# How fast does the caffeine leave the tea bag? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 14, 2004, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-does-the-caffeine-leave-the-tea-bag/234227 "2004-03-14T13:22:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Plan\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Plan\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plan_B)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-does-the-caffeine-leave-the-tea-bag/234227/1 "2004-03-14T13:22:33Z")
Sometimes I’m making a cup of tea in a hurry. If I stir as soon as I pour the water on the teabag it seems, in terms of color, that it’s done in about five to ten seconds. But I never dare to violate instructions and take the bag out in less than three minutes. Any thoughts? ---
**Author:** ![gluteus\_maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@gluteus\_maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gluteus_maximus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 2:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-does-the-caffeine-leave-the-tea-bag/234227/2 "2004-03-14T14:29:49Z")
Are you drinking the tea for the color, the caffeine, or the flavor? How long you let the teabag steep determines all three, of course, but I doubt that the tea’s color has much to do with how much caffeine is in it. The stronger flavor from longer steeping has more to do with tannin, although caffeine adds to the bitterness. Probably the longer you leave the teabag in, the higher the caffeine content in your cup. ---
**Author:** ![gluteus\_maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@gluteus\_maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gluteus_maximus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-does-the-caffeine-leave-the-tea-bag/234227/3 "2004-03-14T14:48:16Z")
> [@](#): > > _[From here](http://www.teatreasures.com/teainfo/)_ > > \*\*How to Decaffeinate Tea > > About 80 percent of the tea’s caffeine content is released within the first 30 seconds of steeping. You can enjoy all teas by decaffeinating the tea yourself by discarding the water after the first 30 seconds’ steeping, then adding fresh boiling water to the remaining leaves. Some say tea has constituents which act to soothe and relax the body. These polyphenols begin to dissolve only in the third minute of steeping. This is the secret to bedtime tea.\*\* Howzat? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-does-the-caffeine-leave-the-tea-bag/234227/4 "2004-03-14T15:03:41Z")
1/2 mv[sup]2[/sup] = 3/2 kT k = 1.38 X 10[sup]-23[/sup] J/°K Mw caffeine = 194.19 = 1.6120703968e-25 kg/molecule Hot tea runs at ~90°C or 363°K so: 3/2kT = 7.5176937e-21 1/2m = 1.6120703968e-25 v[sup]2[/sup] = 7.5176937e-21/1.6120703968e-25 **v=215.9 meters per second** Caffeine leaves the teabag at about 215.9 meters per second. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![gluteus\_maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@gluteus\_maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gluteus_maximus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 3:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-does-the-caffeine-leave-the-tea-bag/234227/5 "2004-03-14T15:37:46Z")
😃 You’d better run before **Ilsa\_Lund** gets here! ---
**Author:** ![gluteus\_maximus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f17d59/32.png) [@gluteus\_maximus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gluteus_maximus)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-does-the-caffeine-leave-the-tea-bag/234227/6 "2004-03-14T18:33:29Z")
> [@Squink](#): > > Caffeine leaves the teabag at about 215.9 meters per second. So, how many cups of tea to the [moon](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=244857) ? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Plan\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Plan\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Plan_B)\ **Post date:** [March 14, 2004, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-does-the-caffeine-leave-the-tea-bag/234227/7 "2004-03-14T18:53:09Z")
> [@gluteus maximus](#): > > Are you drinking the tea for the color, the caffeine, or the flavor? > > How long you let the teabag steep determines all three, of course, but I doubt that the tea’s color has much to do with how much caffeine is in it. The stronger flavor from longer steeping has more to do with tannin, although caffeine adds to the bitterness. Probably the longer you leave the teabag in, the higher the caffeine content in your cup. Caffeine and flavor, but I was thinking that maybe all three correlate. ---
**Author:** ![LtningBug](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/73ab20/32.png) [@LtningBug](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LtningBug)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-does-the-caffeine-leave-the-tea-bag/234227/8 "2004-03-15T08:26:52Z")
Eh, why wait? Just eat the tea bag. Yum! Back to the OP, does anyone know if this rate depends on what type of tea is being brewed (green, black, Earl Gray, etc.)? ---
**Author:** ![Squink](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5e925/32.png) [@Squink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Squink)\ **Post date:** [March 15, 2004, 2:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-fast-does-the-caffeine-leave-the-tea-bag/234227/9 "2004-03-15T14:22:34Z")
> [@](#): > > All teas have roughly similar caffeine contents, and one cannot rely on the belief that green tea has less caffeine, as asserted by many popular claims. One such claim is that degree of fermentation governs caffeine content, with green having 1/3 and oolong having 2/3 the caffeine content of black tea. This has been debunked repeatedly. [CAFFEINE IN TEA vs. STEEPING TIME](http://www.nobleharbor.com/tea/caffiene.html) The rate at which caffeine is extracted from tea leaves depends on the variety of the plant, the processing of the leaves (e.g. fermented or not) and the size of the induividual leaf fragments.