Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-07-04
WHATS IN A CUP OF TEAr
Tannin and Theme, and What Their
Effects Are.

From the Pail Mall Gazette.
Perhaps may be allowed to make some
comments on a subject discussed In the col
unns of this paper the other day. The
first proposition Is that the dark color of
tea does not mean excellence. the second
that the darker the liquid is the more evil
are its effects. and the third that the best
tea is Chinese. These are the opinions OF
an importer. 1t is worth noting. think
that they are also the scientific opinions,
and. further, that this Is a case where doc
tors agree What must properly be de-
scrioed as the pharmacology OF tea is sim
pie and well understood. and. as It 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 tannin, and the second being
tneine, also known as caffeine. Let us con-
slder each Of these. The tannin. or fannie
acid occurs In the tea leaf as in so MANY
other plants: 1t Is less readily soluble than
the theme. and Is much less readily obtain
60 from the Chinese leaf than from the IN
dian. the latter, together with the Sngha-
lese, containing much more of this SUBJ
stance: Tannic acid has no attractions for
the palate except in the case Of people who
IKE little bitterness. and 1t has no action
on the nervous system, none of It, indeed
being absorbed by the body Its action
upon the tissues with which 1t comes into
immediate contact is wholly deleterious I
w hot soy liidt II Is necessarily Serious but
what action there is is wholly bad Notably
does 1t interfere with the digestibIlity of
1oodstuns. Plainly. therefore, a chief con-
Germ In the production of the best beverage
from tea should be reduction OF the fannie
acid to minimum. This is to be accom-
pllshed. first, by using the leaf which con-
talns least of 1t, and, secondly, by sharply
,mltins the length of the infusion. 1t has
peen clearly proved that practically all the
theme that can be obtained from the leaf is
obtained in the first three minutes, whereas
the amount of tannin increases markedly
even between the twentieth and fortieth
minutes
In the opinion of not few the said tan
MIN Is largely responsible for the deleterious
eHects frequently attributed to the theme.
rms last Is an invaluable ingredient of tea;
1t 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
conee bean; 1t is nervous stimulant of
the purest kind, and belongs to an entirely
different class from the pseudo-stimuants
such as alcohol. In some ways this is one
OF the most remarkable of all known drugs:
II appears to be unique in that it stimulates
the functions Of the cerebrum, the highest
portion of the brain. without inducing any
subsequent reaction that can be detected
II has no second stage of action compare
bic to that of alcohol and opium and in
cases of emergency it is capable of post
poning sleep for hours, and, more than that
OF maintaining the mental activity as In the
daytime. l may confess that in past years
weeks on end for this purpose without any
deleterious results; but this Is quoted for
Illustration, not imitation.
NOW. 1t Is plain that, so far as the remote
consequences of cup of tea are consider
ed, 1t Is the theme caffeine that we de-
sire, and the tannin that we do not desire.
The relative solubility of the two sub
stances exactly suits our convenience. If it
were necessary to extract all the tannin in
order to get any theme there might be
some excuse for the lady who likes her tea
servant girl who keeps her teapot on the
hob all day. But the fact is that It is pos
sible to obtain all the theme desired while
reducing the amount of tannin to mini
mum. AT present the public taste is thor
oughly vittated; no one who has given the
matter a fair consideration, or who cares
to admit any palatal delicacy at ALL will
question that the fine aroma of q cup of
properly made Chinese tea is in a different
aroused by the concentrated solution of
tannin. which is usually offered under the
pseudonym, "a cup of tea" Which things
are written without prejudice.
In order to make reasonably complete
this brief account of the cup that cheers, I
must add that 1t contains a small proper
ton of volatile oil, which is of small
physiological Importance, but which con-
tributes largely to the gusta tory character
connection Is that the Of taste may
be implicitly trusted. You think you are
not getting your moneys worth unless your
senses are violently assailed. 1t Is as II you
judged the power Of music in terms of the
amplitude of the sound waves. The mas
ter's pianissimo chord has more potency
than the sforzando OF mediocrty.