Whether you chose a china teacup or mug, put milk before water, or hold the sugar, the majority of Australians could be drinking their tea wrong, research shows.

Research conducted by the British Science Association asked more than 1,000 adults about their tea-making habits, and found the majority of people were making their tea incorrectly.

They found that most of them were failing to brew their tea for the required amount of time – which they claim is up to five minutes.

• Bourbon shortage: should drinkers be worried?
• Store-bought salmon is not the colour you think
• Parents ‘duped’ by sugar-coated breakfast cereals

An average 60.2 billion cups per year are consumed every year in Britain, but the new survey reveals that 80 per cent them have been doing it all wrong.

China teacup, or mug? Photo: Shutterstock

“This may be controversial, but the British do not understand how to make tea,” Professor of Materials and Society at University College London, Mark Miodownik, says.

“Or at least they’re not doing it properly. It’s because they don’t understand the variables.

“Expediency is causing us to throw chemistry out of the window; we’re not allowing our tea to brew for long enough to release the flavours properly.”

The study also shows that English Breakfast is the most popular tea, made without sugar and drank from a ceramic mug (91 per cent).

So what makes a good cuppa?

Professor Miodownik says the decline in use of the teapot is a major factor in not reaching that optimum brew.

“What you make tea in, and drink it out of, is important. It alters the taste,” he says.

“Fundamentally, of course, what makes the perfect cuppa is a matter of personal preference.

“But the next time you are making a pot of tea for the family, or are charged with the office tea round, try and test some different variables – from the type of tea to the length of time you brew it for and what you drink it out of – you might find it takes your relationship with tea to a whole new level.”

Milk before of after the water? Photo: Shutterstock

The optimum time to brew your tea is between two to five minutes – but only 16 per cent of people do this.

One topic agreed on by scientists and the public alike is also one that stirs the most debate – which goes first, milk or tea?

Everyone surveyed agrees if you are making tea in a mug, add the milk after the boiling water.

More than two thirds (69 per cent) of tea-drinkers add milk after the boiling water, it’s those aged over 65 who are more likely to add milk before.

A porcelain tea pot is recommended. Photo: Shutterstock

The British Tea Producers’ Association, Tea Trade Committee and Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food all helped to create the standards, which were developed in 1980 to help professional tea testers and are officially known as BS 6008.

Adding the milk first is supposedly the proper way to make tea, at least when you’re brewing a pot.

This will be a devastating blow to tea purists.

You need a pot made of porcelain, and there must be at least two grams of tea to every 100ml of water.

The temperature can’t go beyond 85 degrees when served but should be above 60 degrees for “optimum flavour and sensation”.

The perfect pot size is apparently between 74mm and 78mm wide, and 83mm and 87mm tall.

At least two tea bags should be used for a small pot, and four for a large one.

Timing is important – according to the BSI the perfect brewing time is six minutes (also known as steeping) which extracts the flavours from the tea leaves.

So if you think you’ve dunked your teabag long enough, keep going, you’ll be thankful when you notice the difference.