We often hear tea friends苦恼 that drinking a little tea at night leads to insomnia, while羡慕老茶鬼 who drink tea every night and still enjoy excellent sleep quality. If you really want some tea tonight, it's not entirely impossible.

Why does tea make people alert?

First, we need to clarify that tea can refresh you because it contains caffeine—the substance that excites you. The higher the caffeine content, the more likely it is to stimulate you.

What determines the level of caffeine content? The caffeine content in tea leaves mainly depends on many factors, such as variety, growing conditions, picking season, picking standards, processing, etc.

The caffeine in tea leaves is relatively stable and does not decrease much during the fermentation process. Many people feel that green tea has higher caffeine because the tea polyphenols in green tea are not oxidized, leaving the caffeine in a free state; while after fermentation, tea polyphenols wrap around the caffeine, causing less irritation to the stomach, but the content does not decrease.

If you want to drink tea at night, what should you do?

We need to clarify that all teas contain caffeine; it just depends on the extent of its impact on your body.

Generally, after drinking tea, the stimulating effects of caffeine on the body last about 2–5 hours, though the specific duration depends on individual physique and tolerance.

Some seasoned tea drinkers are accustomed to drinking tea at night and may feel psychologically失落 if they go a night without it.

However, for those with severe heart conditions or neurasthenia, it is advisable to avoid strong tea or excessive tea drinking, especially at night—it's better not to drink tea then.

For ordinary tea lovers, if you really want to drink some tea at night, you can choose well-processed aged ripe Pu-erh, aged white tea, or traditionally fermented roasted oolong, as these teas are relatively温和. However, don't drink too much tea in one night; use a relatively smaller amount of leaves and brew it lightly.

A小贴士 that may seem off-topic but is actually very useful — the relationship between bitterness and caffeine

       Finally, let's talk about bitterness.

Don't be surprised why discussing the impact of caffeine on sleep leads to taste perception. Well... it also seemed strange when first encountering this theory...

Okay, we need to clarify this concept: caffeine is bitter. This also explains where the bitterness comes from when drinking coffee or tea.

Many people may隐约 feel that the more bitter the tea, the more refreshing it is, which is why many articles or common knowledge suggest that a cup of strong, bitter tea can make one feel entirely alert.

Yes, it's not only the taste刺激 the spirit but also due to caffeine.

However, this doesn't mean that non-bitter tea isn't refreshing! A simple analogy: for fresh and tender tea, its freshness and sweetness can completely掩盖 its bitterness. So, non-bitter tea can also be enchanting enough to keep you awake all night~

Yes, this section aims to convey this concept: bitterness can be a criterion for judging whether the tea in your hand is refreshing, but non-bitter tea can also be very stimulating. Just like the more brightly colored a snake is, the more poisonous it likely is, but that doesn't mean poisonous snakes can't be pitch black and inconspicuous...

Quite a strange analogy, right! But it's vivid~~~

Thank you for reading this far. If you happen to come across some well-aged ripe Pu-erh, drink it slowly—perhaps you'll feel sleepy while drinking it.