How can I make my own high-grade tea extracts/concentrates at home?
June 14, 2015 6:55 PM Subscribe
A couple of years ago I discovered that certain types of white teas, which are free of leaves and contain only tea buds, make a huge difference in my ability to concentrate. I've become sort of dependent on them to do my job, and so I'm constantly making tea throughout the day (and thus constantly running to the bathroom).
All of the tea/catechin (tea antioxidant) extracts I've purchased don't seem to have the same effect on me, regardless of whether or not they contain caffeine. In researching the best way to make my own, I found this 2013 study comparing various methods of making antioxidant-rich extracts from tea, which concluded "the optimal extraction conditions were determined using 40% ethanol with ultrasound-assisted extraction method for 2 h at 40 °C."
Is it possible for a non-chemist to purchase and learn how to use an ultrasound probe that would give comparable results, without spending thousands of dollars? If not, could anyone suggest alternative approaches?
I actually made a number of (probably foolish) attempts at butane extraction, inspired by the trendiness of those extracts in the world of marijuana. But, despite trying different lengths of pipe, different grind consistencies, multiple cans of butane, and so on...I never managed to get an appreciable yield.
I'm guessing this is because most of the valuable compounds in the tea are not particularly fat-soluble, so the only thing the butane pulled out of it was small amounts of pure caffeine. I considered trying to find someone with a CO2 extraction set-up who might be willing to do a run of tea for me, but I'm not confident the yields would be any better.
P.S. I recently found this Chinese mail order site selling this "Ultrasonic extraction nutrition pot health maintenance pot of herbal extract electric kettle" for 100$. But, I can't find any reviews or other information about it and I'm skeptical as to whether it's really powerful enough to be useful. It says it operates at a frequency of 68 kHz, and has a power range of 40-50 W. Does anyone know how I could compare this to the kind of ultrasonic extraction equipment used in a commercial or laboratory setting?
Is it possible for a non-chemist to purchase and learn how to use an ultrasound probe that would give comparable results, without spending thousands of dollars? If not, could anyone suggest alternative approaches?
I actually made a number of (probably foolish) attempts at butane extraction, inspired by the trendiness of those extracts in the world of marijuana. But, despite trying different lengths of pipe, different grind consistencies, multiple cans of butane, and so on...I never managed to get an appreciable yield.
I'm guessing this is because most of the valuable compounds in the tea are not particularly fat-soluble, so the only thing the butane pulled out of it was small amounts of pure caffeine. I considered trying to find someone with a CO2 extraction set-up who might be willing to do a run of tea for me, but I'm not confident the yields would be any better.
P.S. I recently found this Chinese mail order site selling this "Ultrasonic extraction nutrition pot health maintenance pot of herbal extract electric kettle" for 100$. But, I can't find any reviews or other information about it and I'm skeptical as to whether it's really powerful enough to be useful. It says it operates at a frequency of 68 kHz, and has a power range of 40-50 W. Does anyone know how I could compare this to the kind of ultrasonic extraction equipment used in a commercial or laboratory setting?
This could easily be acomplished with a PolyScience Sonicprep. This bit of technology doesn't really meet your price requirements, but you might be able to track one down regardless. My experience with polysci is that their clientele is pretty enthusiastic, and if one exists in your general neighborhood, they might let you rent some time on it. I've played with one, and they're pretty fantastic tools, but I can't quite justify having one for my work (yet!).
Also, the optimal extraction might be achieved with ultrasonic assistance, but and acceptable extraction might be obtained a bit easier with just straight distillation. There are a couple auto-distillers on the market that might work for your needs, and they're around the price point of your (rather sketch looking) "Ultrasonic extraction nutrition pot…" without dealing with sketchy importing sites.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:05 PM on June 14, 2015
Also, the optimal extraction might be achieved with ultrasonic assistance, but and acceptable extraction might be obtained a bit easier with just straight distillation. There are a couple auto-distillers on the market that might work for your needs, and they're around the price point of your (rather sketch looking) "Ultrasonic extraction nutrition pot…" without dealing with sketchy importing sites.
posted by furnace.heart at 8:05 PM on June 14, 2015
Do you have access to the full text of that article? For 40% ethanol over two hours, the difference between total catechin extraction at room temperature (25C) and the ultrasound-assisted extraction is less than 2mg/g dry weight tea. As such, I'd be lazy and try the room temp variant before moving on to Itaxpica's suggestion to see if that wasn't plenty good enough for personal consumption.
posted by teremala at 8:21 PM on June 14, 2015
posted by teremala at 8:21 PM on June 14, 2015
I think that using a smallish amount of 40% ethanol for a couple of hours and evaporating it off in a pie plate will probably work great.
That said, have you tried taking caffeine and l-theanine? L-theanine is an alkaloid in certain teas that tends to mellow out the caffeine a bit, and I bet that's why you find white tea effective. It can be bought as a supplement - I'd start with 300mg or so, along with a normal (for you) dose of caffeine.
posted by Adamsmasher at 5:33 PM on June 16, 2015
That said, have you tried taking caffeine and l-theanine? L-theanine is an alkaloid in certain teas that tends to mellow out the caffeine a bit, and I bet that's why you find white tea effective. It can be bought as a supplement - I'd start with 300mg or so, along with a normal (for you) dose of caffeine.
posted by Adamsmasher at 5:33 PM on June 16, 2015
You can purchase ultrasonic cleaners for less than $100, if you're willing to risk a lack of food-grade surfaces.
I agree, try ethanol without ultrasound first, and only if that doesn't do it, try out ultrasound-aided extraction.
posted by WasabiFlux at 9:10 PM on June 16, 2015
I agree, try ethanol without ultrasound first, and only if that doesn't do it, try out ultrasound-aided extraction.
posted by WasabiFlux at 9:10 PM on June 16, 2015
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posted by Itaxpica at 7:31 PM on June 14, 2015 [1 favorite]