George Orwell’s rules to make the perfect tea cup: a short animation

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Several years ago, Colin Marshall highlighted George Orwell's test, “A good cup of tea“, Who first ran in the Evening standard On January 12, 1946. In this article, Orwell weighed on a subject, the English take seriously – how to make the perfect tea cup. (According to Orwell, “Tea is one of the pillars of civilization.”) And he proceeded to offer 11 rules to make this perfect cup. Above, Luís Sá condenses the suggestions of Orwell in a short animation, made with a kinetic typography. Below, you can read the first three of the 11 rules of Orwell and find the other eight here.

  • First of all, you have to use Indian or Ceylonian tea. Tea in China has virtues that should not be despised today – it is economical, and you can drink it without milk – but there is not much stimulation. …
  • Second, tea must be made in small quantities-that is to say in a teapot. … The teapot must be in China or terracotta. Silver or Britanniaware teaters produce lower tea and enamel pots are worse.…
  • Third, the pot should be reheated in advance. This is better done by placing it on the baking sheet than by the usual method to tip it with hot water.

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