KRM PUBLIC SCHOOL

Block No: 11, Shanthi Nagar, 2 Lane, Sembium,(Perambur), Chennai, Tamil Nadu -600011.

(Affiliated to CBSE, New Delhi, No: 1930658)

Academic Session: 2023 -2024

AISSCE CHEMISTRY
INVESTIGATORY PROJECT

Topic: STUDY OF ACIDITY OF DIFFERENT SAMPLES OF TEA LEAVES

Submitted by:
OJAS. B. V
Class & Sec: XI – E2
Reg. No.:
Submitted to:
Ms. Vaidegi Prabhu
PGT in Chemistry
KRM Public School, Perambur, Chennai-11.
 Acknowledgment
I take this opportunity to express my gratitude towards my chemistry
teacher Ms. Vaidegi Prabhu, for her precious and valuable guidance
which played a crucial role in not only my investigatory project on
the topic “Acidity of tea leaves”, but also throughout the session
with my studies. I am very grateful to the school as well, for giving
me this opportunity.

Last but not the least I would like to thank my parents and my
siblings for helping me in this project.
 Index
1. Objectives

2. Introduction

3.Hypothesis

4. Materials Required

5. Procedure

6. Observation

7. Result

8. Conclusion

9. Bibliography
 Objectives
• Tea contains catechins, a type of antioxidant. In a freshly picked tea leaf,
catechins can comprisal up to 30% of the dry weight.

• Tea also contains L-threonine, and the stimulant caffine at about 3% of its
dry weight depending on the type, brand and brewing method.

• Tea also contains small

amounts of the bromine and
theophylline. Due to
modern environmental
pollution, fluoride and
aluminum have also been
found to occur in tea.

• Tannic Acid in tea is

actually a myth, a rather
popular one. The acidity of
tea leaves is not due to the
tannic acid. Tea contains
polyphenols or catechins
which are a specific type of
tannin.

• The oxalic acid present in the tea leaves is precipitated as calcium oxalate
by treatment of aqueous solution of tea with calcium carbonate. Calcium
oxalate is then hydrolysed with conc. H2SO4 and recrystallized from water.
 Introduction

Tea can be described as an agricultural plant that is industrially important

because of the produce of its leaves, when immersed in hot water. Tea
however is an aromatic beverage that can be prepared in several different
ways.

Each method of preparation has a certain effect on the acidity of the

beverage. My aim in this experiment is to capture the difference in the
acidity of the beverage by analyzing the mixture in different ways.

Tea after water, is the world’s most popular beverage of consumption, as it

is not extremely expensive, and has a pleasant texture and aroma. The leaves
of the tea plant are oxidized and cured. The leaves are then introduced into
hot/boiling water, which causes a release in the flavor and color contained in
the leaf of the plant. Some people prefer to drink tea in this form, while
others prefer it with milk. Some people add sugar. All these activities cause
different outcomes in the pH value of the beverage.
 Hypothesis
The acidity of tea leaves from different sources or types will vary.
The acidity may be influenced by factors such as the region where
the tea is grown, the type of tea (e.g., black, green, white), and the
processing methods. Therefore, I hypothesize that the pH levels of
tea extracts obtained from different samples of tea leaves will be
different, with certain types or sources of tea being more acidic than
others.

To test this hypothesis, you can conduct experiments to measure and

compare the pH levels of tea extracts from various tea samples.
 Materials required
1. 10gm of three different types of tea leaves

2. Calcium Carbonate (CaCO3)

3. Filter Paper

4. Funnel

5. Beaker

6. Tripod Stand

7. Bunsen Burner
 Procedure
1. Weigh exactly 10gm of 1st sample of tea leaves.

2. Take 200ml of distilled water in a beaker.

3. Put tea leaves in above beaker boil it for 10 minutes.

4. Filter above boiled solution using funnel and filter paper in another
beaker.

5. In filtrate add 4gms of CaCO3 and boil it.

6. Filter above boiled

solution using funnel and
filter paper in another
beaker. There will be a ppt.
of Calcium oxalate on the
filter paper.

7. Keep filter paper aside

and let it dry.

8. Weigh the ppt. of

oxalic acid.

9. Repeat the above steps for the other two samples.

10. Titrate them in sodium hydroxide and note down the pH values.
 Observation

Sr. Weight of Weight of Percentage of

Brand of tea
no. tea leaves acid obtained oxalic acid

1 Red Label 10gm 0.91gm 9.1%

2 Twining’ 10gm 0.97gm 9.7%
3 Taj Mahal 10gm 0.80gm 8.0%

Result
Twining’s has high amount of oxalic acid among Red Label, Taj Mahal, and
Twining’s.

Thus, Twining’s has a good flavor.

 Conclusion
In this experiment, we aimed to determine the acidity of different
samples of tea leaves using a titration method. We extracted the tea
components into a solution and then titrated it with a standardized
sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution to find the pH of the tea extracts.
The pH values obtained were as follows:

Red Label - pH 4.5

Twining - pH 3.6
Taj Mahal - pH 5.1

Our results indicate that there is a variation in acidity among the

different samples of tea leaves. Twining’ had the lowest pH value of
3.6, suggesting it is the most acidic, while Taj Mahal had the highest pH
value of 5.1, indicating it is less acidic. Red Label fell in between these
two extremes.

Several factors can influence the acidity of tea leaves, including the type
of tea leaves, their growing conditions, and processing methods. For
instance, black tea is generally less acidic than green tea due to the
oxidation process it undergoes.
 Bibliography

• https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition

• https://www.yashodahospitals.com/blog

• http://www.steepers.net/chemical-composition-of-tea.html

• https://www.seminarsonly.com