Tea Journey: Tea Drunk
What is the meaning of tea drunk?
If you have ever traveled through China’s tea country, spent an afternoon tasting Dragonwells or sat for a Tea Ceremony, you might understand the term “tea drunk” (cha zui or 茶醉). It is the unique feeling of giddy euphoria, lightness and bliss balanced by a sense of meditative focus, peace and wellness that comes when you consume high energy or high “qi” tea-- particularly very raw, green or un-oxidized tea.
This mental state, I believe, is the reason Zen Buddhist monks brought tea from China to the rest of Asia over 1,000 years ago.
Tea is a nootropic- any substance that improves mental function including memory, mood, focus and motivation. There are five compounds present in tea that make it Mother Nature’s favorite nootropic and are also to thank for tea drunkenness (or to blame, if you have accidentally overindulged and are finding yourself a bit too dizzy). They are Caffeine, EGCG (epigallocatechin gallate), L-theanine, theophylline and theobromine. Understanding how they work independently and with each other can heighten your appreciation of tea and its affect on your body.
1. CAFFEINE: You are already familiar with caffeine. It blocks adenosine in the brain. Adenosine build up over the course of a day is what makes you sleepy, so caffeine makes you feel awake.
2. EGCG is a Catechin, a type of antioxidant in tea that is credited for so many physical health benefits (for example, preventing or curing many kinds of cancers and diseases). It is less known for it’s ability to relax your mind and improve your mood, but EGCG does alleviate anxiety and increases your resilience to stress as well.
Antioxidants like EGCG also slow the release of caffeine in your body, prolonging the effects of the caffeine. So, while the caffeine in coffee releases in your body over the course of a few hours, the caffeine in tea releases in your body over a much longer period of time.
3. L-THEANINE. This amino acid, which is more prevalent in un-oxidized green and lightly oxidized oolong teas, increases Alpha brainwaves- those that are the gateway to a meditative state and that put you in a calm and focused state. L-Theanine increases dopamine and serotonin levels in the brain and is the perfect complement to caffeine, as it mitigates negative side effects like sleeplessness, jitteriness, and anxiety. You can buy L-theanine, in pill form for sleep and to chill you out, but a nice long tea session works even better.
4. THEOPHYLLINE and THEOBROMINE are naturally occurring in cocoa and, in smaller amounts, in tea. They both work to increase the rate and force of the heart, making you feel flushed and cool. Theophylline also relaxes smooth (involuntary) muscles.
Across China, Taiwan and Japan, there are tea shops on just about every street corner, each with a table for tasting tea. Not dissimilar to a bar in the US, anyone can come in, have a seat and taste teas that are for sale. They are almost always pouring the whole leaf (unless you are in a matcha shop), high-quality teas that still have a plethora of nutrients in the leaf. These are the ones that can make you tea drunk. In particular, look for Matcha, Gyokuro, Sheng Puerh, and other fresh and clean green teas grown with intention and integrity.
