Somewhere among the 14 million or so containers in the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, there is one filled with organic tea, the one that one customs broker Joe Estengo III will find today. After clearing customs and FDA inspections, samples from this shipment will be sent to ANRESCO Laboratories in San Francisco.

“We send samples to ANRESCO from every new shipment,” explains Judah Sanders, a biologist and the CEO of Dragon Pearl Tea. Besides testing for purity, he says, “we never stop studying tea.”

According to Sanders, there are two main reasons for this set of tests. “First, to answer questions from consumers about caffeine, which is our most frequently asked question,” he said, “but also to understand what it is about tea that makes you feel so good.”

The Caffeine Study

According to the lab report, Dragon Pearl’s green tea is actually higher in caffeine than black tea over three steepings of whole leaves. The experiment tested white, green, black and oolong teas steeped three times at 180 degrees Fahrenheit.

The most surprising result? All the teas tested contained more caffeine than an average cup of coffee. An average cup of coffee has roughly 100mg of caffeine, while the green tea contained about 200mg per cup, indicating that caffeine may play a big role in the feeling of wellness one gets from a cup of tea.

Caffeine is known by medical science to play a role in wellness, reducing headaches and stimulating metabolic and chemical activities in the body. “All real tea comes from the Camellia sinensis plant,” explained Sanders. “But it’s not all the same. This tea is very fresh, and extremely potent due to its growing environment.”

According to Dragon Pearl’s 2008 lab tests, you can remove about 50% of the caffeine in tea by pre-steeping for two minutes. (Commercial teas labeled “decaffeinated” are 97 to 98 percent caffeine-free after undergoing ethyl acetate or carbon dioxide processes.)

The Antioxidant Study

Using Brunswick’s ORAC Hydro testing at their lab in Boston revealed what was already suspected: green tea varies greatly in potency with freshness. Lab reports indicate that whole-leaf tea maintains its potency, while ground tea leaves quickly lose potency.

The tea-bag sample that tested highest was a leading brand of leaf flakes (not finely ground) in individually wrapped airtight bags. Still, it tested well under 500 mgTE/g, compared with over 750 mgTE/g for Dragon Pearl’s fresh whole-leaf tea.

ANRESCO Laboratories is based in San Francisco, providing independent analysis for food and nutrition industries resulting in data that is defendable, ethical, and accurate. http://www.anresco.com.

Brunswick Laboratories is an independent contract laboratory providing analytical services in the chemical sciences. http://www.brunswicklabs.com.