Headaches from white and green, but not black/red tea

epigallocatechin gallate - ECGC in green teas is relatively high. Some French studies have linked these components to asthma-like symptoms. In some patients these levels have been know to induce a histamine release. There are studies being done in Japan and France regarding histamine release in some patients following green tea consumption. It could also be that the methods used to grow your tea may be contaminated with allergenic sources, such as pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers. I would suggest trying these teas organically grown. Be well. Shen

You know that's really really interesting Shen, thank you. I thought it was my imagination that I was feeling like I was having a little bit of a nasal allergic reaction (sneezy) when I drank certain green teas (Huang Shan Mao Feng and other "fluffy" types...could partially be tea dust too I suppose). I am very sensitive to grass pollen, FWIW...interesting.

Melinda

intresting notes - i had actually never cared for it - perhaps i should pay more attention to this issue. will try drinking only chinese greens today..... lets see what happens...

Melinda wrote..., On 09/07/2007 19:41:

Funny you should mention grass, because I purchased a premium brand of green tea a while back that tasted like grass. It was plain old green tea in fancy sealed pouches and it tasted like grass. I've tried lots of other brands and they always tasted like tea, but this brand's green tea tasted like grass while its green/white blend tasted normal. Is it possible that batches of tea on the world market are adulterated with grass? I've seen bags of fake marijuana buds made from grass clippings, so why wouldn't some Chinese tea traders mix in a percentage of grass with tea leaves just like other traders adulterate flour with melamine or toothpaste with antifreeze?

Well, primarily in most cases with Chinese tea and decent Indian teas, you can see the leaf or part of the leaf. For those of us who take this tea stuff probably much too seriously, myself included, we look at the leaves. We check out the leaves before and after steeping. So, frankly, it would be pretty difficult to slip grass in there. In Japanese teas, it would also be difficult since colour in a factor and cut of the leaf. Shen

For one thing, nobody that I know condones actually DRINKING tea balls; otherwise known as "art tea" or "tea art". It is not natural and they use all kinds of different plastics and coloring agents to make the teas appear so nice.

I don't want to bring the "pollution/dirty tea" thread into this, but you could be suffering the effects of dirty tea. Perhaps some dormant allergy has resurfaced in rection to some kind of preservative used in the tea's making.

I sometimes really miss the days of ordering tea on the net and not seeing this stuff with my own eyes....really.

Perhaps I'm using the wrong terminology for this:

&link=L3B1cmVsZWFmdGVhcy5waHAzP2lkPQ= Tea anemone? Artisan tea? Tea ball? In any case, this is not one of those tea balls with the flowers and the string and the cascase of osmanthus blossoms.

Thanks for the suggestion. I first noticed this with Yin Zhen, which is one of the least processed types of teas, so I'm either suffering the same effect for two different reasons, or there is something in white and green teas which is not present at the same levels in black/ red or even oolongs.

I plan on conducting an experiment and taking an antihistamine before drinking the Yin Zhen again. I'll let you know what happens. It was interesting to see so many articles on how EGCG has anti-allergy properties when it might be causing my allergic reaction!

Alan