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Why am I vibrating?

Posted: Nov 15th, '08, 03:00
by caligatia
Why is it that four 4oz gaiwan of puerh, brewed at 30 seconds each, caffeinate me more and faster than two 9oz mugs of black tea brewed at 3 minutes each? I'm so wired right now... :)

Posted: Nov 15th, '08, 03:18
by omegapd
No idea. Quite a few websites claim Pu-erh is lower in caffeine than other teas. What was it? Maybe you're experiencing Cha qi? :? I'm not sold on that whole idea but I've found some teas affect me differently than others too...

http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=6812
(post here on Cha qi)

EW

Posted: Nov 15th, '08, 03:20
by Salsero
I've always thought that shu had less caffeine than other tea. Mmm ... maybe I over generalized.

The other day I made another low-caffeine tea for a client: gyokuro. It was like we were on drugs. We were flying!

So yeah, I guess there should be a warning on all this tea: caution, contains caffeine.

Posted: Nov 15th, '08, 03:53
by Vulture
The thing about tea is that it not only contains Caffine but a lot of other healthy stuff. Minerals, antioxidants (?), and lots of water! All nice things to help wake you up and give you energy. Also if you add sugar to it you get a energy from that.

All soda's use caffeine but they have Corn Syrup or Aspertain(?) in them for sweeteners which don't digest easily. Being near the border I can get Mexican Coke (soda not illegal substance) which has Cane Sugar in it instead of the other sweeteners. And I have to say damn that stuff will give you a buzz. The caffeine and real sugar will get you going real quick. I think I need to go buy a box of them again here soon.

Posted: Nov 15th, '08, 05:36
by olivierco
Salsero wrote:I've always thought that shu had less caffeine than other tea. Mmm ... maybe I over generalized.

The other day I made another low-caffeine tea for a client: gyokuro. It was like we were on drugs. We were flying!

So yeah, I guess there should be a warning on all this tea: caution, contains caffeine.
After a while the caffeine kick disappears. I guess it is a matter of how our brain reacts and adapts itself to new tastes.

Posted: Nov 15th, '08, 09:27
by Riene
I don't know, Caligata, but I had the exact same response to the first Pu I ever tried--felt like my heart was racing, hands were shaky, and my head was buzzing. It was weird, because I rarely react to caffeine.

Posted: Nov 15th, '08, 11:22
by odarwin
usually, with shou pu, i always experience qi that relaxes me. sleep very well and calm with worries flying off my shoulder.

but its a different thing for oolongs, tgy specificaly. stomach wrong, cant sleep etc... its the same with young sheng... thou i really havent experienced a lot of young sheng

i think lots of people experience this... i think it would be nice to get a poll of how people react to shou and sheng cha :D

-darwin

Posted: Nov 15th, '08, 11:22
by shogun89
I have ADHD so Caffeine actually has the reveres effect on me. So when I have a high caffeine beverage I just feel more concentrated but relaxed and calm.

Posted: Nov 15th, '08, 12:29
by Manatoa
I have just plain ol' ADD and I found that some pu'erh teas are strong enough to replace my meds. It's a great situation, tea is cheaper, healthier, and doesn't have the nasty crash that prescription amphetamines do, though if you brew it too strong, it's just like a mild OD of my former meds. It also gives me a great excuse to buy more tea. "It's for medicinal use, really!" :lol:

My medicinal tea of choice: 2005 6FTM Yiwu ltd. It used to be cheap, tastes good (extremely floral aromatics), and kicks like a mule.

A link to a review for the 2004 version:

http://community.livejournal.com/puerh_tea/9821.html

Posted: Nov 15th, '08, 12:55
by Proinsias
I had a similar feeling the first few times I tried matcha, I assumed it was due to the onslaught of fresh ingredients into my system along with the caffeine. No need to think about extraction times when you can just eat the stuff.

Posted: Nov 15th, '08, 13:12
by shogun89
I used to take meds until I was about 13 then learned to cope with the ADHD and now I am 17 ranked 30/350 in my class taking seminar classes. So you can beat it.

Posted: Nov 15th, '08, 14:00
by Vulture
shogun89 wrote:I used to take meds until I was about 13 then learned to cope with the ADHD and now I am 17 ranked 30/350 in my class taking seminar classes. So you can beat it.
Yah I was medicated up till high school where I secretly stopped taking it. Delt without meds since. I have ADHD as well. You probably can't tell :roll:

Posted: Nov 15th, '08, 15:06
by Salsero
Impressive stories, shogun89 and Vulture. I wonder how many kids have had to outsmart their doctors in order to have the life they want without meds.

Posted: Nov 15th, '08, 16:56
by Wesli
I think it has to do with the Oversteep Effect. If you oversteep pretty much any tea, the tea becomes bitter and hard to drink from what I believe is an increased release of tannins (as well as other agents). These extra ingredients not only change the flavor, but I believe they're responsible for the jittery energy kick oversteep teas can give you.

Pu-erh is supposed to be brewed with extremely short infusions. As anyone who has oversteeped young sheng by even a slight amount can tell you, the stuff gets bitter. This has led me to believe that pu-erh teas have either a higher content of these jitter-enducing agents, or just release them more easily.

Pu-erh can really kick your ***. Young sheng especially. Shu, not as much, and aged pu-erhs really don't stimulate me much at all.

Posted: Nov 15th, '08, 17:34
by caligatia
Wesli: I've been doing extremely short steeps, around 30 seconds, and I haven't been getting any bitterness. Hm.

Amusingly, I was able to go to sleep about half an hour after I started this thread. Yay for jitters not lasting long!