Ooh, a nice cup of tea, don't mind if I do. It has taken me half a lifetime, but I'm finally starting to realise what all the fuss is about.

But, despite being a nation of tea-drinkers, apparently four out of five of us still can't make a decent cuppa.

Piping hot new research carried out at University College London (that's some gig, sipping tea for a living) reveals that tea should be steeped for between two and five minutes for optimum flavour. This allows the 30,000 chemicals to mingle - something which few of us do.

The British Science Association has waded into the debate by stating that tea should always be made in a pot to let the flavours circulate. Water should be freshly boiled and tea should never be stirred, as this can release the bitter-tasting tannin.

Being a recent convert, I could never understand why people pined for tea when they were overseas. Such a drudge-y, insipid, anti-climax of a drink when there was punch-packing coffee and fruit-based cocktails on offer.

But perhaps it's the natural pause which tea brings which is now so appealing. You can't neck it on your way out the door, you have to sit down to drink it.

Recently, I heard an exchange between two students as they travelled back to University on the train. One was slightly older and was dispensing advice. "... so you have to start drinking tea, you see. All of my uni friendships were forged over a cup of tea. What other reason to do you have to go round and plonk yourself on someone's couch."

"But I don't like it," replied her friend.

"Well, you'll just have to fake it then, it's the social lubricant of student life." Well that and gallons of cheap lager.

In the workplace, the tea run can be a mixed blessing. If you and your colleagues have a similar appetite for the hot stuff, you're on to a winner. However if you find you have mismatched thirst levels, resentment can grow if one is continually parched and another feels like they have become trapped in an exhausting, relentless pact.

As for the age old question of when to add the milk, the boffins had an answer for that too. If you are making tea in a mug, tea bag and milk should never meet, so milk last, but if the tea is brewed in a pot, it really doesn't matter. So there you have it.