12/01/2024
It's official! The longer you steep Tea, the more caffeine you will get out of the leaves. I always wondered, so I did the research.
Many of you know me from the Beer, Sake/Shochu or Spirits worlds, as I am the Grog Father of The Liquid Mafia - https://www.theliquidmafia.com/ but of all the liquids, I am most passionate about Tea. Yes, I am in the process of making a documentary film entitled Tea For Two Billion - https://teafortwobillion.com/ but that's just part of it. I also run NYC & LI Tea Tours, am starting a Tea CSA and have plans for other Tea related businesses.
So, enough with the self-promotional bu****it.
Every morning, for at least the past 20 years, I have brewed a pot of Lychee Congou Black Tea. That's what's in the photo below. It's pretty sweet. A lot of Tea people will tell you to only steep a pot for 5 to 10 minutes at the most. F that! I sometimes let that pot sit for hours, sometimes up to 4 hours before I've gotten around to it, and it will still be sweet. It's true, some Teas do not do well with long steeps, and will become bitter after a while. For a while, I used to make three pots daily, the Lychee Congou, a Rooibos and a Yerba Mate. The Lychee Congou does well with long steeps, as does the Rooibos, but the Yerba Mate (does contain Caffeine) gets bitter after about one hour. I always knew I was getting a good kick from the LC, and knew it was from the Caffeine, but never did the research until just recently to prove that point. I didn't care I was a hyper MF'er and it wasn't just the ADHD. :)
