Dec 19th, '05, 14:00
Posts: 2
Joined: Dec 19th, '05, 13:56

Is too much tea bad for you?

by BrackishWater » Dec 19th, '05, 14:00

Can you drink too much tea? I've been drinking 4-6 cups a day (at
least) and someone said they knew someone that died from drinking too much tea (a pitcher a day :shock: ). It was something about kidney stones or some kind of stones. Anyway, I thought it was nonsense, but figured I'd pose the question.

User avatar
Dec 19th, '05, 18:27
Posts: 402
Joined: Jun 15th, '05, 21:35
Location: Norristown, PA
Contact: jogrebe

by jogrebe » Dec 19th, '05, 18:27

Within reason I do not think it is possible to drink too much tea (as in pure leaf brewed tea). I drink around a gallon of tea a day, which was a surprise to me when I switched over to using spring water instead of tap water recently (thank God for Walmart and their $.58 gallon jugs of spring water). At the same time depending upon what types of tea you are drinking (especially if you have certain health conditions) the caffeine may cause problems for you – but hey that is what a few cups of chamomile tea before bed are for right?

At the same time I do not think this is the case for processed ice tea beverages (ie Turkey Hill, Snapple, Lipton) as I've heard from a friend that is a very heavy Turkey Hill tea drinker that studies have shown that “ice tea” has been linked to kidney stones. At the same time if you were to read the ingredients of of these processed ice teas one will notice that many of them only contain “tea solids” or some other “tea extract flavoring” at best instead of real freshly brewed leaf tea that you get if you do it your self – not to mention the loads of sugary syrups, and various chemical flavorings and preservatives.
John Grebe

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."
~C. S. Lewis

Dec 21st, '05, 00:45
Posts: 2
Joined: Nov 15th, '05, 13:07

by Mali » Dec 21st, '05, 00:45

John's right. There's something in the reconstituted tea drinks and mixes that is unhealthy in large amounts. If you brew tea from leaves or bags and drink a ton of that each day, you're safer. There's just something wrong with the just-add-water deals.

I met a guy today from Uruguay, who said he drinks .75 - 1 liter of mate each morning. He's been doing this for almost all of his life (seventy-something). No complaints, yet.
Find yourself a cup of tea; the teapot is behind you. Now tell me about hundreds of things. ~Saki

Dec 21st, '05, 10:27
Posts: 2
Joined: Dec 19th, '05, 13:56

Thanks for the feedback

by BrackishWater » Dec 21st, '05, 10:27

Thanks for the feedback. I never do the powder or tea bags. And I certainly am not drinking instant or canned teas. I only drink loose teas, mostly green & black, with no sugar or milk or anything.

One more thing. On this site it says spring water is best. However, I was watching "Good Eats" the other night and the guy did an entire show just on tea, which was awesome by the way. At any rate, he suggested distilled is the best. Personally, I use a brita filter and put tap water thru it. That said, if I was going to buy water, I personally ONLY do distilled since it's so much healthier than spring water. Thoughts on that?

Dec 21st, '05, 10:39
Posts: 83
Joined: Jul 11th, '05, 12:50
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Contact: jzero

by jzero » Dec 21st, '05, 10:39

Alton Brown is the Bill Nye of cooking.

Since distilled water should be devoid of anything (e.g. minerals, metals, bacteria) other than water (naturally occurring or man made), I can see why it probably is the best choice for making tea, as there will be nothing else to taint the flavor.

For regular drinking, the debate over whether distilled water is more or less healthy than other waters rages on with no sign of ever being settled.
They Call Me Jzero

User avatar
Dec 21st, '05, 11:00
Posts: 348
Joined: Aug 17th, '05, 10:50

by LavenderPekoe » Dec 21st, '05, 11:00

Personally, I don't like the "flavor" of distilled water. To me it tastes flat. I prefer spring myself and use spring at work because we have a water cooler. At home I just use regular old tap water (our water doesn't taste bad to me). My dad uses well water. Whatever you do, don't use softened. Ick, you get a soapy taste in the tea.
Last edited by LavenderPekoe on Jan 2nd, '06, 18:21, edited 1 time in total.
Teas for trade:

Dec 28th, '05, 01:44
Posts: 59
Joined: Dec 26th, '05, 23:17

Distilled water

by Snow on Cedar » Dec 28th, '05, 01:44

Just a side note from a person with a relavant degree...Distilled water is not bad for you unless it is all you drink. You do need tap water for trace minerals etc...So drink all the tea w/distilled you like, just have a glass from the tap occasionally.
Humans are a dangerous breed...just look at what they do to each other.

Jan 11th, '06, 20:00

Spring Water

by TeaFanatic » Jan 11th, '06, 20:00

I recently learned in a science class that bottled spring water can actually be much more unsafe and full of bacteria then tap water is. The reason behind that is that it sits on the shelves for up to a month before being sold, all the while bacteria colonies grow withing the bottle/container. Unless the water is completely ridded of everything (distilled) bacteria can grow inside. Therefore, I use a filter on my tap and then boil the water. After boiling, I place the water in a large container and then heat it to the correct temperature for my tea.

Jan 13th, '06, 19:29

by Guest » Jan 13th, '06, 19:29

I drink several pots of black tea a day. If it's unhealthy, I'm in trouble.
Tastewise and healthwise, chlorine & chlorine compounds should be avoided. If your tapwater tastes like chlorine, a water filter pitcher probably won't help at all. Water treatment plants seem to be using different chemicals lately, because I don't notice the taste of chlorine as much when I travel. It used to be really bad.
A lot of bottled drinking water is purified by reverse osmosis, which produces very good tea and doesn't have the weird impurities some spring water and tapwater has.

The best water I ever drank was straight from the streams in the Chiricahua Mountains in AZ. It felt like chilled distilled water in my mouth - like liquid air. It made great tea.

Jan 14th, '06, 15:35
Posts: 3
Joined: Jan 14th, '06, 15:25
Location: Philadelphia

Too much Tea???

by Nate Phillips » Jan 14th, '06, 15:35

Oh sacrilege and poppycock!!! I too use tap water through the Brita. Only because I'm too busy (Lazy?) to hook up the super filter I got from Home Depot to my cold water line [two years ago].

I drink so much tea that my breath is just like fresh air. I am so infused that I can sense the coming of a storm. Tea, tea, and more tea. If you don't get the jitters don't be a quitter. Camelia will make thy soul glitter!

Sorry...personality number six got a little verbose there.
Are they to be compared? Those who infuse their lofty souls with Camelia Sinensis, and those who reject her? I THINK NOT!!!

User avatar
Jan 25th, '06, 08:58
Posts: 17
Joined: Jan 23rd, '06, 20:06

by mijako10 » Jan 25th, '06, 08:58

I have a reverse osmosis water system at home that we bought for my carnivorous plants (they naturally grow in mineral-defficient soils so they water you give them has to be very low in mineral solids.)

It makes great tea. The regualr tap water tastes very bad now. >_<
~If you can shape it in your mind you will find it in your life~

My fortune cookie fell in my tea! *sob*

User avatar
Jan 25th, '06, 11:51
Posts: 44
Joined: Jan 23rd, '06, 01:56
Location: South Texas

by Kai » Jan 25th, '06, 11:51

How much does a home personal RO system run?

Is that the kind with a spigot on the side or is it like the britta ones that attach to your faucet?

We recently got one here at work and I love it. We don't have to change the water on the cooler anymore and it tastes good.

I was thinking of getting one at home, but I'm not sure if I could afford one.

User avatar
Jan 25th, '06, 16:50
Posts: 17
Joined: Jan 23rd, '06, 20:06

by mijako10 » Jan 25th, '06, 16:50

We bought ours at a hardware store for about $150 I think. That's pretty cheap... It makes around 5 - 10 gallons of filtered water a day if I remember right but I never use that much. You can also rent RO systems from water places (like Culligan, ect.) They install it for you and charge you a monthly rate. Someone comes periodicall and installs a new filter for you. That seems really nice for someone who doesn't know anything about plumbing.
~If you can shape it in your mind you will find it in your life~

My fortune cookie fell in my tea! *sob*

User avatar
Jan 25th, '06, 18:51
Posts: 32
Joined: Nov 28th, '05, 09:34
Location: Gotham City

by Ghost of Tea » Jan 25th, '06, 18:51

Unless you live in an area with bad water (like...a swamp or toxic waste dump) I can't imagine using anything but tap water. To steep the tea, you bring the water to a boil, which should clear out most of the very bad nasties. Now...maybe in terms of clearest flavor, distilled or spring water are better...but I'm quite happy brewing my tea using the tap.
"Smash you good! Dead you be!" -from Tadeira

User avatar
Jan 25th, '06, 19:00
Posts: 402
Joined: Jun 15th, '05, 21:35
Location: Norristown, PA
Contact: jogrebe

by jogrebe » Jan 25th, '06, 19:00

Ghost of Tea wrote:Unless you live in an area with bad water (like...a swamp or toxic waste dump) I can't imagine using anything but tap water. To steep the tea, you bring the water to a boil, which should clear out most of the very bad nasties. Now...maybe in terms of clearest flavor, distilled or spring water are better...but I'm quite happy brewing my tea using the tap.
Did you try brewing your tea using filtered or spring water yet? I was in a similiar position as you untill I tried it a few weeks ago and now I've only going to use tap water as a last resort to make my tea.
John Grebe

"You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me."
~C. S. Lewis

+ Post Reply