Jason F in Los Angeles wrote:
> You seem to know a lot about Ku Ding, so I shall ask you: is Ku Ding
> caffeinated?
> (anyone else, feel free to jump in)
>
> Also, my coworker bought some Ku Ding in Chinatown that smells like
> jasmine. Is it common to scent Ku Ding wtih jasmine?
>
> ~bears³

I'm no expert with it, but it is caffeine free since it is not true tea
but ilex which is of the holly family. This is my first attempt at it
so I can't say about the jasmine scent... although it couldn't hurt to
try to add some sort of pleasantness to it.

And @Mydnight

By no means am I giving up the ship on one tea, but damn is it hard to
want to go back for more I did use proper water temp and amount. I
have even experimented since then a few more times with basically the
same results. This tea was very fresh and of high-quality as it was
just unpacked by the owner whom I know. I'm sure there is better stuff
out there, but I don't think I'm going to extend much effort in hunting
any down. I'm not a big one for all the health benefits, I believe that
many ancient remedies have some truth to them but I don't go crazy
about it. I really was intrigued and have been for sometime by the
bitterness, I like bitter things and thought it would be something new
to try. I will look into the tea that you mentioned.

....also while searching through the archives I saw a funny quote about
Ku Ding from Michael Plant saying basically: Step 1: Set Ku Ding on
counter. Step 2: Boil water. Step 3: Throw away Ku Ding. Step 4: Drink
water.

Well stated

- Dominic