Testing and Comparing

Testing and Comparing Tea Activity Card An old tea tale An old man made each of his three sons promise to go on journeys to explore the wonders of different countries. After the old man died they set off on their travels. One went to India, one to China and one to Japan. When the brothers met again, each of them was carrying a large sack. The oldest brother spoke first. “India is full of wonders. The mountains are covered in bushes with bright, green leaves. These are gathered by women carrying large baskets. The leaves are taken to a factory, dried in an enormous machine and made into an amber coloured drink. I have brought some leaves home to show you.” The middle brother told his story. “In the secret gardens of China, they use the upper leaves and buds of special plants to make a sacred drink for the emperor and his family. A young princess gave me some leaves to bring home.” The youngest brother then said, “In Japan I saw a miracle. Velvety-green waves cover the country’s hills. Each spring, women remove the top layer of buds and leaves and use them to make a marvellous drink. It is these valuable leaves which I have with me today.” When they looked in the sacks they were amazed to find that they had each collected tea leaves! The eldest brother had collected black tea, the middle brother had red oolong tea and the youngest brother had fresh, green tea. The brothers made drinks using the leaves but they couldn’t agree which was the best tea of all. (Story adapted from the series ‘The Healing Properties of Food’ written by Alexandra Lopatina and Maria Screbtsova available through Kings Hart Books.) Your challenge Can you help the brothers in the story to decide which type of tea makes the best drink? Discuss Look closely at different tea leaves (you can get them out of tea bags). Are they all the same? How will you know which tea is best? Could people have different views? How many different types of tea will you use? How will you make sure that you are testing the type of tea, not the way that it is made?

Getting started Why not carry out a survey to find out which type of tea your friends and family like. You could hold a tea party for them. How many people will you ask? What will you ask them? Some fellow investigators have had a few ideas to get you started: I think we should look at the size and shape of the tea leaves. Are some leaves big and others just bits of dust? I think we can dip filter paper in each of the teas after they have brewed for 5 minutes, then compare the colours. We could add the same amount of hot water to the same amount of tea leaves, then compare the colour and smell. I think we can make different types of tea in the same way and taste them. Remember everyone will need their own cup. Test your ideas You may want to use a table like the one below to record your results: Type of tea e.g. green tea Loose tea or teabags Strength Colour Smell Taste When you have finished the survey you can: • Make a block graph or pictogram to show what people think • Decide if one tea is better than the others. Share your ideas Why not design a menu for a special café that serves lots of different kinds of teas. You could include: • Photographs and descriptions of the different types of tea • Ratings for each tea based on your investigations and survey • Advise on which tea to drink. British Science Association Registered Charity No. 212479 and SC039236