Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1906-09-07
Dark Liquid Does Not Mean Excellence. and
the Darker the Liquid Is the More Evil Arc
Its Elfects-Chnese Tea Is Said to Be the

e'' """S "oSs PiOPC'y OC VIC
scribed as the pharmacology OF tea i.
simple and we'll understood, and as j,
concerns every one it may be briefly
discussed here.
For practical purposes tea consists
of two things. the first being tannic
acid, also known as tanniu, and the
second being theme, also known as
caffeine. Let us consider each oil
these. The tannin, or tannic acid
occurs in the tea leaf, as in so many
other plants. 1t is less readily sol.
uble than the theme and is much less
readily obtained from the Chinese leaf
than from the Indian, the latter, to.
gether with the Cingalese, containing
much more of this substance.
Tannic acid has no attractions for
the palate except in the case OF people
who like little bitterness, and il has
no action on the nervous system, none
of it, indeed, being absorbed by the
body. Its action upon the tissues with
which it comes into immediate con.
tact is wholly deleterious. l do not
say that it is necessarily serious. but
what action there is is wholly bad.
Notably does it interfere with the di.
gestibility of foodstuffs. Plainly. there.
fore, chief concern in the production
of the best beverage from tea should
he reduction of the tannic acid TO q
minimum. This is to be accomplished,
first, by using the leaf which contains
least OF it, and, secondly, by sharply
limiting the length of the infusion.
It has been clearly proved that prac-
tically all the theme that can be oh.
tanned from the leaf is obtained in
the first three minutes, whereas the
amount Of tannin increases markedly
even between the twentieth and for.
Iletn minutes.
In the opinion Of not few, the said
tannin is largely responsible for the
deleterious effects frequently attribut-
ed to the theme. This last is an in.
valuable Ingredient of tea; it is the
same substance as that which gives its
value to coffee, but is present in less
abundance in the tea leaf than in the
coffee bean; il is . nervous stimulant
of the purest kind and belongs to an
entirely different class from the pseudo.
stimulants, such 90 alcohol. In some
ways this is one of the most remark.
able of al known drugs. 1t appears
TO be unique in that it stimulates the
functions of the cerebrum, the highes,
portion OF the brain, without inducing
any subsequent reaction that can be
detected. It has no second stage ol
action comparable to that OF alcohol
and opium, and in cases of emergency
it is capable OF postponing sleep fol
hours, and, more than that, of main.
tanning the mental activity as in the
daytime. may confess that in past
years have Systematically used caf'
feline for weeks on end for this purpose
without any deleterious results; but
this is quoted for illustration, not imi.
tation.
Now. it is plain that, 90 far as the
remote consequences OF a cup OF tea are
considered, it is the theme or caffeine
that we desire, and the tsnnin that We
do not desire. The relative solubility
OF the two substances exactly suits
our convenience. If it were necessary
to extract all the tannin in order &c
get any theme there might be some
excuse for the lady who likes her tes
to have . little "body" to it, or 10,
the servant girl who keeps her teapot
on the hob all day. But the fact il
that it is possible to obtain oil the
theme desired, while reducing the
amount Of tannin to minimum. Al
present the public taste is thoroughly
vitiated. No one who has given the
matter . fair consideration, or who
cares to permit any palatial delicacy
at all. will question that the fine aroms
OF cup Of properly made Chinese tea
is in a different category altogether
from the sensations aroused by the
concentrated solution OF tannin, which
is usually offered under the pseudo
nym "a cup Of tes," which things are
written without prejudice.
In order to make reasonably com
plete this brief account of the cup thai
cheers, I must add that it contains 9
email proportion of q volatile oil
which is of small physiological import
ance, but which contributes largely te
the gustatory character OF tea. The