Monarch caterpillars and swan plant~~

It was only about a month ago when we discovered there is a Swan plant (Asclepias physocarpa) in the front yard.

Imagine our surprise when we saw this today:

Monarch caterpillars feeding on the plant!!!!! (^-^)

Monarch caterpillars only feed specifically on Swan plants. Yes, they only eat one type of food during their caterpillar life! The horror!!!!! ><”

However, a Swan plant diet is definitely the best diet for the caterpillars. Monarch caterpillars and butterflies are poisonous and unpalatable to predators, because of a toxic substance called Cardenolide aglycones present in the Swan plant, which is ingested by the caterpillars and stay retained in their bodies even after metamorphosis.

A Monarch caterpillar which is ready to turn into a Chrysalis~~

Empty Chrysalises left behind after the caterpillars emerged as beautiful butterflies

A Monarch butterfly

Tea vs Coffee, which has more caffeine??

Have you ever wondered, between coffee and tea, which contains more caffeine on average?

Almost all tea and coffee preparations have caffeine, with the exception of decaffeinated coffees and teas of course. (^-^)

Some teas such as Rooibos tea is naturally caffeine free.

Taking away factors, such as the time taken for brewing, (the longer you brew your tea or coffee, the more caffeine it would have), when measured weight in weight ( by mass), tea leaves actually contain more caffeine than coffee beans.

However, the amount of coffee beans we need to use to make 1 serving of coffee, is a lot more than the amount of tea leaves needed to make 1 serving of tea.

Therefore, 1 serving of coffee almost always has more caffeine than 1 serving of tea.

A common misconception is that the colour of the tea can be used as an indicator for its caffeine content.

This is not true. Some teas like gyokuro, pale Japanese green tea, contains more caffeine than darker teas such as lapsang souchong, which has very little caffeine.

However, the rule is different when it comes to coffees, it is possible to compare the amount of caffeine present in coffees by judging the colour of the coffee beans.

The roasting process of coffee beans reduces the beans’ caffeine content. Hence, dark roasted coffee beans will have less caffeine than light roasted beans.

Instant coffees in general have less caffeine content compared to brewed coffees.