"Dominic T." > writes:
> Lewis Perin wrote:
> > [...]
> > Sorry, but I don't think this makes sense. I've never seen any
> > evidence that delicate green teas have less caffeine than
> > e.g. red/black teas. And greens really don't like high temperatures.
>
> Caffeine Content Comparisons
> The following is the approximate caffeine content of various beverages
> (Based on 8oz. of tea)
> Item | Milligrams of Caffeine | Average per serving Range
> Coffee (5 oz. cup) 80 40 - 170
> Cola (12 oz. can) 45 30 - 60
> Black Tea (one tea bag) 40 25 - 110
> Oolong Tea (one tea bag) 30 12 - 55
> Green Tea (one tea bag) 20 8 - 30
> White Tea (one tea bag) 15 6 - 25
> Decaf Tea (one tea bag) 2 1 - 4
> Herbal Tea (one tea bag) 0 0
What's your source for this? Did they brew the different kinds of tea
the same way?
If you look at this caffeine analysis of many teas of each type
http://www.holymtn.com/tea/teacaffeine.htm
you'll see there's essentially no trend across the different types.
As Nigel Melican, a consultant to tea growers and manufacturers who
occasionally posts here, said a couple of years ago,
All of which goes to show that quoting any particular caffeine
percentage for a given tea type (and many people do) should be
fringed with caveats and exact data given as to how it was processed
and when it was grown. In the main none of this information is
available to the producer, let alone the seller.
> [...]
> I drink a lot of green tea, and I can say that I can feel less caffiene
> from more delicate greens than heavier ones.
I would guess that, like most people who know tea, you brew delicate
ones differently, giving them less heat and/or brewing time. That
would yield less caffeine per steep.
> This is only my anecdotal evidence and personal opinion though, I
> have not tested it. White/Green tea does indeed contain less
> caffiene though than an oolong or black tea. A good white tea like
> silver needles generally is a nice in-between of a white and a light
> green.
I'm sorry I can't find a reference for this right now, but I'm sure
I've read that tea buds - used in Silver Needles - actually are higher
in caffeine than tea leaves, and that young leaves have more caffeine
than mature ones. I seem to remember an evolutionary explanation for
this related to protecting the most valuable parts of the plant from
insect predation.
/Lew
---
Lew Perin /
http://www.panix.com/~perin/babelcarp.html