It’s a bit arbitrary- I suppose round numbers are slightly easier to recall in that if you know a number is round and the scale you have fewer ways to be wrong- but for most people most of the time water boils at: “on” on the kettle or “high” on the stove and water freezes at “I put water in the freezer.”
In practical terms you don’t really need to know the temp if you see boiling water it is safe to assume it is too hot to touch or the room is very hot. If you see frozen water you know it’s very cold. As far as “real world” use- not all water will freeze or boil at those temps anyway. Altitude, impurities or attitudes etc. can change the boiling or freezing points of water.
I don’t spend enough time boiling and freezing water for it to impact me much and I usually rely on instruments if I need to know the temperature.
deleted
· 1 year ago
Clearly the opinion of someone who does not like to meticulously brew their different types of tea at the exact right temperature.
Lol. partially true? For me the “exact right temperature” for tea is usually “hot” or “cold” depending on the tea, so that sorts itself out without involving math.
As for meticulous… I do not place a great deal of effort into pushing the red button on the water cooler and then dunking a bag in a cup until the water looks brown enough to taste like tea.
Which I’m sure to a proper tea drinker what I just said is a war crime, but I do rather like tea, I’m just not particular about it much.
deleted
· 1 year ago
Occasionally I bought tea that costed about as much as weed per gram (including shipping from Taiwan) but meanwhile my sense of taste has somewhat decreased which only costs me a little pleasure while saving a lot of money. Some of the tea I'm buying is still way more expensive than average and I notice a huge difference when a green or Oolong tea is brewed at just 5 degrees off the perfect temperature, even if its less than 10 bucks for 100 grams.
Tea can certainly be an art and has a long history in luxury, medicinal use, and health. Sorry to hear about your slight loss of taste but glad to hear that you are able to still enjoy tea and save a bit doing it. I had an ex partner who would buy fancy teas in leaf form and such. Myself, I generally avoid luxury and at times even quality for a preference for practicality. One cannot have acquired tastes if one never acquired a taste. My tea is usually free with a meal or from work and is usually in a bag that says “Lipton.” It serves me well. I enjoy it when I’m in the mood for tea. I generally drink water or milk and when I’m feeling a bit self destructive I will have a soda or juice.
In practical terms you don’t really need to know the temp if you see boiling water it is safe to assume it is too hot to touch or the room is very hot. If you see frozen water you know it’s very cold. As far as “real world” use- not all water will freeze or boil at those temps anyway. Altitude, impurities or attitudes etc. can change the boiling or freezing points of water.
I don’t spend enough time boiling and freezing water for it to impact me much and I usually rely on instruments if I need to know the temperature.
As for meticulous… I do not place a great deal of effort into pushing the red button on the water cooler and then dunking a bag in a cup until the water looks brown enough to taste like tea.
Which I’m sure to a proper tea drinker what I just said is a war crime, but I do rather like tea, I’m just not particular about it much.