Birkbeck, University of London - Tongue-tied tea party

Researchers have discovered that a cup of tea can leave its drinker speechless. Li Wei, a professor at the department of applied linguistics and communication at Birkbeck, University of London, led a study which revealed that people cannot find the words to describe the taste of a cuppa. More than 60 per cent of respondents described it as "hot" or "nice". While most descriptions of tea were relatively conservative, a small number of respondents were more creative, describing the taste as like "pencil sharpenings" and "barky".