Convert teaspoons to milliliters in seconds

Ever stood in your kitchen holding a teaspoon, wondering how much vanilla extract you’re really adding to those cookies? You’re not alone. Teaspoons and milliliters are the yin and yang of cooking measurements, they work together, but switching between them can feel like speaking two languages.. Let’s make that translation effortless.

Unit definitions

What is a teaspoon (tsp)?

A teaspoon is that little spoon rattling in your utensil drawer, but as a unit, it’s more precise. Here’s the scoop:

• Symbol: tsp
• Common uses: Measuring spices, baking powder, vanilla extract
• Definition: 1/3 of a tablespoon or about 4.92892 milliliters in the US measurement system

Fun fact: Australian tablespoons are 20 mL instead of 15 mL, making their teaspoons roughly 5 mL. Geography matters even in your spice rack!

What is a milliliter (mL)?

Milliliters are the metric system’s answer to small liquid measurements:

• Symbol: mL or ml
• Common uses: Pharmaceuticals, international recipes, scientific measurements
• Definition: 1/1000 of a liter – about the volume of a sugar cube

Ever noticed medicine dosages in mL? That precision saves lives – and can save your soufflé too.

Conversion formula

The magic number here is 4.92892. To convert:

• Teaspoons to milliliters: Multiply teaspoons by 4.92892
  Example: 3 tsp × 4.92892 = 14.78676 mL
• Milliliters to teaspoons: Divide milliliters by 4.92892
  Example: 10 mL ÷ 4.92892 ≈ 2.0288 tsp

Most home cooks use 5 mL as the teaspoon equivalent for simplicity. Your cookies won’t mind the 0.071 mL difference.

Example calculations

Scenario 1: Your European cake recipe calls for 7.5 mL of almond extract. How many teaspoons is that?

• 7.5 mL ÷ 4.92892 = 1.52 tsp
  You’d use about 1.5 teaspoons (or 1 tsp + ½ tsp)

Scenario 2: The cookie recipe wants 2 tsp of baking soda. Your measuring cup shows mL:

• 2 tsp × 4.92892 = 9.85784 mL
  Round to 10 mL for practicality

Conversion tables

Teaspoons to milliliters

Milliliters to teaspoons

Historical background

The teaspoon’s story begins with actual spoons – 17th century English tea culture standardized cutlery sizes. By 1824, British law defined the teaspoon as 1/8 fluid ounce. Meanwhile, the metric system was born from French Revolution ideals in 1795, with liters based on cubic decimeters.

Here’s where it gets quirky: When the US adopted its measurement system, they tweaked the teaspoon to 1/6 fluid ounce (about 4.92892 mL). This slight difference still causes confusion in international recipes today. Did you know early apothecaries used teaspoons for medicines? That’s why modern dosing cups often show both tsp and mL.

Interesting facts

1. A US coffee teaspoon is technically 4.92892 mL, but nutrition labels round to 5 mL
2. Australia’s metric conversion in 1970 changed their teaspoon to exactly 5 mL
3. Medical syringes often show mL exclusively to prevent dosing errors
4. The world’s largest teaspoon (8 meters long) holds about 39,431 liters – enough for 8 million cups of tea!
5. NASA uses milliliters exclusively in space recipes – no floating teaspoons in zero gravity

FAQ