Hi.It may seem like I'm a bit sensitive to caffeine, so for a while I thought I'd try some decaff tea. Unless there is some recommendable commercial tea around, I guess I'll stick to the home-production water method. Are there any teas/sorts of tea that are better for this procedure than others, preferably green?(And just to make sure: the right procedure is 1) pour water 2) stir for 5 seconds 3)pour the water out and 4)fill with new water and let it steep the noramal time.)thanks in advance.ole k

I don't think there are any types of tea that decaffeinatebetter than others. However, your stir time seems very short.Other procedures I have read for this call for a 30 secondsteep (no stiring). There are many green teas available thatare good for 2 or even 3 steepings, so even if you did a fullsteep and threw it away, you should still be able to enjoysome good teas. Note, however, that there will still be muchmore caffeine left in a 2nd steep than there are in decaffteas (which generally have < 1% by weight).I occsionally drink Upton tea's decaff "China Green". It isfairly good.Randy

LOL--one of these days I'll be brave enough to try this method.Scott Dorsey wrote:

Decaff (green) tea?

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Mydnight 20 years ago

Most of TCM does not go through any scientific analysis to see if there are any positive or negative effects. The entire system is derrived from unsubstantiated, anecdotal "information" that was supposedly passed from generation to generation. In fact, now, most Chinese choose to use Western medicine because they can actually see results. It can also be said that many of the people that use TCM are the ones that cannot readily afford how expensive Western medicine is here. With TCM, the patient is told to drink some sort of tea (a lot of water with fresh ginger added and all kinds of random debris such as bone), get lots of rest, and eat a lot of vegetables...when you go to the doctor in the west, what does he tell you? He says, drink lots of fluids, get a lot of rest, and eat well.

There are too many variables to account for to be able to actually get a good study from this. You also have to consider the incubation period of certain illnesses and the normal course of the illness; usually the last variable is the killer. The common cold lasts for 5-7 days. Many Chinese doctors say that they have the cure to the common cold...they tell you to drink the tea for 5-7 days. See a problem with this logic?

I recommend you guys check out this website; it has all kinds of stuff about medical quackery and has some articles on Chinese medicine.

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Anyway, as for the pu'er medical debate, in HK they sell pu'er in the medicine shops (Eastern and Western) to cure stomach ailments, and as an aid to help lose weight. Finding scientific studies, especially in China, on this will probably be just as difficult as finding some studies that prove that drinking the dung of some rare animal will cure impotency. All I know, through my observations, is that it makes my stomach feel damn fine after drinking it, and that's good enough for me. heh.

It ain't for the money, it's for safety; well, could be a little for the money. Many people, such as people with some sort of incurable disease, would easily buy into some sort of magical, mystical Eastern cure.

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Mydnight 20 years ago

It's very difficult to do honest experiments in China. There are thousands upon thousands of fradulent claims here about nearly every subject that you could possibly imagine from hygiene to actual "science." The main concern is credibility here. A "doctorate degree" can be obtained if you pay the right person or legally within 2 years and it only involves passing an exam and writing (or copying) someone elses work. I don't think Mike is being xenophobic at all in his ideas about Eastern science; he's being real about it. It's hard to explain unless you've lived here for a period of time....

But, trust me, you want the FDA to examine their medicinal claims. Here they (mostly HK..so it isn't coming from within, obviously) are finding more and more stuff over here that cause cancer that people imbibe daily. The newest was they found malachite-green in fish that they were exporting; a substance banned by most countries of the world decades ago...even in China. Some restaurants/exporters here were adding it into their fish tanks so they wouldn't have to change the water as much...thus saving money.

The magical, mystery that is the East is a bunch of hogwash. It's about as mysterious as the back of a dollar bill...the only thing they are concerned with.

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Scott Dorsey 20 years ago

My grandfather had a much better one. He suggested drinking a quart of bourbon, and when you wake up a week later your cold will be cured.

--scott

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Mydnight 20 years ago

A Russian guy that lives in my hometown claims he hasn't had a cold in

25 years. He firmly believes in preventative medicine, so each morning he takes a raw clove of garlic and mixes it with a shot of vodka and downs it. He's close to 90 years old and can run like you wouldn't believe.

Maybe we're drinking the wrong substance for health. heh.

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Space Cowboy 20 years ago

When I was growing up the cure for the cold was a 'hot toddy'. I couldn't wait to get sick. It contained a liquour. You go to the doctor you walk away with a prescription. OTC cold remedies is big business.

Jim

Scott Dorsey wrote:

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Scott Dorsey 20 years ago

This is effective because colds are transmitted by airborne viruses. When an infected person sneezes or coughs, a fine aerosol of mucus droplets is scattered all over the area, and these droplets contain the virus. Breathing them in causes infection.

With a large amount of garlic, people stay so far away from you that you are no longer within range of this spray. The cashier at the grocery store uses a long pole to push your change back to you. Children run away when you walk down the street. Even beggars and panhandlers, who are not themselves known for particularly good odor, avoid your presence. No doubt the vodka increases absorption of the garlic oils.

--scott

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Darawen Littlestich 20 years ago

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Decaff (green) tea?

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