Ku Ding Cha

No, I am thinking that possibly the unpleasant flavour that it should have might possibly be due to hydroxybenzine.

--scott

Whoosh. Yeah, I know, I was joking around (that was why I had the little winky emoticon) I meant since the stuff tastes terrible normally, how would you know if it was worse or if something was wrong :) Especially since a lot of poisons are bitter, you'd be SOL trying to figure out if your Ku Ding was poisoned or clean. I find it pretty unpleasant in its pristine form, in fact I think I may find drinking bleach or hot antifreeze more enjoyable.

- Dominic

Here is a chemical comparison of Kuding and Tea. There is no mention of hydroxybenzene or another form. Looking at the numbers only the abundance of flavonoids could account for the taste. It does answer the question that Kuding contains no caffeine. I assume my nutrition label must be wrong. I don't think a cup is that bad once in awhile. I've drank astringent greens I thought tasted worse.

Jim

Dom> > Dom> > >> Carbolic acid/phenol/hydroxybenzene would definitely make it taste

Well, at least my silly little post about my bad time with Kuding Cha has had some benefit. We confirmed that it is indeed non-caffeinated and that is most certainly should not contain over 1g of hydroxybenzene for every 3g of Kuding, I'm still hoping that is a misprint or grossly miscalculated. In my own findings, I'm amazed that there are truly some folks out there who would willingly drink this when there are so many wonderful and intoxicating brews available. My entrance and exit from the world of Kuding has been completed.

- Dominic

You should keep in mind the following before you pass total judgement:

1. His tea came in a box and is not fresh.
2. It's meant for export; which basically means no holds-barred.

You can get perfectly good Kuding around here without too many chemical additives. I still recommend the qing shan lv shui. It's very nice at small quanities.

Just a note on the "health benefits" of ku ding: like any Chinese medicinal, it's good for you if you need it--that is, if your constitution and/or medical condition make it appropriate for you. Very few things are considered to have health benefits all the time; this is part of the yin-yang aspect of TCM. Ku ding is bitter and energetically cold. If you have a heat condition (like a flu with a fever) it may be beneficial--depending on the condition. If you have a cold condition, it'll not only taste like crap, it'll likely also make you feel like crap (and possibly exacerbate whatever it is you're trying to fix). Western alternative health maestros like Andrew Weil seem to enjoy making universal prescriptions (everyone should drink green tea, everyone should take selenium, everyone should eat broccoli, whatever...). This, however, is generally not done in TCM--it's a bit more subtle than that.

My 2 cents.

Mike

Dom> > Here is a chemical comparison of Kuding and Tea. There is no mention