Okay here is some more anecdotal evidence that bebunks the idea that
caffeine is soluable at a fundamentally different rate than the
components of 'taste'. A decaf tea taste 'flat' with no complexity,
richness of the desired benchmarks we describe in tea. All it is
missing is the caffeine. You can only approximate that decaf taste
when any tea goes flat after single or multiple infusions where most
would agree there is no taste. Caffeine is a stimulant that increases
the absorbtion rate of taste. That is the upset empty stomach
syndrome. If no caffeine not much tea taste. Brew your strongest most
astringent tea in the sun for 24 hours. It will be much more mild than
anything you could brew yourself. The 24 hour soak does not even come
close to producing the same taste because less solution, less caffeine,
less taste. If you can't wait 24 hours try the same with a 5 minute
soak at room temperature. Drink that solution and you won't experience
the same caffeine side effects as brewing. This is one reason while
water extraction techniques don't work to make decaf. All you would
have to do is a soak and dry at the factory. It isn't because you are
reducing the taste but can't extract the caffeine. Gongfu brewing
essentially produces a saturated solution of caffeine and taste
components which is consistent from infusion to infusion. Otherwise
the side effects of caffeine from the first cup would physically
interfere with the subsequent tastings. The subtle taste of subsequent
infusions can only be delivered by caffeine as a stimulant on the
tastebuds. The first rinse eliminates the debris and not caffeine.
There are some teas where multiple infusions carry the same caffeine
effect as the first. You'll discover this by accident an you return to
cold pots and don't start fresh. The percentage of caffeine by weight
argument in the first infusion doesn't carry much weight when applied
to what we experience in the taste of tea. The caffeine by weight in
solution is the exception and not the rule. Where you find taste you
will see caffeine side effects. Any statements like caffeine is more
soluable than other taste componets is like saying the earth is flat to
the horizion for a surveyor. It is a scientific factoid with no
meaning to the amount of caffeine in your cup. If the caffeine is gone
the taste is gone because the water solution rate is not fundamentally
different than the leaching rates of other tasting components. You
won't discover that by drinking a few teas for a year. Some teas like
the British blends give up the taste and caffeine in the first
infusion. Other teas maintain caffeine and taste into multiple
infusions. In those cases like black Puerh or gongfu the first cup
contains the less caffeine. You don't need to titrate but trust your
tastebuds and note your physical reaction if caffeine is a problem.
You will get in trouble if you trust the 80% solution argument. You're
better off to experiment with more water, less tea and drink sooner.

Jim

Mike Petro wrote:
> On 21 Aug 2005 14:28:12 -0700, "Space Cowboy" >
> wrote:
> So please lets just debate the facts.
>
> > Some teas maintain their astringency after several
> >infusions and for a few it even gets worse. That means the caffeine is
> >still present while the taste is gone. It is easily reproducible in
> >some cases by drinking the first infusion then drinking the second a
> >while later and noting the physical characteristcs like the jitters,
> >sweating, alertness, palpatations, etc. I say that in general where
> >there is taste there is caffeine.
>
> Here is the fallacy of your assumptions. You make it sound like you
> can measure caffeine content strictly by taste, I sincerely doubt that
> your taste buds are that calibrated. Astringency does not "equal"
> caffeine content. Caffeine is bitter but so are a lot of other things.
> Just because a tea is astringent does NOT mean that caffeine is the
> source of that astringency. Caffeine is NOT proportional to total
> flavor, it is but one component that has been proven to dissolve
> quicker than most others. There may be trace amounts left in the 8th
> steep but percentage wise it is almost negligible. Now I do agree that
> in some teas there enough "other" components that get extracted with a
> hot rinse to make them taste bland however that is not the case with
> puerh. I also would assume that you could play with the temperature to
> find a happy medium in those cases.