THE CUP THAT CHEERS 87 



{)ort<ant stage in which the tea ia to be left to " draw." 

 It is required to extract from the leaves as much as 

 possible of tlicir thcine, or caffeine, to which the 

 stimulating and sustaining power of tea is chielly due. 

 But the leaves also contain tamiin. Tannin is an 

 astringent, and therefore htus a medicinal value — for 

 centuries, be it noted, the Chinese used tea exclusively 

 as a metlicine. But tannin has a tendency to retard 

 the digestion of some foods, and this tendency has 

 been so exaggerated that some people believe tea can 

 make leather of both food and the coats of the stomach. 

 As a matter of fact, tea is very effectually prevented 

 from acting as a tanning agent through the paralyzing 

 influence of the alkaloid theine on the tannic acid. 

 As, however, tannin can affect the natural process of 

 digestion — hindering one change is a very different 

 thing from effecting a totally different change — there 

 is wisdom in taking care not to swallow overdoses of 

 it. How much would constitute an overdose for any 

 of us depends to a considerable extent on the health 

 and strength of our digestion. But anyone who is not 

 afflicted with an extraordinarily poor digestion has 

 nothing to fear from the tannin in tea that is properly 

 made, provided it is not taken in conjunction with a 

 heavy meat meal. Some people — I, for one — can 

 drink tea with any meal, and still be able truthfully 

 to say they do not know what indigestion means. 



Theine is much more soluble than tannin. In the 

 course of about three minutes, boiling water extracts 

 a large percentage of thcine from the fresh tea in a pot, 

 and a small percentage of tannin ; in subsequent 

 minutes the extraction of tannin will still be going on. 

 but the amount of theine in the " draw " will be very 



