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How can you explain tea,if water and oil don't mix?

If oils and water don’t mix how can you explain tea? It smells and tastes like the oils of the plant and still you can’t separate one from the other.

1-Fact: When you are drinking tea, the tea will smell like the plant and most of the times it is due to the oils in the plant.

2-Question: If the oils are present in the tea how come can you not see them? They should probably be floating on top of the water right?

3-Question: With heat, water will be able to dissolve more substancies but with the drop of the temperature more oils should be visible. Why aren’t they visible?

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Answer #1

I love tea but I dont thinks theres any oil in it :S

Answer #2

This is possible thanks to emulsifiers. Emulsifiers are substances that allow other substances that are otherwise immiscible (won’t mix) to mix.

For example, honey is an emulsifier - oil and water will not mix, but oil, honey, and water will. This is why it’s often used in sauces and glazes.

Answer #3

Since the OP is no longer with us, I guess it’s moot, but just in case someone else should stumble on this question, let the record show that ty is exactly right – the flavor of tea does not derive from any oil that is present in the tea leaf (unless flavored oils are added later). Tea’s flavor comes from its tannins and the enormous amount of catechin present, an antioxidant flavonoid present in the leaves.

Answer #4

Where are you getting your facts from? Tea isnt an oil. If you make up ludicrous assumptions and then expect us to explain them using science, it’s not exactly going to work.

Answer #5

Oops, my mistake, then. Pretend I was talking about emulsifiers in general. ;)

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