The compound’s primary stimulant effect is that it attaches to receptors in your brain that are reserved for adenosine.Īs you burn energy, a byproduct is produced called adenosine. Caffeine is a class of compound called Methylxanthines. It is found in over sixty plants, but it is mostly consumed in coffee and tea. Tea made with older leaves usually has less caffeine than tea made with younger tea leaves.Ĭaffeine is the most widely consumed psychoactive substance in the world.Higher temperatures will increase the caffeine content as the hot water will release the caffeine from the leaves faster.The longer the tea leaves are brewed in hot water, the more caffeine is released.Broken tea leaves found in a bag generally produce more caffeine when brewed than whole leaves.The more tea leaves used, the greater amount of caffeine.There are a few factors that affect caffeine content in tea: In general, black and Pu-erh teas have the highest amount of caffeine, followed by oolong teas, green teas, white teas, and purple teas. The amount of caffeine depends on the type of tea and how it is prepared and brewed. This means people can be differently affected by caffeine, with some being hypersensitive and unable to consume caffeine at all and others who can drink several cups of tea a day with no apparent side effects. It was later shown that the ‘theine’ of tea was identical to the caffeine of coffee, and the term ‘theine’ was dropped.Įveryone metabolizes caffeine at a different rate. Originally called ‘theine,’ caffeine was first discovered in tea in 1827. Fun fact: world green tea production is expected to grow 8.2% annually to hit 2.97 million tons by 2023.Ĭaffeine is a natural stimulant found in plant-derived products such as tea that can temporarily wake us up by speeding up messages through the central nervous system to the brain. Read on to discover more about the caffeine in tea, specifically green tea, made from Camellia sinensis leaves and buds that have not undergone the same withering and oxidation process used to make black teas. Tea is now grown all over the world if the right conditions are provided. Originally indigenous to China and India, the tea plant or Camellia sinensis is a tropical plant that thrives in warmer, humid climates. Under the Tang dynasty (618-906 AD), tea became firmly established as China's national drink. Although this story is not a proven fact, tea containers have been found in tombs dating from the Han dynasty (206 BC - 220 AD), so China is widely accepted as the source of tea. Legend has it the Chinese Emperor Shennong discovered tea when a few leaves from the Camellia sinensis he was sitting beneath blew into the hot water he was about to drink. However, the beverage may have originated as early as 2727 BC. While in Japan, matcha, powdered green tea, is traditionally prepared in a ceremony called temae, which takes inspiration from Zen Buddhism. In the United States, 85 percent of consumed tea is iced tea, which generally has added honey and lemon. It is no wonder the Brits say no problem cannot be solved by a hot cuppa, or to give its proper name, English Breakfast Tea, which is usually accompanied by milk or cream and sometimes sugar or sweetener. The UK population drinks over 100,000,000 cups every single day of the year. It is a popular drink across the globe, second only to water. Rooibos tea, for instance, is a caffeine-free, herbal tea and is made from the leaves of an entirely different plant called the Aspalathus Linearis shrub, which grows in the Cederberg mountains of South Africa. There are over 1000 types of tea, with Black, White, Green, Oolong, Yellow, and Pu’erh tea being the main ones or ‘true teas.’ Most types of tea are derived from a specific plant called the Camellia sinensis.īesides ‘true teas,’ there are many varieties of herbal teas made from dried fruits, flowers, spices, or herbs. Tea is an aromatic beverage prepared by pouring hot water over cured or fresh leaves.
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