When DI Hardy, played by David Tennant, microwaved a cup of tea during an episode of Broadchurch in March, much of Britain was horrified.

But it seems that the highly unorthodox method of making a cuppa could result in the best and healthiest brew.

Research by an Australian scientist has found that using a microwave to make tea activated 80% of the caffeine, theanine and antioxidant compounds – properties that are linked to lower cardiovascular disease and cholesterol, hypertension and diabetes.

Crucially, the unusual method also generated the best taste, he found.

“Microwaving is one of the advanced technologies to get more bioactive compounds from the products,” Dr Quan Vuong told the ABC.

The exact method he used was this:

1. Put hot water in the cup with your teabag.

2. Heat in the microwave for 30 seconds on half power.

3. Let it sit for a minute.

Vuong found that the health benefits were greatest when drinking three cups of tea a day. Using bags or loose leaf tea led to the same result.

His research, which was conducted in 2012 at the University of Newcastle, has sparked fierce debate on social media, with many tea-lovers unable to accept the results.

@CourtesanAnna No no no that's just wrong, 4 tea bags in teapot, stew it for 5 minutes is the only way, anyone who microwave there tea should be jailed😂 — Marty (@Martysheeks1888) April 14, 2017

Us Brits are the experts at tea brewing and I can assure you this is SACRILEGE.

MICROWAVE TEA?!! https://t.co/H1K7oGpIzy — Cath Poucher (@CathPoucher) April 11, 2017

It is a breach of the Human Rights Act to microwave a cup of tea. DO. NOT. DO. THIS. EVER! https://t.co/R3CGtwoJle — Ben (@lawsofben) April 11, 2017

In the interest of balance, the Guardian decided to put the microwave method to the test.

In a blind tasting, we sampled cups of English Breakfast tea made using the usual kettle method and then brewed in the microwave as stipulated by Vuong.

No surprise that we both preferred the traditional method.

Bonnie Malkin and Bridie Jabour testing cups of tea at Guardian Australia. Photograph: Jonny Weeks/The Guardian

“The real tea was much nicer by miles,” my co-taster, Bridie Jabour, said.

“I take my tea black but there was almost a creamier quality and it had a more complex flavour. I felt I was enjoying all the notes in tea that were on offer, while the microwave tea seemed to lose a lot of its tea-ness to be almost tea flavoured water,” she said.

“The microwave tea tasted quite thin, not quite weak but there was no robust flavour there.”

I felt the normal tea was simply hotter, richer and far better.

I don’t know about the physical health benefits, but I felt a bit depressed drinking the microwave one.

While the science may be in, it is unlikely to be the end of a debate that has raged through the ages.

“The best manner of making tea is the subject of violent disputes,” George Orwell wrote in his essay on how to make the perfect cup in 1946 – the same year the microwave was invented.