1

Extraction of Caffeine from Tea Leaves of Twinings English

Breakfast Tea Using the Single Extraction Method
Mendoza, P., Mesina, K*., Nodora, C., Nombre., M., Pineda,
E., Pomantoc, G.
Group 6, 2A Pharmacy
Department of Pharmacy, Faculty of Pharmacy
University of Santo Tomas
Abstract
Extraction is a very simple laboratory method done when separating or
purifying a product. A solvent separates one or more soluble components
from a mixture of solids, liquids, or both. In this experiment, even-numbered
groups performed the single extraction method. The single extraction
involves only a single process and utilizes the entire solvent. The primary
objective of this experiment is to separate caffeine from the black tea, as well
as compare single and multiple extractions of caffeine and to measure the
percentage yield of caffeine for the procedure. Five teabags, each weighing 2
g, were placed in a mixture of 4.4 g of anhydrous sodium carbonate and 100
mL of distilled water, and then boiled, transferred to the separatory funnel
and extracted with 60 mL of dichloromethane (DCM). The organic layer was
drained into an Erlenmeyer flask containing half a spatula of anhydrous
sodium sulfate, decanted into an evaporating dish and left to evaporate
overnight. After subjecting the tea under the entire process, 0.3 grams of
caffeine was extracted. The resulting percentage yield was 3%. The gathered
data from the single extraction the group performed show a significantly low
percentage yield because when the entire amount of solvent was used, not
all of the components were extracted.
Introduction
Extraction is a very simple
laboratory method done when
separating or purifying a product. A
solvent separates one or more
soluble components from a mixture
of solids, liquids, or both. There are
two principal types of extraction in
chemistry,
namely
Solid-Liquid
Extraction
and
Liquid-Liquid
Extraction.
Brewing
coffee
or
any
common plant leaf, fruit, or root is
an example of a Solid-Liquid
Extraction. The organic compounds
were extracted from solid ground
beans or leaves by using hot water
as the liquid. Polar molecules that
are of lower molecular weight such
as caffeine dissolve in the hot

water and are removed from the

high molecular weight waterinsoluble cellulose, protein, and
lipid materials.
A Liquid-Liquid extraction is
a common method used in the
organic laboratory. The organic
product is separated from inorganic
substances. The organic product
will be dispersible in an organic
solvent (the organic layer) while
the inorganic substances will be
dispersible in water (the aqueous
layer). Extraction, in nearly all
cases, can be used to separate
ionic or polar low-molecular-weight
substances into an aqueous phase
and less polar water-insoluble
substances into an immiscible
liquid organic phase.

2
The liquid-liquid method is
further classified into two types:
single extraction and multiple
extractions. The single extraction
(involves a single process and
utilizes the entire solvent) added
dichloromethane to the tea solution
only
once,
whilst
multiple
extractions (involves a repeated
process and each utilizes a divided
solvent) added dichloromethane to
the

measure the percentage yield of

caffeine for the single extraction
procedure.
Experimental
A. Sample(s) Used
Twinings English Breakfast Tea
bags that weigh 2 grams of
dried tealeaves each bag as
advertised.
B. Procedure

solution three times. The multiple

extractions method is usually more
efficient because it allows more of
the caffeine in the mixture to be
extracted. In this experiment, even
groups
performed
the
single
extraction method.
The primary objective of this
experiment is to separate caffeine
from the black tea. Pure caffeine
makes up as much as 5% of the
weight of tea leaves and is a white,
tasteless substance.

Figure 2.1: The Structure of

Caffeine.
The other objectives would
be to compare single and multiple
extractions of caffeine and to

Boiling of the Dried Tea Leaves

An
anhydrous
sodium
carbonate weighing 4.4 grams
was mixed with 100 milliliters
of distilled water in a 250milliliter beaker that was
heated directly on a hot plate
(as
per
the
professors
instructions) until the solid
substance
was
completely
dissolved. Five teabags, each
weighing 2 grams, were placed
in the mixture and boiled for a
total of 10 minutes. After
boiling,
the
beaker
was
removed from direct heat and
cooled by directing flowing
water from the faucet to the
outer walls of the beaker. Tea
bags
were
squeezed
by
spatula to remove the liquids
absorbed.
Then,
it
was
transferred to the separatory
funnel.
Single Extraction Process
The aqueous solution was
extracted with 60 milliliters of
dichloromethane (DCM) in a
separatory funnel. It was
mixed for better separation.
The separatory funnel was
stoppered. With one hand
clutching the top of the funnel
so that a finger supports the

3
stopcock,
the
separatory
funnel is shifted upside down.
The funnel was gently tilted
from left to right to mix the
two layers. The stopcock was
opened by the supporting
hand to relieve pressure that
usually builds up from the
vapor pressure. This "shake
and
vent"
method
was
repeated for a total of five
minutes. Meticulous mixing is
very critical because the two
solutions must be in contact
with each other to allow the
solute to be extracted into the
second layer.

was poked with holes big

enough
to
allow
proper
evaporation. It was left to
evaporate overnight (as per
professor's instructions).

Figure 2.3: Extraction Setup

Figure 2.2: The proper method to

vent a separatory funnel.
The solution was then left to
stand for two minutes until
the separation between two
layers was clearly visible. A
half-spatula
of
anhydrous
sodium sulfate (the compound
acted as a drying agent to
absorb excess water) was
added to a clean Erlenmeyer
flask where the lower layer or
organic layer was drained.
The
extract
was
then
decanted into a pre-weighed
evaporating dish that was
covered with paper. The paper

Determining
Weight
of
Caffeine
The weight of the residue
(caffeine) was obtained by
subtracting the weight of the
empty evaporating dish to the
weight of the evaporating dish
with the residue.

Results and Discussion

Figure 2.4: Table of Data Obtained
a. Weight of tea leaves 10 g
used
b. Weight
of 106 g
evaporating dish +
caffeine
c. Weight
of
empty 105.7
evaporating dish
g

4
d. Weight of caffeine*
e. Percentage Yield*
*d. Weight of caffeine
= 106g - 105.7g
= 0.3g
*e. Percentage Yield
= 0.3g / 10g x 100%
= 3%

0.3 g
3%

After letting the extract

evaporate
overnight,
the
evaporating
dish
with
the
extract/residue was weighed and
recorded.
The
pre-weighed
evaporating dish was recorded to
be
105.7
grams;
with
the
extract/residue it then weighed 106
grams. Subtracting the weight of
the empty evaporating dish to the
weight of the evaporating dish with
the extract/residue, the group then
determined the weight of the
residue, which is presumed to be
caffeine. After subjecting the tea
under the entire process, 0.3 grams
of
caffeine
was
successfully
extracted from the 10 grams of
tealeaves. To compute for the
percentage yield:

%Yield=

wt .of crude caffeine

x 100
wt . of tea leaves used

The resulting
yield was 3%.

percentage

Conclusion
To compare the efficiency of
both the single and the multiple
extraction method we measured

the differences between the results

of
both
methods.
Multiple
extraction method is expected to
have a high percentage yield
compared to the other method. The
gathered data from the single
extraction the group performed
show a significantly low percentage
yield.
References
Extraction Theory and General
Procedure. (n.d.). Retrieved
October 2, 2016
from
http://academics.wellesley.edu/Ch
emistry/chem211lab/Orgo_Lab_Ma
nual/Appendix/Techniques/Extracti
on/extraction_n.html
Liquid/Liquid Extraction. (n.d.).
Retrieved
October 2, 2016 from
http://courses.chem.psu.edu/chem
36/Experiments/PDF's_for_techniq
ues/Liquid_Liquid.pdf
Nazareno, E. (2015, October).
Simple
extraction of caffeine
from tea.
Retrieved October 2,
2016 from
http://documents.tips/documents/
simple-extraction-ofcaffeine-fromtea.html