Caffeine Extraction from Camellia sinensis

Paul Justine L. Espina, Miguel L. Ferrer, Pamela D. Garcia*, Talisa Mijara M. Guerrero,
and Ivylyn T. Ilagan
Department of Biological Sciences, College of Science
University of Santo Tomas, Espaa Blvd., Manila

Abstract
In this experiment, caffeine was extracted from tea leaves, specifically from Camellia
sinensis. Five teabags, which weighed 11.0812g, were submerged to boiling water to
extract the water soluble substances. Reagents such as dichloromethane, 6M sodium
hydroxide and anhydrous sodium sulfate were used to remove unnecessary compounds
and to achieve maximum recovery of caffeine. After series of extracting and washing with
reagents, 0.0699g of crude caffeine was obtained. This gives a 0.6308% yield.
Introduction
Alkaloids are nitrogenous organic bases found in plants which are characterized by their
bitter taste and are known central nervous system stimulants. Caffeine, being member of
the alkaloids, is a bitter substance found in coffee, tea, chocolate, and other medicines.
Consuming products which contain caffeine will make you more alert and will give you a
sudden boost of energy.
Over the centuries, people produce tea beverages from tealeaves by isolating caffeine
and other materials through the process of extraction. Extraction is a technique used to
separate an organic compound from a mixture of compounds. The mixture is brought into
contact with a solvent in which the substance of interest is soluble, but the other
substances are insoluble. Out of the several types of extraction, solid-liquid extraction
and liquid-liquid extraction were done in this experiment. Solid-liquid extraction allows
soluble components to be removed from solids using a solvent. Liquid-liquid extraction,

on the other hand, involves a liquid solvent to remove a liquid component from a liquid
mixture. The component dissolves preferably in the solvent.
The objectives of this experiment are (1) to isolate, purify and characterize caffeine from
tea leaves, and (2) to calculate the percentage yield of caffeine.
Experimental
A. Reagents used
3 portions of 20ml CH2Cl2
20ml 6M NaOH
1 spatula of Na2SO4
B. Procedure
The first step done was remove the tealeaves from the teabags and weigh them.
After weighing, the tealeaves were returned and sealed inside the bags which were
then subjected to boiling in a 400ml beaker containing 150ml of water for 5 minutes.
The set up was covered with watch glass to prevent the steam from escaping the
beaker (as seen in Figure 1). Afterwards, the teabags were then squeezed on the 400
ml beaker which contains the tea extract, until no residual liquid were left to ensure
that all the caffeine will be with the tea extract. Three pieces of ice cubes were added
in the beaker to make the temperature of the tea extract lower. Although the solubility
of caffeine is low at room temperature, the caffeine will remain in solution and must
be extracted with another solvent.
The solution was transfered inside the separatory funnel and was washed with 3
parts of 20ml of dichloromethane (CH2Cl2). Then it was shaken to prevent
effervescence. Since dichloromethane is denser than water, it is found at the bottom
layer (as seen in Figure 2). Multiple extraction with 3 parts of 20ml dichloromethane
was done instead of a single extraction with 60ml as to achieve the maximum recovery
of the caffeine. The dichloromethane extract, which was the lower layer, was collected
in a 150ml Erlenmeyer flask.
The remaining tea extract, which was the upper layer, was discarded. Meanwhile,
the collected dichloromethane extract was put back inside the separatory funnel to be
washed with 20ml of 6M Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution. The dichloromethane
layer was drained in a 40ml beaker containing 1 spatula of anhyd Na2SO4. The
anhydrous Sodium sulfate was added to remove the excess traces of water in the
solution. Afterwards, it was decanted and transferred in a pre-weighed (126.5603g)
evaporating dish. The dichloromethane extract was concentrated to dryness over a
boiling water bath. The weight of the solid obtained or the crude caffeine was recorded.

Figure 1. Solid-solid extraction

Figure 2. Liquid-liquid extraction

Results and Discussion

Table 1. Table of results
Brand of Teabags

Lipton

Weight of Tealeaves

11.0812g

Volume of water used

150ml

Color of aqueous tea extract

Light brown

Volume of CH2Cl2 used

60ml (divided into three parts)

Volume of 6M NaOH used

20ml

Amount of Anhyd Na2SO4 used

1 spatula

Weight of empty evaporating dish

126.5603g

Weight of evaporating dish + extracted 126.6302g

caffeine
Weight of extracted caffeine

0.0699g

% yield

0.6308%

Color and appearance of extracted White yellowish powder

caffeine

Computation
()
=

() = 126.6302 126.5603
= .
% =

()
100
()

% =

0.0699
100
11.0812

% = . %
Camellia sinensis leaves and buds can produce different kinds of tea like green
tea, oolong, and black tea. The only difference among them is the way each was
processed. Green tea has a minimal amount of oxidation, halted by additional pan-frying
(Chinese teas) or steaming (Japanese) steps. The additional processing brings out more
flavor, and allows for caffeine to develop, at the cost of a reduction in antioxidants. Oolong
tea gets partial fermentation, and often an additional shaking/bruising step that release
additional flavors. It has somewhat more caffeine and less antioxidants than green tea.
Black tea is fully fermented, which blackens the leaves and causes the formation of
caffeine and tannins. It generally possesses the most robust flavor and highest level of
caffeine, but the least antioxidants [1]. In this experiment, Lipton Black Tea was used for
the isolation of caffeine.
As seen in Table 1, the collected tealeaves from 5 bags of Lipton weighed 11.0812
grams. It is important to remove the tealeaves from the bags when weighing them as to
eliminate errors in the calculation of percent yield. After the tealeaves were weighed and
sealed back in their respective bags, they were submerged to boiling water for 5 minutes.
This process is called the solid-liquid extraction. The set up was covered with watch glass
to prevent the steam from escaping the beaker. The water is the initial solvent which

removed the soluble components from the tealeaves. They were subjected to heat
because caffeine has a higher solubility in water when in higher temperatures. The
teabags were squeezed until there is no residual liquid left to ensure that all the caffeine
will be with the tea extract. The product after this extraction is a light brown aqueous
solution. The next procedure done was the liquid-liquid extraction using three different
kinds of reagents Dichloromethane, 6M Sodium Hydroxide, and Anhydrous Sodium
Sulfate. Dichloromethane was the reagent used to ensure that all caffeine from the tea
extract will be extracted. Multiple extraction was done by using 3 portions of 20ml
dichloromethane to ensure maximum recovery of the caffeine. The collected
dichloromethane extract was put back inside the separatory funnel to be washed with
20ml of 6M Sodium hydroxide (NaOH) solution. The dichloromethane layer was drained
in a 40ml beaker containing 1 spatula of anhydrous Na2SO4. The anhydrous Sodium
sulfate was added to remove the excess traces of water in the solution. After letting the
reagent salt out the remaining water, the solution was decanted and was transferred into
a pre-weighed evaporating dish. Water bath was done so that the aqueous solution will
evaporate, and crude caffeine will be left. After all necessary procedures were done, the
obtained crude caffeine was weighed. The weight of the empty evaporating dish was
126.5603 grams, while the weight of the evaporating dish with the crude caffeine inside
was 126.6302 grams. In order to get the weight of the crude caffeine, the weight of the
evaporating dish with the crude caffeine was subtracted to the weight of the empty
evaporating dish. The crude caffeine obtained was 0.0699 grams, giving a 0.6308% yield.
Conclusion
Caffeine has been a huge part of our daily lives. We consume products that
contains caffeine which helps us to stay mentally alert throughout the day. Extraction
made it very easy for people to innovate different beverages from different organic
products.
This experiment made use of the tea leaves of Camellia sinensis in order to isolate
caffeine, with the use of extraction technique. The objectives which are to isolate, purify,
and characterize caffeine from tea leaves were successfully done.

References
[1]Seasoned Advice. (2012). Retrieved from Stack Exchange:
http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/26002/what-is-the-difference-betweengreen-white-and-black-tea