ON CAFFEINE IN THE LEAVES OF TEA AND COFFEE. 155 



XIV. On the Occurrence of Caffeine in the Leaves of Tea 

 and Coffee grown at Kew Gardens. By C. Schor- 



LEMMER; F.R.S. 



Read April 3rd, 1883. 



Some time ago I wanted some information on the plants 

 containing caffeine. This interesting componnd is not 

 only found in the seeds of Coffea arabica, but also in the 

 fleshy part of the berry and in the leaves. The latter are 

 used in Sumatra by the natives in the place of tea ; and 

 some years ago a patent was taken out for the introduction 

 of " coffee-tea^ into this country, bat it has not been 

 successful. 



Caffeine also occurs in the leaves of different species or 

 varieties of tea — in Paraguay tea, consisting of the leaves 

 and small twigs of Ilex par aguayensis, and in Guarana or 

 Brazilian chocolate, which is obtained from the roasted 

 seeds of Paullinia sorbilis. It has further been found in 

 cola-nuts, the seeds of Sterculia acuminata, which are 

 extensively used as a condiment by the natives of western 

 and central tropical Africa, and likewise by the negroes 

 in the West Indies and Brazil, by whom the tree has been 

 introduced into these countries. It is said that they 

 promote digestion, improve the flavour of anything eaten 

 after them, counteract the effects of alcohol, and even 

 render half putrid water drinkable. Cola-nuts contain 

 also theobromine, which is a very interesting fact, inas- 

 much as this base, which was first found in Theobroma 



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