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Tea Volumetrology

I poured 114.7+-.1 g of full-leaf Assam (P-OP in size with a few percent broken) loosely into a measuring cup and estimated it to fill 390+-10 ml (13.2+-.3 ml).

This gives a dry specific volume of 3.40+-.09 ml/g (.117+-.003 floz/g, 3.26+-.09 floz/oz).

And a density of 0.294+-.008 g/ml (8.70+-.23 g/floz, .307+-.008 oz/floz).

Using these measurements, I estimated minimum standard container sizes for standard retail weights of loose, full-leaf tea:

weight volume container headroom 100 g 350 ml 14 floz 16% 1/4 lb 385 ml 14 floz 4% 125 g 437 ml 16 floz 6% 1/2 lb 771 ml 28 floz 5% 250 g 873 ml 32 floz 6%

Broken tea (e.g., Twinings loose tea) is expected (and casually observed) to pack a little more tightly. A

100-gram package of broken tea should fit into a 12-ounce canister, but the other sized packages of broken tea will likely need the same container as for full-leaf tea.

Merchants appear typically to overfill consumer packages. (There's probably nothing worse than having some noob report you to the dept. of weights and measures because his scales read low, nor anything better than having a customer for life because he knows he gets a bonus.) So expect a purchase to have a couple of percent more tea than the "net weight" specified. The listed containers should still suffice.

--Blair "Why is it tea tastes better simply because you know you're using the right size caddy?"

Reply to
Blair P. Houghton
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A nice thought, but the density of a particular tea in question is by far the biggest consideration. I have some tightly wrapped jade pearls that are perhaps 20x more dense than a fluffy pi lo chun. As for your math, if you are attempting to add an air of authority to your argument by presenting such precise numbers, you should know that your estimates of errors are incorrect, and violate the accepted rules of significant digits.

- Eschew obfuscation!

Reply to
Loiskelly1

Probably, but most leafy teas will fit into about the same volume, and I was specific about the leaf size and quality to identify it among the choices. If you have data on other kinds, please post them. All you need are one volume measurement and one mass measurement, with error bars, and I can plug them in the spreadsheet that kicks out the rest of the numbers.

Excess precision in intermediate calculations is not eschewed by anyone, and violates nothing.

The measurements are that precise because the measuring devices were that precise; the cup has 10-ml markings and the scale reads in .05 gram steps (but I only trust it to within 100 mg).

The final results were reduced to somewhere between

1 and 2 significant figures (1 part in 7 to 16 parts). They are also a high estimate, labeled as such, and have an error margin specified.

The air of authority you perceived isn't attempted, it's accomplished, being the residue of actual expertise in the subjects of physical metrology, computational precision, and error estimation.

--Blair "Your scales read low."

Reply to
Blair P. Houghton

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