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Jan 11th, '08, 18:59
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Does anyone know Portuguese?

by Mary R » Jan 11th, '08, 18:59

Oookay...yes, that is an incredibly random question...but I have a good reason for it.

A woman from Whole Foods contacted Xine today about the last "Between the Leaves" I did. She wanted to enlighten me on the ways of self-decaffeination. The sources she sent me were so weak that it kinda pissed me off, to be honest. So now I really want to write a BTL debunking that myth.

The problem is, I need me some sources and one that looks promising (Simultaneous determination of the theobromine, theophylline and caffeine in teas by high perfomance liquid chromatography) is written in Portuguese. My surprisingly decent reading-Spanish just isn't cutting it. So I though I'd check here first before seeing about a translator.

Jan 11th, '08, 19:25

by Ed » Jan 11th, '08, 19:25

I don't know Portuguese, but I know a little Pig-Latin. :P

I read your article about caffeine detox. I quit all caffeine for many months last year and it seemed to do the trick for me. Are you personally detoxing, Mary, or is this just a project?

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Jan 11th, '08, 19:33
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by Mary R » Jan 11th, '08, 19:33

Oh hell no! I'd mainline caffeine if I thought it wouldn't stop my heart.

The recent decaf article was a product of "Aw crap, I'm hella busy and need to write a BTL...what's easy?"

Debunking the "steep for 30 secs and decaf your own tea" myth is a personal vendetta.

Jan 11th, '08, 19:35

by Ed » Jan 11th, '08, 19:35

I'm down with that. I have been laughing at that myth for over a year now. Best of luck in the debunkage...

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Jan 11th, '08, 20:49
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by Space Samurai » Jan 11th, '08, 20:49

Wow Mary, that was an awesome article!

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Jan 11th, '08, 21:06
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by Mary R » Jan 11th, '08, 21:06

Yes it is! I just wish I could read it!

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Jan 11th, '08, 22:43
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by Eastree » Jan 11th, '08, 22:43

I know someone. Actually, I know two people, off hand.

That is ... would this be Brazilian Portuguese, or from Europe?

edit: that is, pending their agreement to translate.

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Jan 11th, '08, 22:53
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by Mary R » Jan 11th, '08, 22:53

Brazillian. At least, the publication is from Brazil.

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Jan 12th, '08, 02:59
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by scruffmcgruff » Jan 12th, '08, 02:59

There are a couple of articles in English that, while not totally conclusive, at least suggest that the myth is a myth. You can view the discussion of them here:

http://tinyurl.com/29fjz4

Hope this helps, though I understand if it is difficult to present these particular studies, as was made clear by this discussion.
Tea Nerd - www.teanerd.com

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Jan 12th, '08, 10:47
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by Mary R » Jan 12th, '08, 10:47

Thanks, Scruff!

I'd found mention of that Hicks article (Tea preparation and its influence on methylxanthine concentration) previously on another rec.food.drink.tea thread. In that particular thread, Hobbes mentioned that if anyone wanted a PDF of it, he could provide one. So I e-mailed him last night.

This morning, I found in my inbox not only that article but four others besides!

I heart Hobbes.

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