Vocaboly.com

[Richard Maurer]

I see that I am answering a related question,
but not the original one. Time for bed.

-- ---------------------------------------------
Richard Maurer To reply, remove half
Sunnyvale, California of a homonym of a synonym for also.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

[Alec McKenzie]

"Richard Maurer" <rcpb1_maurer@yahoo.com> wrote:

[Richard Maurer]

Sara Lorimer wrote:
Something's puzzling me as I sit here waiting
for the kettle to boil. Imagine I have two coffee mugs.
One is small, the other is large. I make tea in both,
each with one tea bag and water sufficient to fill the mug.
Does each mug contain the same amount of caffeine?

I'll probably figure out the answer to this as soon as
the tea wakes me up, and once again I'll be posting a "whoops,
that was silly of me comment. Ah well, I'm used to it.



So I'm thinking: Why doesn't someone just measure the caffeine?
Then in a sort of background way for a few days I am realizing
that I wouldn't even know how to start, except that it would involve
knowing quite a bit about the structure of caffeine.

From http://coffeefaq.com/caffaq.html

How do I measure caffeine content at home?

To the best of my knowledge this can not be accomplished
without sophisticated equipment.


On the same page they give caffeine in milligrams

Tea, brewed, imported 60
Tea, brewed, U.S. 40

The variability in the amount of caffeine in a cup of coffee or tea
is relatively large even if prepared by the same person
using the same equipment and ingredients day after day.


And also
Caffeine is present in tea leaves and in coffee to the extent
of about 4%. Tea also contains two other alkaloids,
theobromine and theophylline. These last two relax the smooth muscles
where caffeine stimulates the heart and respiratory systems.


I saw this figure given elsewhere as 3% to 4%. Tonight I saw a can of
tea bags indicating a net weight of 50 grams for 25 tea bags.
I assume that this does not count the weight of the bags.
This yields 60mg to 80mg per bag. So there is the answer --
there isn't quite enough caffeine available for the big mug
to have the same concentration as the small (normal sized) mug.


Interesting fact from
http://departments.oxy.edu/tops/Caffeine/CAFFEINE-T.pdf

Solubility in water: 22 mg/mL @ 25°C, 180 mg/mL @ 80°C,
and 670 mg/mL @ 100°C


Which may have something to do with why the experts here
recommend that the cup be warm and the water hot.

Since we do not have sophisticated machines available,
we are left with taste testers. Here is an experiment we can do:

Bring to the table two small mugs and a small cup.
The cup is to be approximately half the volume of a mug
(or filled to that volume). Mugs and cup to be warm.

Fill the cup with boiling water, transfer to Mug B
(mug B will now be half full).

Put a teabag in the cup and fill with boiling water.
Put a teabag in Mug A and fill with boiling water.

After the normal brewing time, remove the teabags
and pour the cup into Mug B.

Taste both.

If your taste buds are discriminating, this will let you
know whether the higher concentration of caffeine
around the tea bag in the small cup has inhibited
the diffusion. My guess is that it does not.
Variations: stirring vs non-stirring.

-- ---------------------------------------------
Richard Maurer To reply, remove half
Sunnyvale, California of a homonym of a synonym for also.
----------------------------------------------------------------------

[don groves]

In article <mckenzie-ECBFD0.09465010112004@news.aaisp.net.uk>,
Alec McKenzie at mckenzie@despammed.com exposited: