On Apr 26, 12:10*am, RF wrote:
Then that story about the tannic acid in tea must
have been either a
communist plot or the British Dairy Industry was
trying to sell more milk *;-)

Just to reiterate on this thread and to return to the original
context:

The original "story" did not mention tannic acid - it mentioned
catechins (antioxidant flavanols).

Black tea - the one that milk is generally added to - contains
oxidised catechins (theaflavins) and polymerized theaflavins
(thearubigins) - these are also powerful and beneficial antioxidants.
Tannic acid is not an antioxidant, neither is it a component of
Camellia sinensis tea.

The German study indicated a beneficial and measurable vein dilation
at the measured site (the hand if I remember correctly) due to a
recent intake of black tea, but this effect was reduced if milk was
added.

However, the German study used a very small test group, used an all
female test group, used tea at German drinking strength (weak), and
used milk at 3 or 4x the normal (British) level. I would take this
limited evidence as inconclusive and it certainly did not justify, as
the BBC and other media proclaimed, a blanket condemnation of the use
of milk in tea.

And just to summarize - nobody mentioned tannic acid.

Nigel at Teacraft