Can you get drunk on tea? We ask a tea expert about the psychoactive properties of tea.
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00:00 So the term is "Cha Zui", and it basically is the psychoactive effects of tea. Tea has
00:07 many different compounds in that are healthful, but they're also psychoactive. So you've got
00:13 lots of different chemicals like theanine, and catechins, etc., which actually stimulate
00:18 your endocannabinoid system. So you can have distinct effects for different teas. So there
00:24 are a lot of people who drink tea out there that are looking for that. In fact, in China
00:30 the key quality marker of tea is not taste and aroma, but it's aftertaste and effect.
00:37 And so how the tea makes you feel afterwards is very high up, if not the top marker for
00:43 quality of tea. So there's a few different types of tea that are more renowned for this
00:48 effect. One of them is shade-grown Gyokuro. This is Japanese, so you can smell it. It
00:54 has a really interesting sort of umami, deep quality to it.
00:59 Celine : Mmm. That's very healthful. Yeah.