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TO MOST it will sound a potty way of spending 15 years' scientific research.
But a maths professor has finally proved what a nation of tea drinkers has been dying to know...how to pour a cuppa from a pot without the tea dripping from the spout.
Prof Jean-Marc Vanden-Broeck's formula runs to 20 pages and would cover 20 feet of blackboard if chalked out in full. But exclusively for Mirror tea lovers, he has condensed his marathon work into the four easy-to-follow steps on the left.
He explained yesterday: "It's all to do with shape, gravity, speed and angles. The optimum shape is the classic or elephant shape.
"My calculations show how the flow and the velocity of the tea is a fraction of the geometry of the shape of the teapot and the angle of pouring."
In other words, the shape, how much tea is in the pot and how you pour it stop the dribbles.
Overfilling the pot is bad news, while a slow pour keeps the pressure even and the flow steady.
Jean-Marc, 47, who specialises in applied maths at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, said: "I wanted to try to understand why so many people have trouble pouring tea . My friends have been telling me for a long time about the problems of drips."
He concluded that jug and stainless steel teapots would always drip on pouring because of the vertical angle of the spout.
Cuppa experts backed his findings last night.
Elaine Twigg, supervisor of The Edwardian Tea Room at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery said: "We use the stainless steel variety because they keep the tea warmer than china but they are not very good fo
r pouring."
Alfie Perez, senior head waiter at the world-famous Tea Room at London's Ritz Hotel, said: "We don't overfill our silver teapots and have found it's the best way to prevent spillage or drops.
"It's good to know a scientist has backed what we do naturally."
Jean-Marc insisted: "It's not a trivial investigation. My work is an important mathematical investigation that can be applied generally to all fluid movement."
He was backed by his university. A spokesman said: "Professor Vanden- Broeck's work does have some very serious applications for situations when liquid hits a hard surface, such as the design of a ship's front."
So will the professor be using his ground-breaking technique at home with his scientist wife Mirna?
"Oh no," he said. "I'm a coffee drinker and that's a whole new ball game."
HOW TO POUR
YOURSELF THE PERFECT CUPPA
1
YOU need a traditional elephant shaped teapot . It has the spout at an optimum angle for pouring. The bend stops the flow of liquid when you have finished. Straight spouts are natural dribblers.
2
MAKE sure the pot is only 85 per cent full. If it's full to the brim it will drip as soon as you pick it up. If you do not put enough liquid in you will have to tilt to such an angle that it will in spill out the lid.
3
TO ACHIEVE a perfect pouring position you need to tip the teapot to a 23 degree angle. The tea will then naturally flow out of the spout. Any less and it will just dribble everywhere.
4
POUR slowly but firmly. If you pour too fast, the pressure will force the tea out too quickly and it will wash over the spout. But if you pour too gingerly it will splutter and splash cup, saucer and table.
But a maths professor has finally proved what a nation of tea drinkers has been dying to know...how to pour a cuppa from a pot without the tea dripping from the spout.
Prof Jean-Marc Vanden-Broeck's formula runs to 20 pages and would cover 20 feet of blackboard if chalked out in full. But exclusively for Mirror tea lovers, he has condensed his marathon work into the four easy-to-follow steps on the left.
He explained yesterday: "It's all to do with shape, gravity, speed and angles. The optimum shape is the classic or elephant shape.
"My calculations show how the flow and the velocity of the tea is a fraction of the geometry of the shape of the teapot and the angle of pouring."
In other words, the shape, how much tea is in the pot and how you pour it stop the dribbles.
Overfilling the pot is bad news, while a slow pour keeps the pressure even and the flow steady.
Jean-Marc, 47, who specialises in applied maths at the University of East Anglia, Norwich, said: "I wanted to try to understand why so many people have trouble pouring tea . My friends have been telling me for a long time about the problems of drips."
He concluded that jug and stainless steel teapots would always drip on pouring because of the vertical angle of the spout.
Cuppa experts backed his findings last night.
Elaine Twigg, supervisor of The Edwardian Tea Room at Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery said: "We use the stainless steel variety because they keep the tea warmer than china but they are not very good fo
Alfie Perez, senior head waiter at the world-famous Tea Room at London's Ritz Hotel, said: "We don't overfill our silver teapots and have found it's the best way to prevent spillage or drops.
"It's good to know a scientist has backed what we do naturally."
Jean-Marc insisted: "It's not a trivial investigation. My work is an important mathematical investigation that can be applied generally to all fluid movement."
He was backed by his university. A spokesman said: "Professor Vanden- Broeck's work does have some very serious applications for situations when liquid hits a hard surface, such as the design of a ship's front."
So will the professor be using his ground-breaking technique at home with his scientist wife Mirna?
"Oh no," he said. "I'm a coffee drinker and that's a whole new ball game."
HOW TO POUR
YOURSELF THE PERFECT CUPPA
1
YOU need a traditional elephant shaped teapot . It has the spout at an optimum angle for pouring. The bend stops the flow of liquid when you have finished. Straight spouts are natural dribblers.
2
MAKE sure the pot is only 85 per cent full. If it's full to the brim it will drip as soon as you pick it up. If you do not put enough liquid in you will have to tilt to such an angle that it will in spill out the lid.
3
TO ACHIEVE a perfect pouring position you need to tip the teapot to a 23 degree angle. The tea will then naturally flow out of the spout. Any less and it will just dribble everywhere.
4
POUR slowly but firmly. If you pour too fast, the pressure will force the tea out too quickly and it will wash over the spout. But if you pour too gingerly it will splutter and splash cup, saucer and table.
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