Pu erh Tea and Coconut Oil

This weekend I was at an event where I met an attorney who knew about pu erh tea from an internet personality who mixes coconut oil and grass-fed butter to his morning brew.  I doubted that the personality of whom he spoke was Tibetan or Mongol, but my mind instantly thought of the pastoralists of western China.  I also thought of the dude who promotes “Bullet-proof Coffee,” someone who also boosts his morning beverage with fats from coconut and palm oils.  Finally, I thought of Western-Price, the Canadian-born Harvard-trained dentist who conducted a global study in the 30s on the relationship of diet to dental health and concluded that animal fats play a central role in health.

Anyway, the personality the attorney named is Tim Ferriss.  I encourage you to go over to his site to learn more about his morning ritual.  It’s always nice to learn of another pu erh junky.  The idea behind his cocktail is the same as with BP coffee: fat is used to balance the effect of caffeine to reduce crashes and obtain a more sustained stimulatory effect.  The combo also tweaks the body into ketosis for purposes of weight loss.

The approach to add fat to pu erh for purposes of balancing the effects of caffeine seems curious.  Theanine, an amino acid quite high in pu erh, already does this.  In fact, it is what is responsible for much of the “feeling” that pu erh gives to its drinkers.  Furthermore, the fat-cutting effects of ripe pu erh make me wonder how much of these good fats are being synthesized by the body.  Wouldn’t it make more sense to consume the fats and pu erh separately to ensure their effects aren’t negated?

I couldn’t help but notice how light in color his concoction was.  Though the link he provides is legitimately ripe pu erh, his own stash could only possibly be raw pu erh.  Since he mentions something about what his stomach can handle when talking about the butter, one wonders whether it is actually the cold effects of a raw pu erh and sencha that are the source of trouble.  Similar effects can occur with maté as well.  Experienced pu erh drinkers know that raw pu erh should not be consumed on an empty stomach or while fasting, because it will wreak havoc on the gut.

Sometimes it actually is the grease.  I know of at least two cases where BP coffee or some variant was consumed and the person reported feeling nauseated.  This is because the fat stimulates production of bile from the gall bladder.  If a person has gall stones or a weak gall bladder then consuming fats in this fashion can cause problems.  It will only worsen with additives like turmeric.  The point is that often the unpleasant gut sensation from consuming these fat-packed beverages is coming from the gall bladder and not the stomach.

Ripe pu erh excels at emulsifying fat.  This is why it is recommended for weight loss, especially reduction of fat around the midsection.  This means that a fat concoction with a strong dose of pu erh, about two teaspoons, steeped for at least 10 minutes will actually help take some of the stress off the gall bladder.

The best course of action is to experiment for a period of a month or two weeks to see what approach works best for you in terms of taking pu erh and coconut oil for energy, nutrition, and weight loss.  Combining them would definitely be best if weight loss or gall bladder issues factor into your concerns.  If it is in getting energy from the fat and otherwise absorbing it for other physiological function, then separately seems to make the most sense.  Certainly, the metabolic benefits will be best achieved through ripe pu erh.