The perfect cup of tea

[JaXanim]

I read somewhere that snorting caffine extracted from tea bags may cause holes to appear in the brain. Hmmm...

JaX

PS: Omit the preliminary aqueous extraction (known as 'the brew'). Caffine is not very water soluble, so you'll get more out by running a Soxholet extraction with chloroform (or whatever) directly on the tea bags.

[JaXanim]

@bloodline

Ah, so the caffine is probably released from a more complex molecule by hydrolysis during the brew stage. This suggests you may prefer to let the brew become a 'stew'. In our neck of the woods, 'stewed' tea is revoltingly over-brewed tea and is more or less black when observed in the cup.

The taste of stewed tea is also revolting and may be related to a very high caffine content. Good for use in the next stage before the final snort process.

JaX

[JaXanim]

I've just popped back to this thread, so forgive me if the subject has already been discussed.

I'm referring to tannins in tea. Tea is very rich in tannins, like tannic acid. As some of you may be aware, tannins cross-link proteins to create a rigid structure.

The relevance of this lies in the leather industry. They make leather from animal skins by 'tanning' them with cross-linking agents. What was a nice flexible, supple proteinaceous substance becomes stiff, tough, and leathery suitable for making into shoes, horse saddles and footballs.

So, should any of you avid tea takers become aware of a slight stiffening of the tongue, a barely perceptible change in the tone of your voice, think about leather and what could possibly be happening within you very own mouth.

I don't wish to scare anyone, but I feel you should be aware of these facts.

Cheers,

JaX

PS: Coffee anyone?