AIBU? Husband won't use previously boiled water for his tea

[Frazzlefrazle]

Petty light hearted discussion here however I have just boiled the kettle which had already had water in from earlier in the day so not fresh and made a herbal tea. 2 seconds later my husband tips out the hot water and fills it with fresh water and reboils for his Earl grey as apparently it makes the tea taste 'off if it's not completely fresh water! To me this just seemed very wasteful and maybe I have terrible taste but I haven't ever tasted my tea being 'off' so who is right?

YABU - I'm clearly a heathen all these years who drinks terrible tea
YANBU- He's a weirdo

I only drink coffee but I agree. My ds refuses to make me coffee now as I complained that he had used reboiled water and it tastes really flat. Honest!!

To be clear I only generally fill it for just enough water for the amount I'm making however there is usually an inch or so left in the bottom and I top it up. Tonight there was enough for my cup and probably his as I'd made hot choc for us all ( 3 children) earlier in the day and I over estimated how much I needed.

It's just never occurred to me to empty out the dregs of the water before I fill it up. Which sounds gross now I'm writing it down and discussing it!

Feed back has been taken on board and I will use completely fresh water from now on

I suggest you stash some previously boiled water next time you make him a tea and see if he spots the difference.

Wtf, this is a thing?
I love tea of all kinds. I drink all the time. I always re-boil my water, wasting water has such a huge climate impact I cant belive people are actually throwing it for the sake of cups of tea?!

Please do the taste test a Pp mentioned, op - that would be really interesting!

I shall refuse to acknowledge any sense and science on this thread as this has long been a bone of contention in our house and I refuse to believe that DH is being anything other than a snobby knob

Nah yanbu. Next time don't tell him it's re-boiled. He won't know. I know people like this and the only time they ever make a fuss if if they know/see it being re-boiled. It's fanciful bollocks and utterly wasteful.

I never reboil it, it does taste peculiar.
I try to boil what I need and any leftover I use for cleaning the sink.

I don't care if it is reboiled or not, but I know lots of people do care, so i voted YABU because it is not a big deal, and so not worth getting worked up about. Let the man use the kettle how he likes!

Only fill for one maybe two when making a cuppa so I ain’t wasting the water. Husband fills it full and uses it all regardless how many times he boils it.

I’d get him to do taste test bet he can’t tell the difference.

I won’t drink reboiled water in tea.

DH is the same, says all the oxygen comes out what difference does it make?

I never empty the water, I just add more as I need it

@OliverBabish

I shall refuse to acknowledge any sense and science on this thread as this has long been a bone of contention in our house and I refuse to believe that DH is being anything other than a snobby knob

I told him he was a middle class snob, haha!

I do half-and-half, so as not to waste water and electricity. Immediately add fresh water to the remains of the boiled water, to let it absorb the heat. Then boil it whenever.

YANBU but we have nice water here. Maybe if it was crappy water it would make a difference

@OutrageousFlavourLikeFreesias

He's right and YABU, sorry! If really does make a difference. Your tea will taste much nicer with freshly boiled water.

Agreed.

Ah more like minded people have joined me! I really doubt any one can taste the difference. However I will try it on him but I'll wait a few days so he has forgotten this discussion so he won't be suspicious.

My DH is exactly the same (also drinks Earl Grey!), very very fussy about the water being fresh and just boiled. You can tell her was never the one stuck at home juggling babies and toddlers and being so grateful for caffeine you get used to cold coffee!

He makes his own tea.

@FiveFootTwoEyesOfBlue

When you boil water, the water loses some of its oxygen, so tea made with previously boiled water won't taste as good as fresh. To me it doesn't taste 'off' though, just less flavour.

Exactly this! It doesn't taste right when it's not freshly boiled water. We've moved to a heated thingy at work (where you just pull the nozzle down and hot water comes out). The tea tastes awful now and it goes cold really quickly as it's not boiling hot when it comes out. Grim.

The type of tea you drink will make a difference to how much you notice a difference in taste too. I have my tea black with no sugar so I like it scalding hotabd properly fresh water. Whereas I can drink herbal teas when they're almost tepid and notice the freshness less.

He is BVVVVU to drink Earl Grey though. It tastes like washing up liquid.

Is there a special way to see the results of the poll as I can't see any votes, they both say 0 to me

Just boil the right amount of water then you won't have to worry about this.

@Frazzlefrazle

Ah more like minded people have joined me! I really doubt any one can taste the difference. However I will try it on him but I'll wait a few days so he has forgotten this discussion so he won't be suspicious.

DH can tell... I've tried!

Like most people I always use fresh water and I know how much to fill kettle to depending on whether just for me or also for my partner so I only boil as much as is needed.

Reduces water wastage and electricity usage yet still get a decent cup of tea.

I just re boil, I didn’t know people didn’t!

Since when is tap water "fresh" it's been sitting in pipes for god knows how long, which is no better to being in a kettle