recently turned their attention to Manchester’s own This & That.
Smith decided to pop in and grab a cheeky rice and three from long-standing backstreet food business This & That, and it certainly went down a treat.
After sampling their amazing selection of meat, vegetable and vegan curries, the musician crowned this family-run Indian takeaway a ‘Jewel of Manchester’.
The hitmaker described this Northern Quarter Indian eatery as ‘Everything food should be’ and definitely enjoyed all the curries on offer ‘leaving belly and heart full’.
This & That prides itself on affordable and comforting food with its ‘Rice and Three Curries’ starting from just £6 – not bad for a city centre foodie spot.
Sam has racked up an impressive 490k followers via their ‘Sam Served’ profile, with famous faces like Lily Allen, Denise Welch and CMAT all wanting to know the superstar’s foodie thoughts.
After enjoying a curry or three, Sam Smith also made sure to feed their soul to by venturing down to Afflecks and getting lost in the music at Mars Tapes.
Recognised as one of the UK’s only cassette and tape shops, Mars Tapes lets you flick through their crates of physical media and even preview tracks before you buy with its dedicated listening areas.
It’s safe to say that Smith has ‘Latched’ onto Manchester’s independent business scene and we’re here for it.
The London-born artist has just released their latest album Hazel Eyes and is currently amid a UK residency tour with two dates in Manchester’s Albert Hall and eight shows set for London Coliseum.
24-hour bus services are now running across all Greater Manchester boroughs
Emily Sergeant
24-hour bus services are now running across all boroughs in Greater Manchester.
You may remember that back in March, it was announced that every borough of Greater Manchester was set to get a night bus service in what is hoped to be a ‘boost’ to the night-time economy… and now it’s official, Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM) has launched those 24-hour buses this month, along with a series of other measures.
Oldham, Stockport, Tameside, and Trafford now join the rest of Greater Manchester in having 24-hour bus services, meaning every part of the region will have a night bus operating Thursday through to Sunday.
It’s expected that these new services will help around 625,400 people working in the night-time economy across Greater Manchester, as well as those out enjoying the region’s nightlife, TfGM has said.
The routes which will run around the clock from Thursday until Sunday are:
50 (Salford – Manchester)
216 (Tameside – Manchester)
263 (Trafford – Manchester)
192 (Stockport – Manchester)
83 (Oldham – Manchester)
All Greater Manchester boroughs now have 24-hour bus services / Credit: TfGM
They launch alongside the most significant service changes to the Bee Network since the completion of bus franchising last year – including other new bus routes, and more frequent services across Greater Manchester.
“We want everyone to be able to enjoy everything Greater Manchester offers, without the worry of how to get there and get home,” commented Greater Manchester Mayor, Bev Craig.
“By growing the Bee Network, we’re making it easier than ever for people to use the bus, day and night.
“Our night buses are already providing a lifeline to some of the hundreds of thousands of people who are growing our night-time economy and working in essential public services.”
“Whether people are heading home from a night at the theatre or starting the early shift at a hospital, they can now get on board the night bus as a safe and affordable way to travel.”
Further improvements will delivered from January 2027, and a full breakdown by borough can be found on the Bee Network website here.
Danny Jones -
25th January 2024 
