Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-18
WHAT'S IN A CUP OF TEAp
Pharmacology of Tea-Properties of
Tannin and Theme.
From the Pail man Gazette.

From the Pail Man Gazette
Perhaps may be allowed to make some
comments on a subject discussed in the
columns of this paper the other day. The
hrst proposition Is that the dark color OF
tea does not mean excellence the second
that the darker the LIQUID is the more evil
are It's effects and the third that the hest
tea is Chinese. These are the opinions of
an Importer. II is worth noting ] think
enat tney are also the scientific opinions.
ana, 1urther, that this Is case where doc
tors agree What must properly be de-
scr1bed as the pharmacology of tea is sim
PIE ana well understood, and. as IL concerns
every one, 1t may be briefly discussed here
For practical purposes, tea consists OF
TWO thinss-the first being fannie acid also
known as tanntn, and the second being
tneine, also known as caffeine. Let us con-
slider 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 OBJ
tanned from the Chinese leaf than from,
the Indian, the latter. together with the
Slnghalesc, containing much more of this
substance. Tanntc acid has no attractions
Tor the palate except In the case Of people
VINO Ike little bitterness. and IL has no
action on the nervous system none of n
indeed, being absorbed by the body Its
action upon the tissues with which IL comes
into immediate contact is wholly deleteri-
Gus. L do not say that IL IS necessarily
serious. but what action there is is wholly
pad. Notably does Ii interfere with the d.
gestibility of foodstuffs Plainly, therefore
a chief concern In the production OF the
pest beverage from tea should be reduction
OF the fannie acid to a minimum This Is
TO be accomplished, first, by using the leaf
which contains least OF II, and secondly
by sharply limiting the length OF the in
FUSION. 1t has been clearly proved that
practically all the theme that can be OBJ
tanned from the leaf is obtained in the first
three minutes, whereas the amount OF
tannfn increases markedly. even between
the twentieth and fortieth minutes
In the opinion of not few the said tam
min is largely responsible for the deleterious
enects frequently attributed to the theme.
rms last is an invaluable ingredient OF tea:
~ is the same substance as that which
gives its value to coffee but is present I'm
less abundance in the tea leaf than in the
coffee bean; II Is a nervous stimulant of
the purest kind, and belongs to an entirely
different class from the pseudo stimulants
such as alcohol. In some ways this is one
of the most remarkable OF all known drugs;
1t appears to be unique. in that 1t stimu-
lates the functions of the cerebrum the
highest portion of the brain, without induc-
ing any subsequent reaction that can be
detected. 1t has no second stage of action
comparable to that Of alcohol and opium,
ana IN cases OF emergency it is capable of
postponing sleep for hours, and. more than
that, OF maintaining the mental activity as
In the daytime. may confess that in past
years have systematically used caffeine
Tor weeks on end for this purpose without
any deeterfous results; but this is quoted
for illustration, not imitation.
Now, 1t is plain that. so far as the re-
mote consequences of q cup OF tea are con-
sidered, IL Is the theme or caffeine that we
desire, and the tannin that we do not de-
sire. The relative solubiIity of the two
substances exactly suits our convenience.
III 1t were necessary to extract all the tam
min In order to get any theme there might
be some excuse for the lady who likes her
tea to have little body in it, or for the
servant girl who keeps her teapot on the
hob all day. But the fact is that IL is pos
sible to obtain all the theme desired while
reducing the amount OF tannin to a mini
num- At present the public taste Is thor
oughly yitiated; no one who has given the
matter fair consideration, or who cares
to admit any palatal deicacy at ALL will
question that the fine aroma of a cup of
properly made Chinese tea is in different
category altogether from the sensations
aroused by the concentrated solution of
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
must add that II contains a small proper
ton of a volatile OIL which IS of small
physiological Importance, but which con-
tributes largely to the gustatory character
Of tea The chief public delusion In this
connection Is that the sense of taste may
be implicitly trusted You think you are
not getting your moneys worth unless your
senses are violently assailed 1t is as IL
you, Judged the power of music in terms of
the amplitude of the sound waves. The
masters pianissimo chord has more po-
tency than the sforZando of mediocrIty.