RFDT is the most knowledgeable group on tea and always seeks for
current scientific knowlege on tea. And hence need of the hour is that
rfdt members and the creators of RFDT group also have a list of FRF
( frequently repeated fallacies) as suggested by Lew in the following
quoted message, and corrections if any be made in FAQ of RFDT.

Recent message from Lew in RFDT

"Maybe this newsgroup needs not just an FAQ list, but also an FRF
(frequently repeated fallacies.) This one might come in as #3,
behind:


1) Black tea has more caffeine than green.


2) Thirty seconds of steeping will remove most of the caffeine from
tea leaves. "

Any new FRF, besides the above two FRF, any new FRF should be added
after through discussion.

S.M. Changoiwala,Director
Gopaldhara Tea Co Pvt LTD.
KOLKOTA, INDIA
Gardens-
Darjeeling-Gopaldhara, Avongrove, Rohini
Dooars - Soongachi and New Glencoe
email-
website- www.gopaldhara.com

1) Black tea has more caffeine than green.

I might append to this the related caffeine claims such as "white tea
has the lowest levels of caffeine" and "puer has no caffeine," both of
which I've heard fairly regularly...sometimes even in tea shops whose
information is usually pretty good.

--Michael J. Coffey--
www.teageek.net
Ironic, isn't it?

1) Black tea has more caffeine than green.

I might append to this the related caffeine claims such as "white tea
has the lowest levels of caffeine" and "puer has no caffeine," both of
which I've heard fairly regularly...sometimes even in tea shops whose
information is usually pretty good.

--Michael J. Coffey--
www.teageek.net
Ironic, isn't it?

This is fun! Sort of like Tea Mythbusters. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MythBusters

Since we recently discussed this one and came to a consensus, I'll add
it:

Otherwise safe-to-drink water does NOT need to be boiled then cooled.
It can simply be heated up to the desired temperature.

Alan

snip

[Alan]
Since we recently discussed this one and came to a consensus, I'll add it:

Otherwise safe-to-drink water does NOT need to be boiled then cooled. It
can simply be heated up to the desired temperature.

Hi Alan,
Forgive me for entering a thread I've not even read, but despite the "consensus," are you saying it is *not* appropriate to heat water to the desired temperature instead of bringing the water to a boil and then letting it fall to the desired temperature? I think this is purely a matter of taste, and many I respect taste a better tea by stopping before the boil. Who am I to argue with folks' taste? Perhaps you refer to the oxygen issue, wherein some believe that bringing the water to a boil depletes oxygen. Anyway, probably my misunderstanding of your intention.
Michael

On Oct 17, 6:40 pm, Michael Plant wrote:
snip

[Alan]

Since we recently discussed this one and came to a consensus, I'll add it:
Otherwise safe-to-drink water does NOT need to be boiled then cooled. It
can simply be heated up to the desired temperature.

Hi Alan,
Forgive me for entering a thread I've not even read, but despite the "consensus," are you saying it is *not* appropriate to heat water to the desired temperature instead of bringing the water to a boil and then letting it fall to the desired temperature? I think this is purely a matter of taste, and many I respect taste a better tea by stopping before the boil. Who am I to argue with folks' taste? Perhaps you refer to the oxygen issue, wherein some believe that bringing the water to a boil depletes oxygen. Anyway, probably my misunderstanding of your intention.
Michael

(not directed to Michael, I just used this as a jumping in point)

I just wanted to pop in to add that the reason I've stayed away from
this thread is that it is neigh impossible to list FRF's without
introducing more fallacies and also inciting disagreements. Fallacies
are fallacies, they are not always black and white. Many are borne of
truths or custom, some are plain false, and the rest are shades of
grey.

I don't want to be the one to rain on anyones parade, but I think this
idea of a "FRF" is best left alone.

- Dominic

I normally heat my water to the appropriate temp, but I've never been
averse to letting water cool to the desired temp and then brewing.

well it would be ok for some solid fallacies such as 'tea cures
cancer' or 'tea cures syphillis'

On Oct 18, 11:04 am, SN wrote:
well it would be ok for some solid fallacies such as 'tea cures
cancer' or 'tea cures syphillis'

Damn it... you mean my Syphillis ain't going anywhere?!? That's it,
I'm switching to coffee and leaving the group!

- Dominic

(Yes, I can see pointing out the obvious ones, but my Magic 8 Ball
predicts that it won't stop there and be a hotbed of contention.
Again, everyone is free to do what they want, I was just offering up
my singular nay vote.)

BTW What's the consensus on tea and Chlamydia? ...a friend wants to
know.

On Oct 18, 11:28 am, "Dominic T." wrote:
On Oct 18, 11:04 am, SN wrote:

well it would be ok for some solid fallacies such as 'tea cures
cancer' or 'tea cures syphillis'

Damn it... you mean my Syphillis ain't going anywhere?!? That's it,
I'm switching to coffee and leaving the group!

- Dominic

(Yes, I can see pointing out the obvious ones, but my Magic 8 Ball
predicts that it won't stop there and be a hotbed of contention.
Again, everyone is free to do what they want, I was just offering up
my singular nay vote.)

BTW What's the consensus on tea and Chlamydia? ...a friend wants to
know.



if properly applied, oolong tea paste may cure chlamydia, but only if
"your friend" has gonorrhea at the same time.

/
true, this topic it may end up very diverted from its intended point.

Michael Plant wrote:
snip

[Alan]
Since we recently discussed this one and came to a consensus, I'll add it:

Otherwise safe-to-drink water does NOT need to be boiled then cooled. It
can simply be heated up to the desired temperature.

Hi Alan,
Forgive me for entering a thread I've not even read, but despite the "consensus," are you saying it is *not* appropriate to heat water to the desired temperature instead of bringing the water to a boil and then letting it fall to the desired temperature? I think this is purely a matter of taste, and many I respect taste a better tea by stopping before the boil. Who am I to argue with folks' taste? Perhaps you refer to the oxygen issue, wherein some believe that bringing the water to a boil depletes oxygen. Anyway, probably my misunderstanding of your intention.
Michael

I agree with you; in fact, you summarized that entire discussion!
Consensus was that the "rule" to always boil water for tea came from a
time when water safety was more of an issue than it is today. We noted
that boiling the water would drive out desirable oxygen, so bringing
safe water up to the desired temperature should maximize dissolved
oxygen without compromising safety.

Alan

How about a synopsis of significant discussion? Sort of a "Cliffs
Notes" for tea-lovers. Out-and-out fallacies could be identified as
such, while less-absolute topics could be summarized with the
different schools of thought.

Alan

Alan writes:

How about a synopsis of significant discussion? Sort of a "Cliffs
Notes" for tea-lovers. Out-and-out fallacies could be identified as
such, while less-absolute topics could be summarized with the
different schools of thought.

That could be useful. But I was proposing something far simpler: just
the out-and-out fallacies. The three I proposed are all falsified by
measurements that have already been taken.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html

On Oct 22, 3:05 pm, Alan wrote:
Michael Plant wrote:
snip

[Alan]
Since we recently discussed this one and came to a consensus, I'll add it:

Otherwise safe-to-drink water does NOT need to be boiled then cooled. It
can simply be heated up to the desired temperature.

Hi Alan,
Forgive me for entering a thread I've not even read, but despite the "consensus," are you saying it is *not* appropriate to heat water to the desired temperature instead of bringing the water to a boil and then letting it fall to the desired temperature? I think this is purely a matter of taste, and many I respect taste a better tea by stopping before the boil. Who am I to argue with folks' taste? Perhaps you refer to the oxygen issue, wherein some believe that bringing the water to a boil depletes oxygen. Anyway, probably my misunderstanding of your intention.
Michael

I agree with you; in fact, you summarized that entire discussion!
Consensus was that the "rule" to always boil water for tea came from a
time when water safety was more of an issue than it is today. We noted
that boiling the water would drive out desirable oxygen, so bringing
safe water up to the desired temperature should maximize dissolved
oxygen without compromising safety.

Alan

Incidentally.. I was thinking about this recently. China was making
mostly green, white and oolong teas before, then it moved into
making more black teas when the trade opened with Portugal and
England. At the same time, water should have been boiled so
that green tea would not taste very good.. Have chinese invented
some way to get around this? Maybe boiling in clay kettles is
better? I noticed that boiled water often has stronger metallic
taste. But I haven't done thorough testing..

comment.

Incidentally.. I was thinking about this recently. China was making
mostly green, white and oolong teas before, then it moved into
making more black teas when the trade opened with Portugal and
England. At the same time, water should have been boiled so
that green tea would not taste very good.. Have chinese invented
some way to get around this? Maybe boiling in clay kettles is
better? I noticed that boiled water often has stronger metallic
taste. But I haven't done thorough testing..

comment.

I have two answers, both of which are not direct experiences but those
of folks who have either their own personal experiences or have done
their own research.

1) In Chinese-culture societies (so as to cover both political
descriptions of Taiwan), all teas are brewed with boiling or near
boiling water. But instead of stewing them for as long as us
Westerners do, they'll brew for MUCH shorter periods of time. I do
have personal experience that this works, and you can too. Take, say,
your favorite Yinzhen/Silver Needles white tea and measure out
identical quantities. Brew one at 175 degrees (F) for 3-4 minutes,
and brew one in a full boil water for 15-20 *seconds*. Taste them
side by side. They will probably taste quite different, but neither
will be unpleasant.

2) Tea DID taste unpleasant for a really large chunk of tea-drinking
history--it was taken as a medicine for the first thousand years or
so. Then, for nearly three thousand years, basic tea processing
methods kept being developed to make it more tasty. (Of course, that
suggests that the process isn't still continuing, but from what I've
found there's been no new "category" or "family" of tea produced since
the invention of fully-oxidized red/black tea which is why I'm saying
it stopped a couple centuries ago.)

's just my take.

--Michael J. Coffey--
www.teageek.net
Ironic, isn't it?

Tea Geek writes:

[...]
1) In Chinese-culture societies (so as to cover both political
descriptions of Taiwan), all teas are brewed with boiling or near
boiling water. But instead of stewing them for as long as us
Westerners do, they'll brew for MUCH shorter periods of time. I do
have personal experience that this works, and you can too. Take, say,
your favorite Yinzhen/Silver Needles white tea and measure out
identical quantities. Brew one at 175 degrees (F) for 3-4 minutes,
and brew one in a full boil water for 15-20 *seconds*. Taste them
side by side. They will probably taste quite different, but neither
will be unpleasant.

There's a lot of truth in this, but I sure wouldn't subject a delicate
green tea to boiling water even for a very short steep. Silver Needle
can probably take this treatment because:

- in a first steep of 15-20 seconds the thick buds barely get
hydrated;

- in subsequent steeps the buds start out saturated with tepid water,
so after you pour on the boiling water the resulting temperature the
tea steeps at will be well short of boiling.

/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html