A US professor has revealed the controversial secret of the “perfect” cup of tea.

Professor Michelle Frankl from the USA claims to have found the secrets to the perfect cup of tea. She suggests using warmed milk, a small mug and… adding a pinch of salt to prepare an invigorating drink. This recipe, according to newspapers published in Foggy Albion, threatens to bring the British to the boiling point.

Tea is deeply woven into the fabric of British culture, writes the Daily Mail. But now a US scientist claims to have uncovered the secrets to making the perfect cup of tea.

Professor Michelle Frankl, professor of chemistry at Bryn Mawr College, says Brits should use short, thick mugs and opt for loose leaf tea rather than tea bags.

As for milk, Professor Frankl advises using warm milk to reduce the chance of curdling.

But the most unusual of all is her suggestion to add a pinch of salt to the drink to “reduce the bitterness.”

Professor Frankl analyzed hundreds of scientific papers and ancient texts dating back more than 1,000 years to develop her ideal, albeit puzzling, recipe.

She says the keys to making a delicious cup of enchantment are:

1. Add a pinch of salt – the sodium ion contained in salt blocks the chemical mechanism that gives tea a bitter taste.

2. Warm the milk and add it second – this will reduce the chance of curdling and allow you to better control how quickly the tea cools.

3. Steep the tea bags quickly, but use plenty of dipping and squeezing to reduce the sour taste of tannins created when caffeine slowly dissolves in water.

In less controversial advice, the Daily Mail continues, Professor Frankl says it’s helpful to pre-heat a cup or pot of coffee to release more of the “aromatic compounds” from the tea.

And a small amount of lemon juice can remove the “foam” that sometimes appears on the surface of the drink and is formed from chemical elements contained in tea and water.

Professor Frankl insists her findings are compelling, despite living in a country where tea is second in popularity to coffee and is usually served iced.

The American told the Daily Mail: “In the US you get terrible cups of tea. People here often drink lukewarm water straight from the tap. It’s terrible. I grew up in the Midwest, where they love coffee, but my favorite drink has always been tea, and I spent a lot of time studying it.”

Professor Frankl’s research, which she documents in a new book called Soaked: The Chemistry of Tea, also found that the aroma of tea is almost as important as the taste, so it’s best to remove the lid when drinking from a takeaway cup.

Larger tea bags have been found to work better because they allow the tea leaves to move, keeping them in contact with the water.

Decaffeinated tea can be made by soaking a tea bag for 30 seconds, removing it and draining the liquid, then adding fresh water and re-steeping for five minutes.

After water, tea is the most consumed drink in the world, and people have been puzzling over the perfect way to brew it for hundreds of years, reports the Daily Mail and quotes a Chinese mystic from the Tang Dynasty, who said that when perfectly prepared, tea has the ability to elevate a person “to the kingdom of the unblinking gods.”

Professor Frankl believes its enduring appeal is due to the unique aroma and rich flavor profile it provides, as well as its caffeine content.

“Tea is a cultural landmark in Britain but is enjoyed all over the world,” she said. “Even after drinking tea for so many years and studying chemistry, I have learned a lot about what’s in my cup and how to make the best cup of tea.”