A master blender is to have his taste buds insured by a leading tea company for £1 million.

Sebastian Michaelis, one of a small group of tasters employed by Tetley, can grade a variety of tea in just 15 seconds. He spent nine years touring tea gardens in Africa and India before embarking on his unusual career testing thousands of different blends.

Mr Michaelis said: “Blending tea, like blending whisky or champagne, is a fine art. First, I examine and grade the colour, size and density of the leaf, then I assess the brew’s purity of colour [its sparkle], the weight of the tea in the mouth [its body] and the overall liveliness of the tea on the palate [its zing].”

Stolen Buddha statue found in bag

Four South Korean men have been arrested in southern Japan on suspicion of stealing an ancient Buddha statue.

The suspects were found in possession of a copper Buddha statue which went missing from the Bairinji temple in Tsushima city in Nagasaki prefecture. The statue, measuring about 10cm, was found in a paper bag carried by the suspects.

The men were arrested at a harbour where ferries depart for Busan, South Korea. They were also in possession of a number of Buddhist scriptures. Of the four arrested, two admitted to the theft, while the others denied the allegation, police said.

Fringe art installation in gallery

It might be more suited to a fringe show but London’s Saatchi Gallery is showcasing a new style of cutting-edge art – an installation made from human hair.

United Nations: Man And Space appears to have more to do with a hairdresser’s salon than an artist’s studio as it assembles flags from around the world made from little more than locks of hair held together with glue.

It has been created by the Shanghai-born but US-based artist Wenda Gu – also known as Gu Wenda – and features in a new exhibition Post Pop: East Meets West.

Pop star’s appearance cancelled

Israel’s President has cancelled the appearance of a local pop star at a high-profile public event following the star’s release of a new song focusing on a fictional Arab who gets his kicks by stabbing Jews.

The office of President Reuven Rivlin said it is cancelling its invitation for Amir Benayoun to perform at next week’s event marking the expulsion and exile of Jews from Arab countries and Iran.

The office said the sentiments expressed by Benayoun in the song Ahmed Loves Israel are “inconsistent with the responsibility required of the President’s residence”. The song tells of a fictional Arab named Ahmed who wants to “send to hell a Jew or two” despite his moderate appearance.

Stirred, not shaken – Google spoon

Just in time for the holidays, Google is throwing its money, brain power and technology at the humble spoon.

Of course these spoons (don’t call them spoogles) are a bit more than your basic utensil: using hundreds of algorithms, they allow people with essential tremors and Parkinson’s disease to eat without spilling. The technology senses how a hand is shaking and makes instant adjustments to stay balanced. In clinical trials, the Liftware spoons reduced shaking of the spoon bowl by an average of 76 per cent.

Google got into the no-shake utensil business in September, acquiring a small, National Institutes of Health-funded start-up called Lift Labs for an undisclosed sum.

Other adaptive devices have been developed to help people with tremors – rocker knives, weighted utensils and pen grips.