How do you take your tea?
2
Scientific vocabulary
A dried tealeaf contains solid substances that dissolve in hot water. Solid substances that dissolve are said to be soluble. Most of the tealeaf does not dissolve. Solid substances that do not dissolve are said to be insoluble. The liquid that is formed when a solid substances dissolves is called a solution. The mixture of a liquid and an insoluble substance is called a suspension.
Tea in a teapot is a suspension and is unpleasant to drink because the insoluble tea leaves. By using a tea strainer we can separate the insoluble tea leaves from the liquid containing the dissolved solids. This process is sometimes called filtering, which is way the paper we use for separating coffee grounds from the coffee we drink are called coffee filters. The liquid that some through the filter paper is called the filtrate and the solid captured by the filter paper is called the residue. In a tea bag the bag acts as a filter. The liquid that does the dissolving (hot water) is called the solvent and the solid substances that dissolve are called the solute.
So when you are drinking a cup of tea you are drinking a solution that has been made by dissolving the solute in a solvent and separating it from the insoluble residue by means of filtering!