Lastly, Dr. E. E. Moore of the Letterkenny Asylum, said “As to the consumption of tea, it seems to be enormous and increasing rapidly all over the country. I am informed that it is taken by young and old alike, and even by babes in the cradle. It is drunk as often as it can be got, at every meal and between meals, often six times a day, and especially by females and usually without milk, and often without food. I may safely say that it is never taken as an infusion, but is generally stewed for hours, the old leaves being left in the teapot and fresh added as required. In some places I am told the way the tea is made is by putting the leaves down in a saucepan of cold water, and then boiling it until the decoction is black enough to be palateable.... I can speak from practical experience of the terrible effects of this system of tea drinking both among the sane and insane. It gives rise to a severe form of chronic dyspepsia, and if persisted in to dyspepsia of an incurable and painful form. The result of all this is that the health of the people all through the county is deteriorating more than most people imagine. In fact the people are starving themselves on tea, and the weaker they become the more they rush to the teapot for the fillip the draught therefrom may give them for the moment. This tea-drinking is becoming a curse, and the people are developing a craving for tea, just as great as that which a drunkard has for alcohol, or a drug-taker for his own particular drug. There is no manner of doubt but that the condition of bodily health affects the mental health of every man, woman and child, and if the starved stomach becomes a prey to chronic dyspepsia the chances are very great that the mind will, before long, be materially affected especially where there is a predisposition to insanity of an hereditary type.” With these important testimonies from responsible officials, it is difficult to resist the conclusion that the abuse of tea drinking has acted as a factor in the increased prevalence of insanity.
As a general conclusion from my investigations I have no doubt that in the first place we drink too much tea; this is shewn by a simple calculation from the average annual amount imported for consumption. Of course children of tender years should obviously be given no strong stimulants (such as tea or coffee) and adults would be acting wisely to very much limit the amount taken. With regard to the best method of preparation it should be infused, (neither stewed or decocted) and certainly for no longer period than five minutes, and a good plan is to pour the tea off at the end of this time into another vessel so as to save further exhaustion from the leaves. In reference to the variety of tea best to use, although it is not certain that the average of China teas contains less tannin than Indian teas, there is no doubt that individual samples of China tea can be procured comparatively free from this deleterious substance.
With a view of discovering the constituent parts of the tea popularly consumed, I procured samples from each of the four leading Companies, which probably amongst them, supply nine-tenths of the tea drunk in London Restaurants. The infusion was made in exactly the same way as described above and the analyses came out as follows:—
Table I.
RESTAURANT TEAS.
(Infusion of 8 grammes with 600 cc. of boiling distilled water for 5 min.)
| No. | Description and District. | Wholesale Price without duty per lb. | Per cent. Extract. | Per cent. Alkaloid. | Per cent. Tannin. | Proportion of tannin corresponding to 2·8 per cent. Alkaloid. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | “China” Tea | 2/2 | 20·20 | 2·51 | 4·85 | 5·41 |
| 2 | Ordinary Black Tea | 2/2 | 25·60 | 2·04 | 9·03 | 12·39 |
| 3 | “China” Tea | 2/0 | 20·06 | 2·15 | 3·02 | 3·93 |
| 4 | Ordinary Black Tea | 2/0 | 27·90 | 2·69 | 9·74 | 10·13 |
| 5 | “Russian” Tea | 2/6 | 23·50 | 2·30 | 5·36 | 6·52 |
| 6 | Ordinary Black Tea | 2/8 | 24·60 | 3·02 | 6·03 | 5·59 |
| 7 | “China” Tea | 2/4 | 24·50 | 2·22 | 5·85 | 7·37 |
| 8 | Ordinary Black Tea | 2/2 | 28·31 | 2·72 | 8·44 | 8·69 |
It will be observed that the China teas exhibited a fairly low proportion of tannin. The numbers for ordinary black tea in two of the Companies’ samples were, however, considerable. This points to the advisability of teas being analysed before being placed upon the market, and this is a reform much needed in the interest of the public. The tea should be examined for the amount of the alkaloid, and also the tannin extracted by infusion, and the price based on the proportion of the essential ingredient, viz: the alkaloid and if it is desired to place the matter on any sort of scientific basis, the public should in each case be informed of the weight of tea required to be used with boiling water (this being regulated by the quantity of the alkaloid), and at the same time an indication should be given of the proportion of tannin liable to be extracted in a standard infusion. My general recommendations from the foregoing experiments, and also from the experience of the various authorities are that if tea is to be no longer a source of injury to health we should drink much less, and infuse for a briefer period. The dealers also should more frequently submit samples for analysis as in the case of other foods and drinks; thus when we do drink tea we should be in a position to avoid those varieties which are especially harmful; and there is no doubt that if these recommendations are carried out we shall be saved from a number of distressing complaints which, although very rarely fatal, have in the past occasioned much ill health, and have been a source of discomfort and misery both of mind and body to thousands who might otherwise have enjoyed the comfort to be derived from a carefully regulated use of the infusion of the leaves of the tea plant.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] A journey to the Tea Countries of China, p. 281, London 1852.