Pronounced thea-een

Tea and coffee provide stimulation by way of a compound found in both plants and in the respective beverages produced from their leaves and seeds, respectively. The stimulant effect differs between the two, however, and also differs considerably according to the way tea, in particular, is processed.

Image: Tea Class

The differences between tea and coffee is substantial enough, in fact, that when caffeine was first isolated in tea in 1827, it was thought to be a different compound and was known as theine. The Oxford English dictionary provides two alternate pronunciations of this awkward word, using both proper phonetic symbols and recordings.

I learned of this distinction from the Cisco Brew article Caffeine and Tea, which explains not only why caffeine behaves differently in tea and coffee, but also how caffeine levels vary according to various tea preparations. The article alludes to preparations (white, green, oolong, black), origins, and varietals, notably sinensis and assamica. I mistakenly read this as suggesting that assamica is a separate species; in seeking clarification I found the excellent article Camellia sinensis on Tea Class, from which I lifted the lovely photo of a tea flower to the right.