SSM CENTRAL SCHOOL

KUPPANDAPALAYAM

CHEMISTRY INVESTIGATORY
PROJECT ON:
DETERMINATION OF CAFFEINE
IN TEA SAMPLES

A PROJECT REPORT SUBMITTED BY:

S.SRI MADHURITA
GRADE XII - A
YEAR 2019-20
 CERTIFICATE

This is to certify that SRI MADHURITA .S,

Reg.No: __________ , student of class XII A, has
successfully completed the project titled
“DETERMINATION OF CAFFEINE IN TEA
SAMPLES” under the guidance of
MR.G.JAYAKRISHNA AND MR.K.SIVANAGARAJU
during the year 2019-20 in partial fulfilment of
chemistry practical examination conducted by
AISSCE, New Delhi.

Signature of chemistry teacher: ___________________

Signature of external examiner: ___________________

Signature of the principal : ___________________

 INDEX
S.NO CONTENT Page No.
1. Certificate of excellence 2

2. Acknowledgements 4

3. Aim of Project 5

4. Introduction 6
5. Caffeine and its characteristics 8

6. Theory of the experiment 11

7. Apparatus required 13
8. Procedure 14
9. Precautions 16
10. Observations 17
11. Result 18
12. Conclusion 19
13. Bibliography 20
 ACKNOWLEDGMENT
“Gratitude is a miracle of its own recognition. It
brings out a sense of appreciation and sincerity of a
being.”
So according to that truthful words above I would like
to express my special thanks of gratitude to my
Chemistry teachers Mr. G. Jayakrishna and Mr. K.
Sivanagaraju, for their able guidance and support in
completing my project. I am also thankful to
Mr. T .Thamarai Selvan, the chemistry lab assistant
I would also like to extend my gratitude to the principal
Mr .K.A Mirash Kareem and the management for their
constant support.
I am extremely grateful and thankful to both my
parents and friends for their constructive criticism and
valuable suggestions extended to me throughout this
project.
 AIM OF THE PROJECT:

The aim of this project is to determine the

presence of caffeine in tea samples and to
determine which brand is the healthiest one.
 Introduction
What is Tea?
Tea is the most commonly and widely used soft
beverage in the household. It acts as a stimulant for
central nervous system and skeletal muscles. That is
why tea removes fatigue, tiredness and headache. It
also increases the capacity of thinking. It is also used
for lowering body temperature.
"Tea consumption, especially green tea, may not be
the magic bullet, but it can be incorporated in an
overall healthy diet with whole grains, fish, fruits and
vegetables, and less red and processed meat," says Qi
Sun, assistant professor in the Department of
Nutrition at the Harvard School of Public Health.
The main health-promoting substances in tea are
polyphenols, in particular catechins and epicatechins.
Lab and animal studies say these molecules have anti-
inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Harvard-led
studies of large groups of people over time have
found that tea or coffee drinkers are at lower risk for
diabetes and possibly cardiovascular disease.
Coffee also contains polyphenols. The studies attempt
to rule out the possibility that tea drinkers simply live
healthier lifestyles, but it's difficult to be sure. That
said tea itself appears to have no harmful effects
except for a case of the jitters if you drink too much
caffeinated brew. It fits in perfectly well with a heart-
healthy lifestyle.
 Caffeine and Its
Characteristics:

The principal constituent of tea, which is responsible

for all these properties, is the alkaloid-caffeine. The
amount of caffeine in tea leavers varies from sample
to sample. Originally it was thought that caffeine is
responsible for the taste and flavour of tea. But pure
caffeine has been found to be a tasteless while
substance. Therefore, the taste and flavour of tea is
due to some other substance present in it. There is a
little doubt that the popularity of the xanthenes
beverages depends on their stimulant action, although
most people are unaware of any stimulation.
The degree to which an individual is stimulated by
given amount of caffeine varies from individual to
individual. For example, some people boast their
ability to drink several cups of coffee in evening and
yet sleep like a long, on the other hand there are
people who are so sensitive to caffeine that even a
single cup of coffee will cause a response boarding on
the toxic.
 In fact children are more susceptible than adults to
excitation by xanthenes. For this reason, tea and
coffee should be excluded from their diet. Even cocoa
is of doubtful value. It has a high tannin content may
be as high as 50 mg per cup.
After all our main stress is on the presence of caffeine
in xanthene beverages and so in this project we will
study and observe the quantity of caffeine varying in
different samples of tea leaves.
Uses of Caffeine:-
l. In medicine, it is used to stimulate, central nervous
system and to increase flow of urine.
2. Because of its stimulating effects, caffeine has
been used to relieve fatigue. But it is dangerous and
one may collapse if not consumes it under certain
limit.
3. Caffeine is also used in analgesic tablets, as it is
believed to be a pain reliever. It is also beneficial in
migraines.
Effects of caffeine:-
l. It is psycho – stimulant.
2. It improves physical and mental ability.
3. Its effect in learning is doubtful but intellectual
performance may improve where it has been used to
reduce fatigue or boredom. On the contrary their
excessive use is harmful to digestion and their long
use leads to mental retardation.
 Theory of the
Experiment

The most important methylated alkaloid that occurs

naturally is caffeine. Its molecular formula is
CsH10N4O2. Its IUPAC name is 1, 3, 7-
trimethylxanthene and common name is 1-methylated
thiobromine. Purely it is white, crystalline solid in the
form of needles. Its melting point is 1230c. It is the
main active principle component of tea leaves.
It is present in tea leaves up to 3% and can be
extracted by first boiling the tea leaves with water
which dissolves many glycoside compounds in
addition to caffeine. The clear solution is then treated
with lead acetate to precipitate the glycoside
compounds in the form of lead complex. The clear
filtrate is then extracted with extracts caffeine because
it is more soluble in it then water
Apparatus Required
 50 grams of tea leaves
 150 ml of water
 Beaker
 Filtrater
 20 ml of chlorofoam
 Weighing machine
 Procedure
1. First of all, 50 grams of tea leaves were taken as
sample and 150 ml of water was added to it in a
beaker. Then the beaker was heated up to extreme
boiling.
2. Then the solution was filtered and lead acetate was
added to the filtrater, leading to the formation of a
curdy brown coloured precipitate.
3. We kept on adding lead acetate till no more
precipitate has been formed. Again solution was
filtered.
4. Now the filtrate so obtained was heated until it had
become 50 ml. Then the solution left was allowed to
cool. After that, 20 ml. of chloroform was added to it.
Soon after, two layers appeared in the separating
funnel, we separated the lower layer.
5. The solution then exposed to atmosphere in order
to allow chloroform to get evaporated.
6. The residue left behind was caffeine.
8. Then we weighed it and recorded the observations.
Similar procedure was performed with different
samples of tealeaves and quantity of caffeine was
observed in them.
 Precautions

 Chloroform should not be smelt directly for a long

time as it, itself is toxic.
 The measurement of weight of tea leaves and all
extract should be precise.
 The measurement of weight of tea sample and all
extract should be precise.
 The water used should be distilled.
 Apparatus should be clean and dry.
 No water should be added to any extract in
between the experiment as it may get errors in
calculation.
 No prolonged heating should be done as water
may evaporate in large quantity along with same
volatile solutes.
 Observations

I. Red Label Tea (Brooke Bond)

Weight of china dish . 46.60gms

Weight of china dish with 47.20gms
precipitate
Amount of caffeine 0.60gms

II .Yellow Label Tea (Lipton)

Weight of china dish . 46.60gms
Weight of china dish with 47.15gms.
precipitate
Amount of caffeine 0.55gms

III. Green Label Tea (Lipton)

Weight of china dish . 46.60gms
Weight of china dish with 47.05gms
precipitate
Amount of caffeine 0.45gms
 Result

1. Quantity of caffeine in Red label tea is 60mg.

/sample of 50 gm.
2. Quantity of caffeine in yellow label tea is 55mg.
/sample of 50 gm.
3. Quantity of caffeine in green label tea is 45mg.
/sample of 50 gm.
 Conclusion

The quantity of caffeine is more in

Brooke Bond. The less caffeine we
take, the healthier we can be. So, I
would suggest Lipton green tea as a
daily drink.
 Bibliography

 https://www.britannica.com/topic/tea-
beverage
 https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articl
es/271707.php
 Wikipedia
 Google
 Some reference books from the library
THANK YOU