> teapandya wrote:

>> On Apr 18, 11:49 pm, DogMa worldnet.att.net> wrote:

>>> RuF wrote:

>>>>> ... Tea has NO tannic acid.  Tea, not even the strong black Irish
>>>>> Breakfast blend so beloved of  trotting mice, will NOT tan leather,
>>>>> Nigel at Teacraft

>>>> Since you are in the business, I question your statement.
>>>> Strichnyne is not poison because I sell it.  :-)

>>> Isn't cross-posting like this considered dubious netiquette?
>>> However, I join the thread in both venues to put another vote of support
>>> behind the Teacrafter.

>

>>> As Lew, Rick and Scott point out, "tannin" is a pretty vague descriptor
>>> with an etymology that long pre-dates anything like modern chemical
>>> terminology. (An alembic of alkahest, anyone?) Where names like the
>>> mouthful abbreviated in EGCG specify a precise molecular structure, many
>>> (mostly so-called "trivial") names in common use specify nothing more
>>> than similarity in only one or two properties out of dozens discernible.
>>> Grease, for example, may derive from animal, vegetable or mineral or
>>> combinations thereof; may commonly be a single phase of hydrocarbon,  a
>>> single or mixed monoester, triglyceride, cholesterol derivative or many
>>> others; an aqueous emulsion; or a soap; all with or without additional
>>> solid fillers like graphite or molybdenum disulfide, etc. etc. "All
>>> grease is good for cooking"??

>

>>> The problem is that, as in most disciplines, almost anyone can learn to
>>> spell/pronounce the jargon and even use it with reasonable syntactic
>>> precision without any real concept of underlying meaning. Nigel's a
>>> seasoned professional *in this field*, as his diverse archived posts
>>> make clear, and can be presumed to know what he's talking about. (I also
>>> consider his probity to be beyond question, even though he's never sent
>>> *me* any free samples.)

>

>>> BTW, anent spelling, it's "strychnine" - from strychnos, one of
>>> nightshades, a motley family indeed. Talk about bitter - makes caffeine
>>> taste like honey.

>

>>> -DM
>>> (formerly in the business of designing, manufacturing and selling some
>>> dandy poisons)

>

>> Dear Friends,
>> I have planted, grown, nurtured and made Tea for eighteen years and am
>> now into Blending and Packaging.
>> Does that make me a know all? No, it simply makes me want to know
>> more.
>> This group and its postings have given me an insight into many aspects
>> of my favourite beverage and my passion, and I would not discourage
>> the group to discuss any aspect concerning Tea.
>> But to doubt the credibility of members is simply not called for. I
>> have learnt from Nigel's posts. Those who wish to differ, and whats
>> wrong with it? Each one has a right to his opinion, and here is mine:-
>> One of the main virtues of Tea is that "... it does you no harm".
>> If it could indeed be used for tanning leather, the populace on the
>> plantations would not be in such a pitiable state. Can the claimants
>> of the presence of Tannic Acid in Tea let us know how to extract it
>> and use it, YES, for tanning leather. it will at least reduce the use
>> of some toxic chemicals in the leather industry, and perhaps provide
>> an alternative use for Tea Waste and fibre. There is a humane aspect
>> in this request, please do not ignore!
>> Regards,
>> Jayesh S Pandya.

>
>    Dictionaries and other reference books don't have the power to mold
> the world to conform to the desires of us tea lovers.  They have to
> explain to people working with tannic acid every day such things as its
> applications, which include, according to Merck 13 (entry #9141):
>
>    "Mordant in dyeing; manuf ink; sizing paper and silk; printing
> fabrics; with gelatin and albumin for manuf of imitation horn and
> tortoise shell; tanning; clarifying beer or wine; in photography; as
> coagulant in rubber manuf; manuf gallic acid and pyrogallol; as reagent
> in analytical chemistry.
>
>    "THERAP CAT: Astringent.
>
>    "THERAP CAT (VET): Astringent, hemostatic, in solutions for burns.
> Has been used internally as an astringent and as a heavy metal antidote."
>
>    Leather tanning is a trade relegated to the lowly burakumin in Japan
> (who also handle garbage and corpses) and is banished to districts far
> downwind from human settlements in the Maghreb.  I don't know much about
> it except that it requires letting the skins of dead animals decay
> somewhat before treating them with lye and tannic acid, and that it
> smells very bad.
>
>    I doubt there's much tannic acid in tea, especially since the Merck
> article contains a reference to a study of its toxicity and says in
> italics, "Keep well closed and protected from light."  It also says it's
> "produced from Turkish or Chinese nutgall."  So tea is obviously not the
> preferred source of it.
>
>    (Incidentally, nutrition fans, it occurs in the bark of myrobalan.
> Doesn't that ring a bell?)
>
> --
> Marshall Price of Miami
> Known to Yahoo as d021317c