How many times can tea leaves be reused before the medicinal value is lost?

I’d use it once and swallow the leaves.

A couple years ago there was a question here about how many times you could make coffee from the same K-cup, and what the caffeine load was on the second abd subsequent cups. Someone (I don’t remember who) did have some sort of a formula on that.

If I remember correctly, it’s a linear (and pretty severe) drop in effectiveness – something like
cup 1— 100%
cup 2 – 60%
cup 3 – 30%
cup 4 – nothing

But that’s coffee, and that’s my memory. I would expect something similar for tea.

I would thin a “proper” dose is in one cup p steeped tea.

I’m going to go with use the leaves as often as the tea tastes good to you.

Hey @snowberry did I do okay this time? :-)

@Caravanfan, * shrugs * I don’t know. As I mentioned above, if I’m taking a tea for health benefits and want to get the full effect from it, I literally eat the leaves.

Personally I’m not a tea fan. It tastes like expensive colored water to me, but I have noticed that a few teas really are effective at relieving sore throats (such as Throat Coat by Traditional Medicinals). If I’ve been outside in cold weather and gotten chilled, ginger tea (made strong, with real ginger, again by Traditional Medicinals) is the way to go. It does warm you up.

As for this Silver Needle white tea the OP mentions, I don’t know anything about it.

@snowberry “It tastes like expensive colored water to me,”

FINALLY!!! Someone who has the courage to speak the truth!!!

(I’m a coffee guy all the way)