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Every leaf, region, and tradition.
6 articles across 10 topics.
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10 topics
Where the heart meets the leaf — Chinese tea and the cardiovascular system
0 articles
Catechins, and the curious case of EGCG
1 article
Dental health and tea — separating facts from stains
0 articles
How much tea is too much tea
1 article
How oxidation transforms tea’s polyphenols from leaf to cup
0 articles
Tea, caffeine, and the journey through pregnancy and breastfeeding
1 article
How Chinese teas shape the gut microbiome
0 articles
What the science says about tea’s effect on sleep architecture
0 articles
Theabrownins — the dark molecules of aged tea
2 articles
The quiet amino acid that crosses into the brain
1 article
All articles
6 pieces, latest first
- — 01
Aged sheng and serum lipids — a measured look at the 2019 paper
A Shanghai–Hong Kong research team — often mis-credited to “Kunming Medical University” in tea-shop retellings — reported that theabrownins extracted from pu'er lowered cholesterol in mice, and ran a small human pilot besides. The paper travelled far, sometimes further than the data supports. Here is what it measured, what it did not, and how aged sheng fits into the picture.
- — 02
EGCG bioavailability — what's measured in human plasma
What researchers actually find in blood after a cup of green tea — and why 200 mg of EGCG in the cup doesn’t equal 200 mg in plasma.
- — 03
How many cups is too many — the kidney-safety question
A measured look at daily intake, oxalates, caffeine load, and when Chinese tea drinkers should slow down — without the medical theatre.
- — 04
Tea during pregnancy — what the OB-GYN literature says
Caffeine, polyphenols, folate interactions, and the question of which Chinese teas are gentle enough for a pregnant drinker. A measured look at what obstetric studies actually report.
- — 05
Shu pu'er and the gut microbiome — small studies, big claims
A 2019 paper on theabrownins — often mis-credited to “the Kunming labs” but actually a Shanghai–Hong Kong collaboration — ignited a small wave of microbiome enthusiasm for shu pu'er. The chemistry is real, the mouse data is interesting, the human pilot is real but small — here is what the literature actually says.
- — 06
The theanine-to-caffeine ratio — what the studies measured
L-theanine reaches the brain. Caffeine wakes it up. The interesting question is not whether either works alone, but what the ratio between them does — and what trial designs have actually tested.