Is There A Right Or Wrong Way To Stir Tea/coffee?

[AndiFlatland]

Which way do you stir your tea or coffee - clockwise or anticlockwise? And is it right or wrong either way? I can't see that it matters at all. But the reason I ask is because when I was a kid, about an aeon ago, sitting down to my evening meal with my family, my mother suddenly let forth a howl of disapproval at me. When I asked what was the reason, she said, without a hint of irony, "You're stirring your tea the WRONG WAY!!"
I had always unthinkingly stirred it anticlockwise, and never noticed that both my parents and my sister stirred theirs clockwise. It felt normal and natural to stir it in that direction, and I've done it that way all my life.
Any thoughts?

[Old_Geezer]

The right way is to move the spoon.

Apart from that it is personal preference and individual mental state.

Although I do recall my father once claiming that agitating rather than simple circular stirring dissolved the sugar faster. No idea if he was correct though.

[LazyGun]

Its based around a religious myth, I think - the idea was that if you stirred anti-clockwise it would stir up the devil, or something.

From a purely efficient mixing point of view, there would be no difference between stirring anti-clockwise or clock-wise. I suppose if you want to be really sure you have thoroughly mixed things, a bit of both? :)

[Hopkirk]

Is it acceptable to open the wrong end of a bag of crisps?

[LazyGun]

Not in my house, Hopkirk. Banishment to the Naughty Step, and almost certainly damnation for eternity in Hell for such a Heinous breech of decorum! :)

[Hopkirk]

If you did it accidentally LazyGun, would you still eat them?

[jim360]

What about entering the house with your left foot first... ?

Anyway, the only reason anyone would get mad over the way you stir your tea is due to superstition.

[Old_Geezer]

http://www.google.co.uk/imgres?safe=active&client=firefox-a&hs=Rdk&sa=X&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&biw=1280&bih=516&;tbm=isch&tbnid=zP14mYJ57g_ZEM:&imgrefurl=http://blog.torrefazionemarchishop.it/en/curiosities-about-coffee-devils-drink/&;docid=QeuFqovnnknQ7M&imgurl=http://blog.torrefazionemarchishop.it/en/files/2012/01/devil-coffee.jpg&w=500&h=500&ei=RWteUq-oE7SZ0AXiz4CIDg&zoom=1&ved=1t:3588,r:0,s:0,i:82&iact=rc&;page=1&tbnh=200&tbnw=208&start=0&;ndsp=11&tx=148&ty=84

[Hopkirk]

There was a guy on the radio a while ago who absolutely could not eat crisps from the wrong end of the packet - a phobia of some sort.

[snags]

I employ someone to stir my tea, peel my grapes, tie my shoe laces etc. etc. I shall ask them at tea-time which direction they choose to stir and if I do not receive the correct answer they will be out on the street by dusk.

[weecalf]

Might have summit to do with being left handed .People would have been slapped at school for writing with their left hand I heard

[sandyRoe]

The direction that the teaspoon takes isn't that important. But the 'Milk or tea in first?' question is a shibboleth that has destroyed many a reputation.

[jomifl]

A work colleague used to claim that agitation was more effective than stirring. He was correct up to a point but he had to agitate continuously whist one deft swirl did the job in slightly more time but with less effort and no noise. Because he was right he kept on doing it to everyone's irritation. As I don't take sugar it is a conundrum that I have avoided. No problems with the devil either....

[LazyGun]

@Hopkirk I was joshing. Its crisps. I do not care which end of the packet they come from. I would even employ the 5 second rule on seeing a crisp on the floor :)

Not a slave to superstition generally. Surprised to hear about that case you mention. Don't you just want to find that person now, mess with their heads, feed them some crisps then tell them they come from a packet opened from the wrong end? :)

[LazyGun]

And the left handed thing derives from religious superstition too. Even the romans had it in for us left handers - "sinister" or whatever :)

[jomifl]

LG, what if the crisps have been cut from the wrong end of the potato?

[Baldric]

Whatever floats your teabag!

[LazyGun]

@Jom Well that's an entirely different matter. That's serious. That would require ritual purification at the very least, maybe even an extended hospital stay...

[Hopkirk]

My physics teachr set us a question.

You order a coffee at the station buffet and are given a small pot of cream to pour in yourself.

You then realise you misread your watch and the train is arriving very soon, but the coffee is very hot. Should you

a. stir the coffee, then at the last moment pour in the cream?

b. pour in the cream immediately, and stir the coffee?

Which method will result in the coffee being cool enough to drink the quickest?

[LazyGun]

Good question ,Hopkirk.

Rate of cooling depends on temperature difference between hot liquid and surrounding air temperature - so I would think vigorous stirring followed by last minute application application of small quantity of cool liquid ie cream would be the best way.

[aelmpvw]

clockwise/anticlockwise, i wonder if it depends on whether you are left or right handed? anticlockwise for me and i'm a leftie