Naked Science Forum

Non Life Sciences => Chemistry => Topic started by: thedoc on 20/03/2014 16:36:03

Title: Why does tea stain the cup in a ring at the liquid surface?
Post by: thedoc on 20/03/2014 16:36:03
Why does tea leave a stain in a cup only in a ring around where the surface of the tea was?  Why doesn’t it stain the cup evenly?
Asked by Cai, Manchester


                                        Visit the webpage for the podcast in which this question is answered. (http://www.thenakedscientists.com/HTML/podcasts/naked-scientists/show/2007.07.01-2/)

[chapter podcast=563 track=07.07.01/Naked_Scientists_Show_07.07.01_1764.mp3](https://www.thenakedscientists.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thenakedscientists.com%2FHTML%2Ftypo3conf%2Fext%2Fnaksci_podcast%2Fgnome-settings-sound.gif&hash=f2b0d108dc173aeaa367f8db2e2171bd)  ...or Listen to the Answer[/chapter] or [download as MP3] (http://nakeddiscovery.com/downloads/split_podcasts/07.07.01/Naked_Scientists_Show_07.07.01_1764.mp3)

Title: Why does tea stain the cup in a ring at the liquid surface?
Post by: thedoc on 20/03/2014 16:36:03
We answered this question on the show...

In hard water areas, the water contains quite a lot of calcium in the form of ‘temporary hardness’ – calcium hydrogen carbonate Ca(HCO3)2.  When this [img float=right]/forum/copies/RTEmagicC_800px-Cup_of_tea__Scotland.jpg.jpg[/img]is heated, the temporary hardness breaks down into calcium carbonate, which is chalk, and water. 
These calcium salts can bind to tannins in the tea and form an insoluble precipitate - a scum.  These particles float to the top of the tea, and stick to the side of the cup.  Tannins contain some of the colour of the tea, and so this ring of particles will be dark, and stain your cup!