[geeks] caffeine - differences based on source

[nate at portents.com]

> Tea doesn't contain much caffeine.

Depends on the tea.  You shouldn't make blanket statements about a drink
which comes from so many possible plant combinations.

> All the assays

There's your problem - you're reading "assays" instead of "essays"! ;)

> I've ever seen that have measured the caffeine level as high have been
> measurements of the dry leaf.  Every analysis of the brewed drink I've
> ever seen has shown that the theophylline level is far higher than the
> caffeine level.

Yeah nobody seems to focus much on the theophylline levels in the
marketing, so I don't disagree it could be high in some teas and a
contributing stimulant, but some teas do list their level of caffeine
measured in milligrams of caffeine per 8-oz cup, such as the Celestial
Seasonings Morning Thunder tea, which is a combination of mate and black
tea, and has 40mg of caffeine per 8-oz cup.  That's right up there with a
lot of caffeinated sodas.

The whole "tea doesn't contain much caffeine" blanket statement just
doesn't make much sense when some teas do, and some teas don't.

- Nate