How much theanine is in tea?

 

I just looked this up related to someone bringing it up in a biohacking group, of course related to taking it as a pill supplement instead of drinking tea.  Those people love supplements, the more experimental the better, it sometimes seems.  Theanine should be harmless enough, in a normal dosage range.  But what is that?

WebMD says this; they would never steer you wrong:

L-theanine is naturally found in tea and some mushrooms. As medicine, L-theanine has most often been used by adults in doses of 200-400 mg by mouth daily for 4-8 weeks. Speak with a healthcare provider to find out what dose might be best for a specific condition.

People in that group said that 100 mg is probably ok for a starter dose, but if they mean to take that twice a day it's back to 200.  It would depend on why someone is taking it.  WebMD says this:

Possibly Effective for:  Memory and thinking skills (cognitive function). Taking L-theanine by mouth might help healthy people stay focused. It isn't clear if adding L-theanine to caffeine works better than using either of those ingredients alone.

There is interest in using L-theanine for a number of other purposes, but there isn't enough reliable information to say whether it might be helpful.

Healthline said this, more in line with what those people in that group were using it for:  

It’s said to help ease anxiety, stress, and reduce insomnia.  Before trying it out yourself, learn more about the potential health benefits, as well as any possible risks or complications.

So those two not so reliable, light content health sites said completely opposite things; that can happen.  People in that group thought that it could provide different benefits, and were taking it for different reasons.

So how much is in tea, especially in relation to standard supplementation amounts?  Scanning a few sources turned up different measured amounts, but this seems kind of middle of the road for other results:

Theanine and Caffeine Content of Infusions Prepared from Commercial Tea Samples

Materials and Methods:

Theanine and caffeine contents of 37 commercial white, green, oolong, black, and pu-erh tea samples were quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography-diode array detector.

Results:

The mean L-theanine content of white, green, oolong, and black teas were 6.26, 6.56, 6.09, and 5.13 mg/g, respectively. The same values for caffeine content were 16.79, 16.28, 19.31, and 17.73 mg/g.

So just over 6 mg per gram of dry tea.  The caffeine values seem normal enough; measured amounts typically ranges between 15 and 25 mg/g, so maybe a little on the low side, but these are "commercial" products, probably low to medium low in quality level.  Both theanine and caffeine range might bump a little in relation to testing or consuming slightly better tea, but probably not too much.

Extraction rate could be a little clearer, but it seems to follow the same pattern as for caffeine, so for a relatively complete brewing process something like 90% may be extracted, possibly a little less:

So from there it's really down to daily intake, amount of dry leaf prepared per day, which is going to vary for everyone.  Someone could brew two rounds of tea a day and consume 10 grams, but I tend to brew 9 or 10 grams for each Gongfu brewing session.  10 grams at 6 mg / gram of extraction (which may be slightly lower) is 60 mg; not a lot, in relation to taking supplements, which again might be in a range of 200 mg per day (taken as pills), but that would just depend.

It's interesting that they seemed to test one pu'er sample and found no theanine in it.  That could be an anomaly, or it could be that they tested shou pu'er and fermentation really does transition that compound to become something else.  Here is that summary:

Those results are all over the place.  There may well be a correlation between theanine levels and buds and fine leaves content, versus older leaves, as there is for caffeine level, but you can't really spot an underlying cause input from this kind of list.  It would seem natural for there to be a divide between variety Sinensis and variety Assamica plants, but this definitely wasn't set up to isolate that input, or any other, really.  One sample of any given type doesn't even tell you with any certainty that other samples of the same type would follow the same pattern, and have a similar amount in them.

For me it's enough to have as a guess that we might be ingesting around 6 mg per gram of tea, since I'm not even sure what theanine would do anyway.  There's a vague understanding that it calms you while caffeine gives you a lift, so I guess a very mild speedball effect, but not much of one.  The effect would be limited if your daily consumption probably lands between 60 and 120 mg per day, and only that higher level based on drinking 20 grams worth of tea a day, which is a lot.

I glanced at a couple of other studies and they're in this general range, with some showing some black tea amounts that are a good bit higher (in this study example):

High levels of milk resulted in a marked lowering of the level of detectable l-theanine. Contrary to previous research, a standard (200 ml) cup of black tea was found to contain the most l-theanine (24.2 ± 5.7 mg) while a cup of green tea contained the least (7.9 ± 3.8 mg).

So their findings were way off that other scale, which is more typical of what other sources that I looked through were saying.  It can be confusing comparing amount per brewed cup with a derived amount per gram of dry leaf, which to me is easier to work with.  They seemed to be making tea from a standard 2 or 2 1/2 gram commercial tea bag, and then infusion time surely would've been a limitation to extraction, since you don't brew tea bags for 10 minutes.  The point here is more that studies vary on general findings, as that one study varied quite a bit in relation to measured amounts and individual tea versions, even within type categories (black, green, and so on).

Someone could keep digging if they really wanted to know, but it would be hard to factor in what these studies are not testing for:  theanine amounts in relation to tea plant material type (buds, fine leaves, old leaves), and related to tea quality level.  Guessing that a final average experienced result is around 6 grams per gram of dry tea seems good enough, with extracted amount probably just below that.  

We're taking in a significant amount of theanine when drinking tea, just not getting dosed on the high side compared to the range of 100 mg to 400 mg of intake per day.  20 grams of tea--a good bit to drink in one day, which probably would exceed that 100 mg theanine input level--might work out to 20 mg of caffeine per dry gram of ingested tea, or 400 mg of caffeine per day, the general recommended daily limit.  

That is on the high side of most caffeine level test findings; 15 to 20 grams per mg is probably a more standard range, with extraction potentially between 85 and 90%.  My point in venturing into this second tangent is that it seems that you can drink 20 grams worth of tea per day, related to not exceeding a standard caffeine input level.  Then a daily dose of over 100 mg of theanine might offset some negative effects of caffeine, feeling "jittery," as people understand might happen.  It's not completely clear that would occur, but then theanine and caffeine aren't necessarily the only two active compounds in tea, the only two that would have any effect on how you feel.

What does "tea drunk" mean?

 

A question in Reddit inspired me to write out a detailed answer about this, what people mean by "tea drunk?"  The actual question, now deleted, related to asking if cold tea can make you tea drunk, but prior to that it's necessary to consider what it even means.  My answer was this:

"Tea drunk" is really used in two completely different ways by tea enthusiasts. One meaning relates to drinking a lot of tea, essentially related to experiencing strong effects from caffeine. There is definitely theanine in tea too, and other compounds that can affect your body and mental state, so it's not just caffeine, but it's mostly that. This kind of feeling is familiar to anyone who has drank a few cups of coffee in a short time, but it's not identical, because those other compounds really do alter the experience.

The next use and meaning relates to other compounds in tea combining with the caffeine and theanine effects to result in an atypical body feeling or mental state. In some description it's called cha qi, or what I take to mean the energy and feeling from tea, although that phrasing and implied meaning can lean towards mystical range a little. Per my experience this is a real thing. I don't tend to ever notice it unless I'm drinking sheng pu'er, and even then not so often. It's said that old tree and natural grown versions, or aged versions, can have a stronger effect, and there might be something to connecting those three inputs. It doesn't need to be regarded as a mystical theme, because it's well known that caffeine and theanine aren't the only two active compounds in tea, the only two that can potentially affect mental states.

You don't notice this much at all if you've eaten with or just before drinking the tea. My take on this, which isn't necessarily accepted conventional understanding, is that food slows the digestion of related compounds so that you are still absorbing and experiencing those inputs, but much slower, and it's the sudden change from one mental state to another that makes it so noticeable. At times it can feel like being stoned (a bit like on weed, just different), or very relaxed, or even hyper in unusual ways, all of which are also familiar ground for marijuana experience. I've drank tea that made me feel sleepy before, and have taken a nap after drinking a good bit of some.

So far nothing I've said is clearly supported beyond it being one more hearsay account, so let's consider what else is in tea that might account for this:

Tea Epicure article on tea chemistry

Tea leaves contain many amino acids, the most abundant of which is theanine. Theanine, specifically L-Theanine, is responsible for promoting alpha brain wave activity and a feeling of relaxation. L-Theanine in concert with caffeine can induce a state of “mindful alertness” in the tea drinker. Amino acids make up an average of 6% of the extract solids in steeped tea1...

The main methylxanthine in tea is the stimulant caffeine. Other methylxanthines found in tea are two chemically similar compounds, theobromine and theophylline. The tea plant creates these chemicals as a way to ward off insects and other animals. On average, methylxanthines make up 2% to 5% of the dry weight of the fresh tea leaves5. Methylxanthines also contribute to a bitter taste in the tea infusion. The level of methylxanthines in tea depends on the variety and cultivar of Camellia sinensis used, the climate, the age of the leaves, and the propagation method (seed vs. cutting) used on the plant...

Theobromine is also found in chocolate, and acts as a stimulant with similar effects as caffeine, seemingly just less intense (more on that here: https://neuropedia.com/theobromine-benefits-side-effects/). So there doesn't need to be any mystical explanation for why different types of tea have different effects on energy level and mood, even though we can't really completely unpack the total effect of all active compounds in tea, or map likely levels to tea types, since processing changes a lot beyond what that Tea Epicure article already cited.

Additional clarifications:

There's always more to add, so I'll extend those points just a little before closing.  

I didn't clarify that I always eat food before drinking tea, in part to offset the "tea drunk" experience, but really more to protect my stomach from either immediate or longer term negative impact.  I don't necessarily want to feel any sort of buzz or stony sensation from drinking tea, or to emphasize relaxed body-feel, and I couldn't be sure what the long-term effect on my stomach of drinking 8 to 10 grams worth of tea in daily sittings might be, so it works as a hedge of that risk to eat food first.  To me it seems to work best to eat something with both carbohydrates and fat in it, so fruit with toast and butter is fine, or breakfast cereal, or the heavier eggs, bacon, and rice breakfast (or the American version, with potatoes instead).

A separate line of thought, probably more common in sheng pu'er appreciation circles, is that "drinking tea with your body" is a higher form of experience, something people only come to value after long exposure and refined preference.  What to say about that?  I'm probably biased against wanting tea to affect me in related ways because I have some history with drug and alcohol use, not so much addiction and alcoholism, but enough that I don't want to revisit that path.

The sheng pu'er versions that affected me the most did match up with the hearsay input about what are said to, older tree plant material, natural grown versions, and those from regions that tend to be associated with that, like Lao Ban Zhang.  I've drank (and own) a significant amount of sheng aged from the early 2000s but I've not experienced much of the more prized 30 year old range, or well-regarded versions that stand out as most desirable related to tea enthusiast group hearsay.  It would be easier to isolate that kind of feel input if I was emphasizing it, not intentionally offsetting it related to eating food prior to drinking tea.

I don't tend to overdo it with tea quantity and caffeine input either.  I've accidentally gone there in the past, of course, during tasting sessions with others, or while writing comparison reviews of multiple teas.  It's not aversion to that effect that I avoid as much as making it a habit to moderate caffeine intake to prevent long term exposure problems.  I know of four people who have developed long term sensitivity to caffeine from drinking too much tea, three of them tea bloggers.  Two never did return to more moderate consumption, while after a substantial break two did.  

comparison tastings are likely to overdo it for caffeine intake

Caffeine can become a headache trigger, or can cause problems with maintaining balanced energy levels, beyond potential sleep disruption, or even more problematic disruption of normal sleep period rest cycles.  It's simple to avoid this potential risk, by staying at or below the standard daily recommended intake level for caffeine, 400 mg per day.  Using the standard amount of 30 to 50 mg of caffeine per cup it's no risk to drink eight 250 ml cups of tea a day, around two quarts or liters, and that's enough tea anyway.  It's possible to break that down to a finer level to dry leaf amounts, or to factor in body size and natural tolerance, raising or lowering that practical limit, but it's easy enough to limit yourself to that general range.

I think appreciating the first effect is fine, drinking types of sheng pu'er that lend themselves to that, and it would work to judge stomach impact risk by feel, if it causes discomfort (even though I don't; I stop short of needing to gauge that by preventing it).  For the second case getting relatively blasted on caffeine once or twice a week might still be fine, again even though I don't, but going further and further with exposure and daily intake habit seems like more of a concern.  

Caffeine in tea, revisited

originally published as tching.com/2017/06/caffeine-tea-revisited/


I researched the effects of caffeine for a blog post last year (here), which reviewed a research paper studying caffeine withdrawal.   I'm revisiting the subject related to finding an interesting study of caffeine levels in different tea types.

Of course all of the effects of caffeine vary by individual (people react differently), and the overall effects relate to compounds other than caffeine, eg. theanine relaxes you.  I'll summarize some findings in that first post here, with more sources cited there:


-a standard limit for caffeine intake is 400 milligrams per day.  That's equivalent to roughly four cups of coffee a day, or eight to twelve cups of tea.  Levels for both vary, but a rough average for a cup of coffee is 100 mg and 30-50 mg for tea.

-over 500-600 mg. of caffeine per day typically causes negative side effects:  anxiety, elevated heart rate, etc., which become more pronounced if consuming over 1000 mg.

-it is possible to become dependent on caffeine--and suffer withdrawal effects--when consuming as little as 100 mg. per day.  Some studies of the positive effects of caffeine don't factor that in, and actually demonstrate the negative effects of subjects undergoing caffeine withdrawal.  Even ingesting small amounts of caffeine might eliminate withdrawal effects.

-even if insomnia isn't experienced sleep cycle can be affected related to the normal brain-state patterns being altered.  In other words, it's possible to sleep normal amounts but still experience fatigue related to the negative effects of caffeine.

caffeine withdrawal study results (see paper for details)

The rest that follows is on two other unrelated points about caffeine levels in teas, not the effects on people.

Amount of caffeine in tea

One reference stands out on this subject, written by Nigel Melican.  It covers two main issues:  amount of caffeine in different types of teas, and if tea can be decaffeinated by discarding the initial infusion (something of an urban legend).

The short answer to the second question is no.  Test results in that article measure the amount of caffeine removed over varying infusion times (a process that would vary with brewing parameters):

this is it, caffeine

30 seconds: 20% caffeine removal
1 minute: 33% caffeine removal
2 minutes: 64% caffeine removal
3 minutes: 76% caffeine removal
4 minutes: 85% caffeine removal
10 minutes: 99% caffeine removal
15 minutes: 100% caffeine removal




Clear enough?  Roughly speaking the caffeine is removed at the same rate as the flavor.


The other part is not so easy to summarize, about caffeine amounts in different types of tea.  Three generalities are cited directly from the same article (with other factors covered there):


1. Caffeine level varies naturally in types of tea and levels in one type may overlap with another type

2. Black and green tea manufactured from leaf from the same bushes on the same day will have virtually the same caffeine levels (within +/- 0.3%)

3. For a given bush, the finer the plucking standard, the higher the caffeine level


People tend to expect other generalities, for example that green tea has more caffeine than black, or that white contains the most.


A research paper I just read cited test results for lots of different compounds (not just reviewing caffeine levels), including these measured results:

Those measured amounts relate to theobromine (THEO), caffeine (CA), and Epigallocatechin (EGC).  Only caffeine means much to me, but I've ran across health claims related to other compounds (with others measured in that study).  I won't mention any of that scope here.

The most general conclusion I take from this:  caffeine levels vary across different types, related to different factors.  That first article cited a few main ones:  related to plant type, plucking standard (types of leaves used), processing variations, and growing conditions.


A few problems with the results in that table stand out:  the amounts are listed in milligrams per gram of tea, not a familiar presentation (but it still does indicate relative amounts).  And the results of testing these samples seem inconsistent, especially related to brewing time variation test results.

I'm not going to interpret these results, or go back to other finer detail in that first article and see if generalities cited there apply.  One general point from that first article does seem to be indicated:


• when the bush is assamica type rather than sinensis (can be 33% higher caffeine, thus African black tea tends to be higher than China black tea)


But then other factors cause so much variation that might not stand out clearly.

Starbucks product levels, higher than tea (the Caffeine Informer site)

This article wasn't focusing on caffeine measurement, instead related to measuring lots of different compound types.  This is a good place to mention the title, which is well worth a read, as the title suggests:


The Joint Use of Electronic Nose and Electronic Tongue for the Evaluation of the Sensorial Properties of Green and Black Tea Infusions as Related to Their Chemical Composition 


With proper research someone might pin down clearer generalities.  Studies like this one could help if someone wanted to minimize their caffeine intake by choosing types with lower levels.  It might not work to base that on just one research reference, since those might only describe results for the samples tested, not for the tea type in general.

Effects of long term caffeine consumption, and withdrawal

This is a tough topic to get good input on.  For most subjects an ordinary Google search turns up lots of information, most just isn't as well-grounded as it might be.  For most topics digging deeper through search resources like Research Gate and Google Scholar identifies a few great references, usually too specific to paint out the broad picture but enough for a good start on some details.  Not so much for the long term effects of caffeine consumption.

I'll be able to go into dependency and withdrawal--that's well documented--but there just isn't much about long term use issues.  One potential problem is identified here, but my intuition tells me that this post might miss a lot of real concerns.

Research does try to identify patterns in heart disease or cancer correspondence with caffeine use, with some interesting results.  I'm more concerned about psychological effects, or changes in how I might feel, so I won't do anything with all that here.  I drink a lot of tea, and take in a good bit of caffeine, and I'd like to know what the effect might be.  Hopefully I'm not increasing my chances of getting a serious illness but I would expect the best guess about that to vary over time as different studies come out.


I don't measure how much tea I drink or how much caffeine I take in but I'm guessing it's typically right around the 400 mg that might be considered a normal upper threshold.  A related Mayo Clinic reference talks about what happens if someone goes beyond that, perhaps even from taking in 500-600 mg:


Heavy daily caffeine use — more than 500 to 600 mg a day — may cause side effects such as:

Insomnia, Nervousness, Restlessness, Irritability, Stomach upset, Fast heartbeat, Muscle tremors


That doesn't sound good.  According to that reference below that level there is typically no problem, unless someone is especially sensitive to caffeine, or has a related medical condition:


Up to 400 milligrams (mg) of caffeine a day appears to be safe for most healthy adults. That's roughly the amount of caffeine in four cups of brewed coffee, 10 cans of cola or two "energy shot" drinks.

photo credit

I might also mention that both my mother and brother have such a pre-existing medical condition as I'd mentioned.  If they ingest even moderate amounts of caffeine they experience heart valve related problems, which isn't as dangerous as it sounds (I think it's this condition, mitral valve prolapse).

This journal reference fills in more details of caffeine effects, essentially matching that other WebMD reference, and citing an interesting extreme case where over 1000 mg can lead to psychological problems.  It also covers one other case related to pre-existing anxiety disorders (from Neuropsychiatric Effects of Caffeine):


The resemblance between the symptoms of excessive caffeine ingestion and those of anxiety is obvious and they may both have a basis in overactivity of the sympathetic nervous system. It has been argued that the symptoms of caffeinism are indistinguishable from those of anxiety (Greden, 1974). However, caffeinism is normally associated with a daily intake of 1000–1500 mg...  

Clinically, caffeine may be involved in the precipitation, exacerbation or maintenance of anxiety disorders (Kruger, 1996).


Interesting!  From what I've covered so far it seems unlikely that many people would exceed 1000 mg. of caffeine intake anyway, the threshold for triggering what they identify as disruptive caffeine intake described as "caffeinism."  It does seem possible to drink four energy drinks in a day, though; that might come up.

This relates to roughly 10 cups of coffee or 25 cups of tea (only roughly; actual amounts vary based on lots of variables).  It's worth considering that larger, stronger beverages can vary in contents, related to these Starbucks quantities from the "Caffeine Informer" site:

one coffee might be plenty for the day, or several, depending

Those drink volumes vary from 8 ounces to 20 (with some values seeming to indicate not all beverages are available in every size option).

energy drink caffeine amounts (credit Consumer Reports)

Drinking three drinks or 60 ounces of the highest caffeine content beverages would put one at high risk for those more extreme side-effects, the "caffeinism" case, or less for some higher content specialty drink versions.  Some of those--not included on this list citation--register over 400 mg. for the largest size.  But for most standard Starbucks coffee beverages that seems like a lot of coffee, roughly two quarts.  Espresso shots--75 mg., listed further down that chart than cited--would also add up, but not quickly, since a dozen would only approach that 1000 mg limit.


Before going further with a deeper dive into possible side-effects lets go back to what started me considering this, a blog post about that author quitting caffeine.

A starting point for this concern

I read a blog post once--Bear's blog, a tea blog--in which the author linked problems with energy level and focus to extended caffeine dependency, which I'll cite here:



...during my post-hospital five-day recovery I drank some coffee. But once I started feeling physically better, my head was still cloudy, and I was tired all day long... No amount of coffee or tea helped. I brewed my tea stronger and stronger...

I couldn't determine the problem. I had rested, and I felt better otherwise. No symptoms of any other sickness. I kept hydrated, I ate healthy. I ran down the list of potential issues until I settled on a likely culprit: caffeine dependency. So I quit.

Quitting gave me a 24/7 headache for three consecutive days, a horrible headache... But I didn't get better, my fatigue became worse and my head more densely clouded.

After another four days of sporadic headaches, my fatigue lifted. ...I slept more easily and deeply than I had in many months...   I don't blame tea for my dependency; in fact, I suspect a period of using workout supplements very high in caffeine played a big role...


That really covered two issues, an anecdotal case of someone associating caffeine use with fatigue related side effects, and the withdrawal symptoms and process.  I'll go into the latter more related to a study findings, but it's really off the central point here.  There is a reference in that journal article already cited about caffeine effects that may tie to this:


It is well-known that caffeine produces insomnia.  It reduces slow-wave sleep in the early part of the sleep cycle and can reduce rapid eye movement (REM) sleep later in the cycle (Nicholson & Stone, 1980). Caffeine increases episodes of wakefulness (Brezinova et al, 1975), and high doses in the late evening can increase the time taken to fall asleep (Smith, 2002).


If this really is the link caffeine isn't directly causing fatigue; it's disrupting sleep cycle patterns and that is.  This doesn't carry the same weight as well-researched journal article, but a response to a Quora question about how caffeine affects dreams seems directly related:


Any stimulant or depressant, like caffine, will disrupt your sleep architecture from its normal patterns, even if you feel you have a pretty solid tollerance for caffine. Over time, the caffeine causes your mind to linger much longer in Stage 2 sleep (or even Stage 1, very light sleep) rather than deeper sleep because the stimulant effects have not completely worn off from the day. This causes a reduction of time you spend in REM, because the mind needs Delta/Stage 3 (deep) sleep before moving on to a REM sleep session.

So, when you stop using caffeine, your mind will then not have a stimulant blocking it from the natural sleep architecture that allows REM to occur.


I didn't turn up research related to this, nothing to confirm or reject this, although the journal article citation mentioned just prior in this post does support a similar point, and cites two other studies backing up two related claims.  A Forbes article covers the same ground, also tying in how caffeine removal by your body relates to this issue:


For you to wake up feeling rested, your brain needs to move through an elaborate series of cycles. You can help this process along and improve the quality of your sleep by reducing your caffeine intake.

Here’s why you’ll want to: caffeine has a six-hour half-life, which means it takes a full twenty-four hours to work its way out of your system. Have a cup of joe at eight a.m., and you’ll still have 25% of the caffeine in your body at eight p.m. Anything you drink after noon will still be at 50% strength at bedtime. Any caffeine in your bloodstream—with the negative effects increasing with the dose—makes it harder to fall asleep.

When you do finally fall asleep, the worst is yet to come. Caffeine disrupts the quality of your sleep by reducing rapid eye movement (REM) sleep, the deep sleep when your body recuperates and processes emotions. 


Another interesting and largely unrelated tangent in that same article covers why some of the measured positive aspects of caffeine use may not be valid:


Many studies suggest that caffeine actually improves cognitive task performance (memory, attention span, etc.) in the short-term. Unfortunately, these studies fail to consider the participants’ caffeine habits. New research from Johns Hopkins Medical School shows that performance increases due to caffeine intake are the result of caffeine drinkers experiencing a short-term reversal of caffeine withdrawal. 

By controlling for caffeine use in study participants, John Hopkins researchers found that caffeine-related performance improvement is nonexistent without caffeine withdrawal. In essence, coming off caffeine reduces your cognitive performance and has a negative impact on your mood. The only way to get back to normal is to drink caffeine, and when you do drink it, you feel like it’s taking you to new heights. In reality, the caffeine is just taking your performance back to normal for a short period.


Crazy!  It's possible to measure a performance boost in study participants from taking caffeine because they normally are "on it," and the withdrawal causes a drop in performance in the first place in the studies.  The performance-inhibiting lack of caffeine, which they are dependent on to begin with as a matter of daily habit, is removed by restoring the normal level of caffeine in the participants' systems.

A Time article cites an interesting related celebrity sports star case, when Serena Williams missed her morning coffee and later performed better in a match after having an espresso between rounds.

Man Not Himself Until He Has So Much Coffee He Feels Like He’s Going To Die (the Onion)

Withdrawal case:  a research study

My main concern is identifying what the long term impact is in my own case, not necessarily related to stopping caffeine use but to continuing it.  All the same considering the case of caffeine withdrawal is informative, since a lot of the content sets a baseline for the effect of different levels of caffeine use.

The Caffeine Informer website includes a detailed summary of withdrawal symptoms, along with other guidance on how to best quit caffeine use, along with this chilling insight:

Even after the withdrawal period is over, many still never feel quite as good as they do when they’re drinking caffeine all of the time. Some believe that caffeine permanently alters one’s brain chemistry.  This is most likely due to the changes that occur with dopamine levels in the brain because of the daily caffeine.

Doesn't sound good.

A research study paper identifies just how easy it is to develop a caffeine dependency, in Caffeine Withdrawal: A Parametric Analysis of Caffeine Dosing Conditions.   The results are easiest to summarize as a series of findings.  

The methodology, controls and related background is described extensively in this paper, but none will be cited here.  The basic findings described familiar withdrawal symptoms:

The present study confirms and extends previous findings regarding the symptoms associated with the cessation of caffeine consumption. The major symptom clusters that were affected significantly in each of the four experiments (cf. Table 2) were increases in Headache, Headache/Poor Mood... Tiredness... Fatigue.. and Total Mood Disturbance (POMS) and decreases in Activity/Alertness... and Vigor (POMS). 

one related study graphic (more details in the paper)

Again there is a lot more detail related to those findings in that reference, but it's what one would expect, withdrawal symptoms include headache and fatigue, with much greater detail of those outlined in the study.  Two initial findings are of interest:

The magnitude of withdrawal effect was greater at 600 mg/day caffeine than 100 mg/day caffeine on several measures...  

Experiment 2 also documented that significant caffeine withdrawal symptoms can occur after maintenance on as little as 100 mg/day caffeine.... individuals who consume as little as a single 6-oz. cup of brewed coffee (which is known to deliver about 100 mg of caffeine; Barone and Roberts, 1996) each morning are at risk for experiencing headache and other withdrawal symptoms should they omit their daily single cup of coffee.

A third experiment findings related to levels of symptoms related to lowering dosages, not eliminating intake:

The results of experiment 3 (suppression of caffeine withdrawal) indicate that when individuals are maintained on 300 mg/day caffeine, a substantial reduction in caffeine consumption, or complete elimination, is necessary for the manifestation of the full, classic withdrawal syndrome. Only when the dose was reduced to 100 mg/day (one-third the maintenance dose) was there any evidence of caffeine withdrawal. In fact, the withdrawal observed tended to be relatively mild and variable even when a mere 25 mg of caffeine was substituted

One last experiment related to how long it took to develop this caffeine dependence:

Experiment 4 (duration of caffeine exposure) showed that relatively short-term exposure (as few as 3 consecutive days) to intermediate doses of caffeine (300 mg/day) is sufficient to produce withdrawal symptoms when caffeine dosing is terminated. As shown in Table 2 and Fig. 4, the withdrawal tended to be somewhat greater after 7 days of caffeine exposure, with no further increases after 14 days of caffeine exposure.

The short version:  someone can become addicted to caffeine in a week, and as dependent as they're going to be--related to withdrawal experienced--after just 14 days.

Of course that doesn't reject that the negative impact of dependency and use couldn't vary over longer time periods, only that the withdrawal process itself seems to not change, per these findings.  Based only on intuition I suspect that the other negative aspects of caffeine use would vary over a period of weeks or months.  Of course the earlier section references indicated that most people wouldn't experience negative reactions, as long as they remained under the "normal" limit level of 400 mg. use per day.

caffeine, the chemical compound (photo credit)

Conclusions

The withdrawal study findings were quite interesting, just not closely tied to the other ideas.  They seemed to imply that reactions to use of caffeine wouldn't vary much after two weeks, based on the scope and content of those findings, related to withdrawal concerns.

If caffeine really is disrupting sleep patterns that would seem a completely separate concern, much more likely to exhibit a cumulative effect over time.  It was particularly interesting that trouble falling asleep was just one factor mentioned, and not the main one, with two reliable sources and a Quora answer responder all citing REM sleep cycle disruption as a more significant factor.  The effects cited in that blog post, sleepiness, haziness, lack of vigor, would all be exactly what one might expect related to sleep pattern disruption.  Again it's not about insomnia, which could possibly be related, but instead to dream-state cycles.

these guys help with my insomnia

It's a bit late to be introducing it but I've been experiencing similar symptoms myself, a general haziness and lack of energy, for a period of weeks to months (or maybe years, in a lesser form).  I'd always written that off to my kids waking me up at night.  They do so at random times roughly every other night, sometimes twice in a night.


It would be nearly impossible to separate the two, sleep disruption related to caffeine disrupting REM cycle and sleep disruption related to being woke up at random times.  It all started about eight years ago, when my son was a newborn, and never really subsided since.  It varies a lot based on lots of factors, like thunderstorms, which I can sleep through but they can't.



So should I quit tea?  Taking a couple weeks off would seem in order.  I already intentionally limit how much tea I drink to likely stay under the standard caffeine level limit, and don't drink any tea past mid-afternoon.  I took a day off earlier in the week, related to having a cold, with that related withdrawal prompting me to revisit this subject (it really does give you a headache, something I've noticed before).


Based on this research stepping back caffeine use might be a lot more pleasant an experience, moving to a cup or two of tea a day first instead (60-80 mg of caffeine, maybe, although that really does depend on lots of factors).  I'll post an update if I try it.

A tea enthusiast quits tea

Originally posted in the TChing blog site as part 1 and part 2.


It might seem like this should have a twist ending, that this tea enthusiast might re-discover a love for tea all over again, but this isn't that type of story.  An online friend, Paul, is the only person I've known here in Bangkok to take up an interest in tea since I did so a number of years back.  He became a bit obsessed with it, trying lots of new types and sorting out tea gear, then he quit it again, all in well under half a year.  Some of the aspects he loved and why he quit are worth considering, with some points that might serve as cautions for people that stick with it.

The main reason he cited for quitting was the negative effect of too much caffeine.  In his words:

When it came to the point I was being negatively affected from the caffeine in tea, and believe me I was, then I knew from past experience that zero tolerance was the only way.


He'd had a related experience with coffee, which he gave up a year before, and knew he was inclined towards extremes.  Still, it seemed unusual that something others experience as generally so positive he experienced so differently.  As he described that cycle:

Trying out all the different sizes, how long do I need to steep 160cc, do I need more than 5 grams?  etc, etc.  It became an obsession, and like many things I then abused it.  When I woke up all I could think of was making some.  My skin and my mind took a toll from the caffeine.


It seems dehydration could have also been a problem.  I also have trouble alternating between tea and water enough to offset the diuretic effect of tea.  There are different references and opinions about the degree of this effect, which seems to vary by person.  Of course there are a few notable extreme cases to this effect, relating to medical problems (like this one; but that person drank a gallon of tea every day, and the problem wasn't caffeine, but is described there as too much oxalate from the black tea).

The proportion of water consumed to tea required is hard to identify, even in my own case, based on lots of practical experience, with the course of every day an opportunity to experiment.  It would seem to vary based on lots of related factors (weather, other diet issues, etc.).  How much tea relates to too much caffeine must also vary.  I've worked it out and I usually drink between one and two liters a day; a good bit of tea.  Not drinking tea in the evenings helps limit that.

Paul describes the amounts of tea he was drinking:

Paul after a two liter session

I was experimenting with timings and temperatures all the time, and before I knew it I was filling up a one liter vacuum carafe several times a day with hot water for tea.


So indeterminate but a lot.  Drinking it brewed gongfu style, as he describes, doesn't necessarily vary the brew strength, which relates more to preference, so he might have been drinking very weak or very strong tea, or a mix of the two.  He said he tried to drink water as well but hard to guess how that went in practice.

The negative effects of caffeine

I've ran across anecdotal accounts about the negative effects of consuming too much caffeine before.  In particular I remember a co-worker who gave up drinking coffee throughout the day for extra energy, who claimed he felt much better after he quit, with more energy overall.  Of course the effect of the caffeine in tea is offset by the effect of theanine, both of which affect a person in different ways.  Tea doesn't give someone the same caffeine jolt but the cumulative effects of too much caffeine still might add up.

How much is too much?  Probably no one given amount, but per a Mayoclinic source 400 milligrams is a good cut-off point:  That's roughly the amount of caffeine in four cups of brewed coffee, 10 cans of cola or two "energy shot" drinks.

The amount in tea would vary, by strength, by the tea type, etc., but per another Mayoclinic page the variance is from 14 to 70 mg. / 8 ounce cup (237 ml) for black tea, with green tea within that range (24 to 45 mg.).  To reach their recommended limit one could still drink ten 8 ounce cups of tea at 40 mg. / cup, or over two liters of tea (possibly relating to too much oxalate consumed, per the other reference), but Paul probably did exceed that, potentially even on average.  It's interesting that the one article cited says that children shouldn't consume caffeine, any of it, and adolescents less than 100 mg. (three Cokes a day; seems like plenty).

Paul's assessment of this caffeine cycle related to coffee, based on having experienced it from that beverage as well:

People can feel a buzz from coffee, and if they don't drink it often it may be beneficial.  But when they have it all the time they don't feel ok without it... They think the coffee is making them feel better, but in actual effect it's because they need the coffee just to feel normal.  The benefits of caffeine are illusory, in my opinion.


It makes you wonder how quitting tea cold-turkey like that might go, from the amounts he was consuming, in particular how long it would take to readjust, which he explained:

After three days the withdrawl headaches stop.  But it takes a good week to really experience the normal mind state that comes back.  To be honest I continued to experience a rise in benefits way over seven days.  I feel exponentially better, and the clarity I experience from not using caffeine is really nice.



So that quitting cycle sounds just like the opposite of the experience tea enthusiasts ascribe to drinking tea, a mild lift that brings added clarity and calm.  But then dosage did seem the likely main issue in his case.

Cost of a tea habit

Another different type of negative concern relates to the cost.  Of course he was prone to excess, and ramping up a tea habit and setting up a gear infrastructure is one of the more expensive parts, but he admitted to spending something like $700 or $800 on tea and gear over the course of three or four months.  In a sense it's not that much, compared to how an enthusiasm for wine or other alcohol might go, or other types of habits, but that is a significant expense related to what tea generally costs.  Given that he was visiting cafes in addition to tea shops, and had been experimenting with different forms of gear, including yixing teapots, maybe that's still on the low side, or maybe it was only part of it.

There are few references out there about what typical enthusiasts spend on tea, or atypical ones, but this Steepster discussion thread is all about that.  It's impossible to narrow it to a normal range, and self-selection for that kind of input complicates things.  In that thread some people admit to spending $500 to $1000 per year on tea, so his expenditure does seem on the higher side related to that.

It's really up to the individual on what is desirable or reasonable, of course, a function of preference and expendable income.  On the broader level better tea making the trip from Eastern Asia (typically) to the rest of the world depends on economic factors, so specialty tea availability depends on people making those sorts of purchase choices.  Based on my own limited knowledge of economics it's better all around for tea drinkers as well as vendors if a demand base is there; the range available and pricing moderation depend on there being more demand and spending.  Of course there are some assumptions mixed in with that assessment, and my own judgment, and I'm only drawing on a few college Econ courses as background theory.

It's interesting to consider that better teas aren't necessarily inexpensive in places like China, where they originate, where they are also sought after.  There the highest income levels afford some people substantial expendable income, and a tradition related to tea makes it a potential priority.  A vendor I bought tea from in the Bangkok Chinatown once claimed that the tea I was buying--a Bei Dou I mentioned here--would sell for more in China.  Even before he'd commented that I was considering the same idea, that based on my experience it might well.  This would at least be true in shops in cities like Beijing and Shanghai, where I had bought teas, and a friend living in Beijing had confirmed that range of pricing based on his own experience.

The positive aspects, entry to tea

I was also curious about what drew Paul to tea, and what he had appreciated most.  People new to tea might focus first on any number of different aspects.  For some it's about trying new tea types, or from different locations, or for others about gear and brewing process.  There are other potential tangents; cafe experiences, or researching relatively abstract aspects of tea, history, rituals, and so on.  In Paul's case the focus was on trying different teas, mostly oolongs and pu'ers, experimenting with brewing process, and on brewing gear, straight to yixing pots.  He describes his favorite aspect:

The surprise when you make one that blows your mind.  I think there is a skill to it.  Some people say however you prepare it is just right, but there is something to the rewards of exercising a skill and reaping the benefits.  There's something about the surprise when you adjust a water temperature and get much better results from the same tea.

What's next for Paul related to tea

He's finished with the conventional forms of tea enthusiasm, selling off his gear, giving away teas, done with the whole cycle.  He does retain some interest in trying decaffeinated tea, and dabbling in tisanes a little, trying out some rooibos.  I'm not sure where it will lead for him since he's just made the transition.

In my own case the tea interest fills a gap for such an interest, which is a pattern that seems clear in his own exposure, that preferring coffee, then tea, and then onto tisanes represents an interest in the general range of interests.  Before tea I was into tisanes, and wine, and coffee, all at different times, with a more complicated prior history with alcohol.  Other interests took different forms, like reading, or snow sports and mountaineering.  For these activities an obsessive attention to details and learning might even be required just to participate safely.

Some of Paul's story seems to relate more to a personality type inclined towards exploring interests aggressively, in this case over a relatively short duration.  But really what would the difference be if he had taken up and lost interest in tea over a period of three of four years instead of three or four months; he's only shortened that curve.  The concerns about caffeine consumption and hydration anyone consuming a lot of tea probably should consider, but these would seem easy enough to address through moderation.