Brew the Perfect Cup of Tea With Arduino

Spit-spot and cheerio good chaps! I say, what have we here? There's a British astronaut aboard the international space station? That's the bee's knees! Time we learn how to make a proper cup of tea, wot? Right-o, off we go.

One of the keys to a great cup of tea is how strong it is. Using a luminosity sensor, we will be able to find the perfect amount of diffusion for a cracking spot of tea.

• Breadboard
• Arduino Uno
• USB Cable
• 6 Jumper wires
• 2 Clear plastic cups
• 1 Microwavable cup
• 1 Bag of tea
• 1 Glue gun
• 1 Desk lamp
• 1 Luminosity Sensor https://www.sparkfun.com/products/12055
• 
  

Wire the luminosity sensor as per the image above.

Take the two clear plastic cups and glue their ends together.

Place the two cups over your completed luminosity sensor circuit.

Fill the top cup with warm water (use the microwavable cup to heat the water.)

Place the desk lamp above the two cups and turn it on so light is shining onto the luminosity sensor.

Connect to the Ardusat Experiment Platform. (Sign up for a free account here)

Take an baseline reading with no tea in the water.

Place the tea bag in the warm water and wait 30 seconds.

Remove the tea bag and take note of the luminosity sensor reading.

Take a small sip of the tea.

Replace the tea bag and wait another 30 seconds.

Again, remove the tea bag and take note of the luminosity sensor reading.

Take another small sip of the tea.

Repeat this process several times until you have as many readings and get to the taste you want. Now you know that reading is where you should stop steeping your tea!