How to avoid going broke on Red Bull or Jolt Cola

[40hz]

Tired of your usual poison at break time? Sick of reading yet another technical how-to article that rambles on and on about something you're never going to install on your system? Or maybe just looking for some obscure lifestyle-type thing to trot out at your next dinner party to shut up That Guy who went to That Fancy College?

Well be happy - because help is at hand with a how-to that addresses all of the above.

Instead of 'designer' coffee blends, or ubergeek carbo drinks, why not try some Russian Tea?

Read on as Mssr. Dániel Nagy reveals all:

Russian Tea HOWTO

Dániel Nagy <nagydani@fazekas.hu>

August 24, 2002 Caffeine is essential for keeping the brain active during nightly hacking sessions. There are, however, many ways to satisfy a hacker's need for caffeine. Drinking Canned Capitalism (Coke) contradicts the very principles of the open source movement, for it is a closed source product, manufactured by a huge, evil corporation. This sweet brown fizzy water is unhealthy and does not leave any space for creativity; you just get what you pay for. It is like M$ Windoze. Coffee is somewhat better (much better, in fact), though it can cause irreversible neural damage especially in young hackers still in larval stage (e.g. K-, if consumed in large quantities. Moreover, it is strongly addictive and does not taste very good for those not yet addicted. A good tea, however, induces catharctic sensations even in those, who drink it for the very first time, warming one's mind, body, and soul. Many cultures have developed excellent ways of producing delicious tea. The English, the Chinese, the Japanese and many more have mastered the art of this divine beverage. In this HOWTO, however, I would like to focus on my native, Russian way of preparing, serving and consuming tea. The issues of scalability (preparing tea for yourself versus the LUG gathering), portability (preparing tea using different utensils), and quality control are also addressed in this HOWTO. Cultural references are given for the curious. Enjoy!

http://home.fazekas.hu/~nagydani/rth/Russian-tea-HOWTO-v3.html

[Ehtyar]

Very good read. I look forward to trying it, thank you 

Ehtyar.

[tomos]

very informative!

at time's I wondered though ...

Adding milk to the tea is actually an English custom. Nevertheless, it's fine as long as you don't mind sweating like a pony

- as a tea with milk drinker I dont find it any sweatier than without followed by

Smokers tend to like it for its detoxicating effect; tea with milk cancels the weariness caused by tobacco.

Things I've discovered relatively recently about tea:
if you brew it for less than 4 minutes - it has a very strong pickup effect
if you brew it for more than 4 minutes - if it's very srtong it'll get your heart going all right but it definitely doesnt have the same get up and go effect

Loved the Troubleshooting Section

[40hz]

very informative!

at time's I wondered though ...

Adding milk to the tea is actually an English custom. Nevertheless, it's fine as long as you don't mind sweating like a pony

- as a tea with milk drinker I dont find it any sweatier than without followed by

Smokers tend to like it for its detoxicating effect; tea with milk cancels the weariness caused by tobacco.

Things I've discovered relatively recently about tea:
if you brew it for less than 4 minutes - it has a very strong pickup effect
if you brew it for more than 4 minutes - if it's very srtong it'll get your heart going all right but it definitely doesnt have the same get up and go effect

Loved the Troubleshooting Section

Re: Pickup Effect

My understanding is that the maximum amount of caffeine is extracted from tea  between the 3.25 and 3.75 minute mark of the brewing cycle. You get a smaller amount of caffeine brewing it longer than that, but its effectiveness in the bloodstream is offset by the increased amount of tannin and other plant esters that are also being extracted. Tannin, by itself, will affect the heart. It causes a jittery sensation at higher (i.e. mildly toxic) concentrations, but it does not provide anything in the way of an energy boost.

Re: Milk and sweating

I'm with you tomos.

I never heard about that one before either - and I had genuine "off the boat," samovar-toting, "drink your tea from a glass", Russian grandparents.

I like my tea both ways (depending on the time of day and season of the year) and I haven't noticed a difference in ANY bodily function because of it.

BTW: Assuming it IS true - how much does a pony sweat anyway?

[tomos]

In Turkish Doner (Kebab) take-aways here they often have a samover with black tea / hot water
In one place I got a very interesting combination of black tea made with sage leaves as well - I liked it

BTW: Assuming it IS true - how much does a pony sweat anyway?

or

how sick is a dog
how stupid is a donkey
or a camel for that matter
etc

[40hz]

I got a very interesting combination of black tea made with sage leaves as well

Now that I'm going to have to try!

[tomos]

brief discussion of what type of tea at Re: What's Your Favorite Productivity or Programming Supplement? (poll top of the page as well!)

These days, I seem to usually end up drinking black teas that dont go with milk - a good Earl Grey or Darjeeling, and lately some Russian tea (Nori??) - unfortunately it's finished & the box is thrown out so not sure what it was, but they seem to have similar style teas to english teas/blends in the Russian supermarkets here.

I was in Portugal a couple of years ago and they have really nice black teas there too - mild, no bitterness

[app103]

My understanding is that the maximum amount of caffeine is extracted from tea  between the 3.25 and 3.75 minute mark of the brewing cycle. You get a smaller amount of caffeine brewing it longer than that, but its effectiveness in the bloodstream is offset by the increased amount of tannin and other plant esters that are also being extracted. Tannin, by itself, will affect the heart. It causes a jittery sensation at higher (i.e. mildly toxic) concentrations, but it does not provide anything in the way of an energy boost.

You do not get less of anything, the longer you brew your tea...you get more.

Commercially produced decaffinated tea is usually made by running the tea through hot water for 20 seconds and then drying it, before packaging it... so I guess that would mean most of the caffiene would be released in the first 20 seconds, otherwise they couldn't call it "decaffinated", right?

There is something else in tea besides caffiene, that its side effects are closely related, and can cause your heart to race and give you jitters (and make kids bounce off the walls for hours)...namely theophylline. And it's effects are longer lasting than caffiene, lasting about 5-8 hours, with smokers metabolizing it faster than non-smokers.

This chemical traditionally was used to treat asthma, and the first pharmaceutical grade prescription stuff actually came from tea & coffee (mostly tea). Have you never heard of giving someone that has asthma a cup of strong tea or coffee, in an emergency? This is why.

But the bad side effects of this drug make it not such a good choice today, especially when there are other things that work better without the negative side effects and dangers that theophylline has.

While tea may have less caffiene than coffee, it has higher amounts of theophylline than coffee, and that is released later in the brewing process. So the longer you brew your tea, the more theophylline you'll have in it...but not at the level that you'd get from prescription strength theophylline pills.

But if you are a heavy tea drinker and brew it double strength with 2 tea bags instead of one, and use a long brewing time, you are going to get a lot of both caffiene and theophylline.

That's the double bang with tea. When the caffiene has worn off, the theophylline is likely still having an effect on you.

[40hz]

You do not get less of anything, the longer you brew your tea...you get more.

I think what I was trying to say was that you get less additional caffeine by brewing it longer. Sloppy American-English strikes again! (Or should that be: a'gin )

Thanks for the info on theophylline. The name says it all - if my limited knowledge of etymology isn't completely wrong. Doesn't that mean something like "coming from the making of tea"?

[tomos]

While tea may have less caffiene than coffee, it has higher amounts of theophylline than coffee, and that is released later in the brewing process. So the longer you brew your tea, the more theophylline you'll have in it...but not at the level that you'd get from prescription strength theophylline pills.

that would explain my problem with coffee - apart from the fact it makes me real jittery, I often "crash" about 1/2 to an hour after drinking a cup - the only thing that helps is food - or maybe coffee but then I'd simply be a nervous wreck...

(Or should that be: a'gin )

no - ag'in - on'y slagging