“Hot tea on a hot day? Not for me, thank you. Not my idea of how to cool down. But I’ve been doing a series of stories for Morning Edition called Summer Science, where I tackle such subjects as how to roast the perfect marshmallow and what causes that sharp headache some people get when they eat ice cream. For my next installment, Morning Edition Executive Producer Madhulika Sikka asked me to explain why drinking hot tea cools you off on a hot day. It does? ‘Trust me,’ she said. ‘I’m Indian, I’m British. A billion Indians can’t be wrong. They drink hot tea in hot weather.’ So I started to make some calls.” w/ photos
