Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

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

188 replies

Frazzlefrazle · 14/01/2021 18:03

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

OP posts:
CrunchyCarrot · 14/01/2021 19:24

Previously boiled water tastes awful when used in tea. Ruins it. I only use fresh filtered water heated to 80'C ! I also only use enough water for the drink I"m making, never excess.

CoronaIsWatching · 14/01/2021 19:24

@Bubbinsmakesthree

Someone is going to have to explain the chemistry of how boiled water “loses oxygen”? Either it’s H2O or it isn’t, surely?
Oxygen dissolved in the water presumably. How do you think fish breathe??
Original poster
Frazzlefrazle · 14/01/2021 19:26

I do normally only put enough in but surely there is always a bit left at the bottom an inch maybe- do you all really tip that out before refilling it again each time? I just top it up surely that little amount isn't making tea taste funny? I rarely have enough left in it to reboil completely, today was just am anomaly. I feel conflicted. I will try it tomorrow though as it seems there is a large amount of people who put fully fresh water in each time.

OP posts:
OchonAgusOchonO · 14/01/2021 19:26

[quote Frazzlefrazle]@EggyPegg

You're right Earl grey is grim Envy
Maybe the problem is that I don't drink tea as in standard builders tea? I'm a massive coffee drinkier and will hold my hands up and say I can be fussy about that. I do enjoy a herbal tea and our kettle is even one of those that boils at the right temp for different teas. Maybe it's just not as noticeable with green teas or the other blended flavors?

I feel a bit bad that before covid times I've been offering rank tea to visitors[/quote]
Oh my god. You heathen. First off, green tea should never be lumped in with herbals. It comes from the same plant as black tea.

Second off, green tea is much more delicate and you should use water boiled to 80C rather than fully boiled. And obviously never reboiled.

Oh, and a decent earl grey is lovely but there are plenty of crap ones about.

Lookslikerainted · 14/01/2021 19:28

I’d reboil the kettle but not refill. I can’t stand tea made from not freshly boiled water

Sunbird24 · 14/01/2021 19:28

I have a one-cup, but even when I was using a kettle I always filtered my tap water. Couldn’t taste the difference between water boiled twice rather than once, but knew exactly when the water filter needed replacing!

Lavanderrose · 14/01/2021 19:29

He’s right, also it could be harmful to your health drinking reboiled water.

Backtoschool101 · 14/01/2021 19:29

I only put enough water in for the amount of cups I am making. So I have no idea!

Bubbinsmakesthree · 14/01/2021 19:31

Oxygen dissolved in the water presumably. How do you think fish breathe??

Good point! Blush

Skynorth · 14/01/2021 19:31

The solution seems obvious to me.... only boil enough water for one cup of tea if you know he’s going to do that, it’s incredibly wasteful to boil a full kettle of water for one or two cups.
However, your husband seems to be a bit OCD if it really was only a few seconds, the water wouldn’t have cooled and in any case the taste of water is not affect by a brief re-boil. I’m assuming he’s just making big standard EG tea bags abs you have mains water therefore full of chemicals. So it’s not going to make any difference and he’s just being a prima donna. To me this would be intolerable.
The fact you’ve posted such a trivial matter on here speaks of bigger issues and I suspect there are wider problems than just the water for his tea.

cushioncovers · 14/01/2021 19:32

He's right, I never reboil water but I also only ever film the kettle with just enough water for what I need. Reboiled water has an awful twang to it.

MsAdoraBelleDearheartVonLipwig · 14/01/2021 19:32

Oh my god. I actually never knew that this was a thing. I don’t think I’ve ever given two thoughts to whether my water was freshly boiled or reboiled.

Mind you if I’m making it after dh has made a brew I invariably have to fill the kettle anyway because he’s emptied it.

Do any of my fellow heathens use a teapot? Are we talking fresh loose tea or teabags?

Presumably my friends have all thus far been too polite to tell me if my hot drinks are awful.

Littlewhitedove2 · 14/01/2021 19:33

He’s totally right. You need fresh boiled water. Water boiled twice just doesn’t taste the same in tea!

PedrosPony · 14/01/2021 19:35

My mum insists on freshly drawn water, preferably brewed in a teapot. I've never been able to tell the difference

pelosi · 14/01/2021 19:36

I only have 1 cup of tea a day and I always empty the kettle for fresh water. I only boil 1-2 of water of cups though.

EggyPegg · 14/01/2021 19:36

@EssentialHummus

I'm married to the man who makes his tea with bottled water from Waitrose and swears he can taste alternative brands of water, leave alone (shudder) tap water.

Thank goodness he gives great head and does his fair share of childcare, otherwise I'd have LTB years ago from sheer rage.

My husband only uses bottled water, albeit from Aldi, in his coffee machine. But it's an all singing and dancing one that cost £500+ and we live in an area with such hard water that it has destroyed every coffee machine that came before it, so he's taking no chances this time.

He offers to make me tea using it occasionally. I decline, it doesn't taste right (it's that reboiling again).

And I know you're not supposed to use boiling water, but it simply isn't hot enough if it's not ripping the back of your throat off on the way down.

blisstwins · 14/01/2021 19:38

It makes a huge difference. The only thing worse than reboiled is microwaved water.

Chicchicchicchiclana · 14/01/2021 19:43

If there's water left in my kettle after I've boiled it for tea I pour it over my dishcloth in the sink to sterilise it .

DrFoxtrot · 14/01/2021 19:44

I've never noticed the difference or thought about it - some cups of tea taste better than others, but it's still tea Grin

HidingUnderARock · 14/01/2021 19:49

This reminds me of filling and switching on the kettle at the start of my teabreak before dashing for a wee, and coming back to find some young man emptying the boiling water down the sink having filled his own cup from it.
Not happy.

kale123 · 14/01/2021 19:51

Reboiling the water doubles the fluoride content apparently so I always change it

Romancer · 14/01/2021 19:52

CrunchyCarrot Thu 14-Jan-21 19:24:18
Previously boiled water tastes awful when used in tea. Ruins it. I only use fresh filtered water heated to 80'C ! I also only use enough water for the drink I"m making, never excess.
Exactly. Do not let water quite boil it knocks the oxygen out of it. I heard a taster from a tea company explain this.

AcrossthePond55 · 14/01/2021 19:55

Reboiled water tea tastes weird.
Microwaved water tea tastes weird.

Kokosrieksts · 14/01/2021 19:55

I always use fresh water. I think years ago I read something about water that’s been boiled multiple times not being good for you, probably nonsense, but it has become a habit that I don’t intend to change.