Rock Island Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1893-1920, 1906-12-08
MAKING A CUP OF TEA.
The Way to Get the Theme and Avoid
the Tannin.

| Ine amin.
Perhaps 1 may be allowed to make
some comments on a subject that is OF
| interest to all homeS-namely, cup
of tea and the making of it. The first
proposition is that the dark color of
| tea does not mean excellence, the sec
ond 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, 1 think, that they are
| also the scientific opinions and, fur
Their, that this is case where doctors
| agree. What must properly be de-
scribed as the pharmacology of tea is
simple and we'll understood, and as ii
| concerns every one it may be briefly
discussed here.
For practical purposes tea consists
of two things, the first being fannie
acid, also known as tannin, and the
second being theme, also known as
caffeine Let us consider each OF
| these. The tannin, or fannie acid, oc-
ours 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,
together with the Cingalese, contain
ing much more of this substance.
Tannic acid has no attractions for
the palate except in the case of people
who like little bitterness, and it has
no action on the nervous system. none
4INr
body. It's action upon the tissues with
which it comes into immediate contact
is wholly deleteriOus. L do not say that
it is necessarily serious, but what ac-
ton there is is wholly bad. Notably
does it interfere with the dgestibility
of foodstuffs. Plainly, therefore, chief
concern in the production of the best
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 it, and,
secondly. by sharply limiting the length
of the infusion. 1t has been 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 in
creases markedly even between the
twentieth and fortieth minutes.
In the opinion of not i few. the said
tannin is largely responsible for the del
eterous effects frequently attributed
to the theme. This last is an invalI-
able ingredient of tea; it is the same
substance as that which gives its value
to coffee, but is present in less album
dance in the tea leaf than in the coffee
bean: 1t is a nervous stinulant of the
purest kind and belongs to an entire
ly different class from the pseudo
stimulants. such as alcohol. In some
ways this is one of the most re-
markable OF all known drugs. 1t
appears to he unique in that
it stimulates the functions of the
cerebrum, the highest portion of the
brain, without inducing any subse-
quenf rejection that can be detected.
1t has no second stage of action com
parable to that of alcohol and opium,
and 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. I
may confess that in past years have
Systematically used caffeine for 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 Il cup of tea
are considered, it is the theme or caf-
feline that we desire, and the tannin
that we do not desire. The relative
solubility of the two substances eX-
actly suits our convenience IF it were
necessary to extract all the tannin in
order to get any theme there might he
some excuse for the lady who likes her
tea to have a little body TO it. or for
the servant girl who keeps her teapot
on the hob all day. But the fact is
that it is possible to obtain all the
theme desired, while reducing the
amount of tannin to minimum. At
present the public taste is thoroughly
Initiated. No one who has given the
matter a fair consideration. or who
cares to permit any palatal delicacy at
all, will question that the fine aroma
of a cup of properly made Chinese tea
is in Il different category altogether
from the sensations aroused by the
concentrated solution of tannin, which
is usually offered under the pseudonym
"a cup of tea" which things are writ |
ten without prejudice.
In order to make reasonably COM
Dlete this brief account of the cup that |
cheers, 1 must add that it contains a |
small proportion of a volatile oil, which |
is of small physiological Importance. |
but which contributes largely TO the |
GIstatory character of tea. The chief |
public delusion in this connection is |
that the sense of taste may be inn |
plicitly trusted. You think you are not |
getting your moneys worth unless your |
senses are violently assailed 1t is as |
if you judged the power of music in |
terms of the amplitude of the sound |