Inger Valentine from South Africa poured 249 cups of tea in just one hour and has been recorded in the Guinness World Records.
The record was set in August. However, information about Inger Valentine was recently updated by the Guinness World Records organization.
This world record promises to open new opportunities for the Wupperthal community. (Photo: Guinness World Records).
To achieve this record, she had to successfully brew at least 150 cups of tea in one hour. She chose to brew rooibos tea, a red herbal tea made from the leaves of the Aspalathus linearis plant, which is native to South Africa. Wupperthal, Valentine’s hometown, is also the birthplace of rooibos tea.
Valentine selected three tea flavors: original, vanilla, and strawberry. She meticulously planned in advance to meet her goal. She placed 4 tea bags in each teapot, allowing each pot to yield 4 cups of tea.
To qualify as standard rooibos tea, each tea bag needed to be steeped for at least two minutes.
Valentine exceeded the target to become the record holder for brewing rooibos tea. (Photo: Guinness World Records).
The rules of Guinness World Records for food-related records prohibit waste. Therefore, Valentine enlisted many people, including local students, to help enjoy the cups of tea she brewed.
Before each cup of tea reached the helpers, an official would check to ensure it contained at least 142 ml of water. With her experience, Valentine quickly brewed 92 cups of tea in just 20 minutes.
However, at this point, she was nearly out of cups to continue brewing. As a result, local students assisted her by washing the cups they had used.
At the end of the hour, Valentine was confident that she had brewed at least 150 cups of tea. She estimated that she had brewed a total of 170 cups. However, the actual number was 249 cups, with only one cup being disqualified for not containing enough water.
The reason Valentine wanted to set this record was to promote tourism in Wupperthal and highlight the resilience of the local people.
On the last day of 2018, a wildfire left over 200 people in Wupperthal homeless, including Valentine. The fire destroyed all the guesthouses in Wupperthal. Valentine managed many of these guesthouses as she worked at a tourism office.
“For me, this record will open many doors for the community,” she shared.
