Tea - Super Sen.

[GFreeMO]

Hi,

I was a Twinings tea drinker until they removed all of their gluten free labeling and info off of their website. Under the allergen info, it doesn't say anything about being free from wheat and barley in their big list of allergens. It did it the past. The reason that I checked is b/c I am coming off a glutening and wanted to make sure.

Which teas are you ok with? Luzianne says gluten free on the box. I was thinking of trying that.

[IrishHeart]

I LOVE Barry's Irish Tea. Rich, bold and delicious--and they told me via email there is no gluten. I have never had a reaction, so I believe them.

I also like Bigelow's Cozy Chamomile tea for night time relaxing.

[ciamarie]

Stash Earl Grey is fine for me. Listed ingredients are black teas and oil of bergamot. I was just at Safeway and saw their Organic Earl Grey ingredients show black tea and natural flavoring. I went with the Stash, since I've been fine with it. Otherwise I also drink Red Rose tea. (Note: I'm not sure if I qualify as 'super sensitive' so ymmv...)

[dilettantesteph]

I am very sensitive and I have had all sorts of problems with tea. I finally switched to homegrown. Even my daughter, who isn't nearly as sensitive, had problems, but that is because she was drinking 10 cups or so a day. Fortunately she likes lavender tea and we already had a lavender plant in the garden. You only need a tiny bit so the few flowers I picked over the summer will more than last her all winter. I like chamomile, Oswego, which is bee balm, and then I have a normal tea plant: Camellia sinensis.

[Lisa]

Even my daughter, who isn't nearly as sensitive, had problems, but that is because she was drinking 10 cups or so a day.

Whoa...that's a lot of tea, no doubt she has some issues with that amount of tea.

Here is an interesting article on excess tea consuming:

Open Original Shared Link

[Gemini]

I LOVE Barry's Irish Tea. Rich, bold and delicious--and they told me via email there is no gluten. I have never had a reaction, so I believe them.

I also like Bigelow's Cozy Chamomile tea for night time relaxing.

MMMMMMMMM.....Barrys! That tea is rocket fuel and I love it!

I have been drinking unflavored tea and coffee for years and have never come across any tea, except some flavored ones and some European teas which they malt, that would be a problem for any Celiac. I am very sensitive and drink a lot of Earl Grey and never had a problem. But then again, I don't anticipate getting sick from food and drink that shouldn't be a problem.

Growing your own would be great and a money saver but I don't live in Burma so doubt I could grow any here.

[IrishHeart]

Another good one is to steep several bay leaves in hot water to make tea. An Italian Grandma of a friend taught me that one. It is tasty and settles the tummy.

[Jestgar]

Great topic!

I drank oregano tea when I lived in Armenia.

[IrishHeart]

Great topic!

I drank oregano tea when I lived in Armenia.

You DID!? My paternal grandparents came from Armenia!

I don't wish to hijack the thread --so maybe you'll tell me about it via PM sometime, J! I'd love to hear about it!

[elizabethh]

I drink tea ALL the time, stash is said to be safe and I drink it the most and haven't had problems with it to my knowledge. I sure hope twinings is safe! I'm just coming out of a glutening at the moment and started drinking their peppermint herbal tea yesterday, so that would be a disaster if it weren't. So far so good. I emailed the company asking so I will post here when I get a response.

Funny that drinking excess amounts of tea causes high blood pressure, I drink tea constantly and have been for years, and my blood pressure, if anything, is actually a bit on the low end.

[elizabethh]

In case anyone sees this in the future,I finally did get an email back from Twinings and this is what it says

Thank you for contacting us, all of our blends are gluten free.

Thank You,

Consumer Relations

Twinings North America

777 Passaic Avenue

Clifton, NJ 07012

800-803-6695

enjoy the tea!

[ciamarie]

I just wanted to add, stay away from HyTop tea! I thought I'd try it in place of the Red Rose I'd been drinking. Thankfully I opened it before I was out of the RR, and I'm going to get more today. I wasn't necessarily drinking it every day, and since I didn't have an immediate reaction I thought it was ok; but over a period of a couple weeks I was getting itchy and my right knee started to bother me, and I was exhausted. I was wondering if it was my vitamins, or the organic sugar I'd added to the tea or what? Then it finally dawned on me that it might be the tea, and now it's been 3 full days since I've had any and I feel much better.

Thought I'd throw this warning on this thread...

[Lisa]

I just wanted to add, stay away from HyTop tea! I thought I'd try it in place of the Red Rose I'd been drinking. Thankfully I opened it before I was out of the RR, and I'm going to get more today. I wasn't necessarily drinking it every day, and since I didn't have an immediate reaction I thought it was ok; but over a period of a couple weeks I was getting itchy and my right knee started to bother me, and I was exhausted. I was wondering if it was my vitamins, or the organic sugar I'd added to the tea or what? Then it finally dawned on me that it might be the tea, and now it's been 3 full days since I've had any and I feel much better.

Thought I'd throw this warning on this thread...

Does the Hy Top Tea have gluten in it?

[ciamarie]

Does the Hy Top Tea have gluten in it?

The ingredient list doesn't show any gluten ingredients, it just shows 'select orange pekoe and cut black teas', unless orange pekoe is something gluten-y? It caused me to react as though it has gluten, however.

[Lilychic]

Harney and son has wonderful English Breakfast tea. Better than anything I have tried to date--their peppermint tea is the best too. Their website tells you which teas have gluten. Plus the tin they come in is beautiful--an added plus.

[come dance with me]

My daughter has a calming, caffeine free tea before bed, I will check the brand tomorrow.

[alsomaria]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but often it can be the tea bag itself that causes the problem. The tea leaves may be gluten free, but what the tea bag is made of or the way it is made has gluten or is cc.

I was told this by a tea manufacturer when trying to figure out why a certain brand of tea bothered me. Because of this, I steer clear of bagged teas and only use loose leaf now.

Hope this helps!

[Minstinguette]

Unless organic, teas are loaded with pesticides, particularly the ones produced in China. I used to get an occasional migraine after drinking black tea. I switched to organic and and I am doind fine. All these years of eating gluten and not knowing I was intolerant took toll on my liver.

[Gemini]

Not sure if this has been mentioned, but often it can be the tea bag itself that causes the problem. The tea leaves may be gluten free, but what the tea bag is made of or the way it is made has gluten or is cc.

I was told this by a tea manufacturer when trying to figure out why a certain brand of tea bothered me. Because of this, I steer clear of bagged teas and only use loose leaf now.

Hope this helps!

Tea bags do not have gluten in them and are perfectly safe for Celiacs to use. You were given incorrect information by the manufacturer.....probably not a Celiac.

[cavernio]

On the topic of tea, how do you clean your teapot?

I've got a standard glass teapot, but cleaning the spout seems pretty impossible to do. What's more, if I did manage to clean it all properly, I'm not sure I could tell because I can't really see inside it!

Guess I'm looking for a chemical reaction or something to clean it.

Did you buy yourselves new teapots?

[GlutenFree-MLDub]

I drink a lot of tea as well. I buy loose leaf tea and put it in tea bags (that you can buy online or in Asian markets sometimes). I also use a mesh tea ball like thing.

In my investigations into the teas I drink most (I wrote to the companies), David's Tea (from Canada) and The Tao of Tea (I think from Portland) have assured me that their teas are gluten free. David's even has caramel teas that are gluten free. They told me they do independent testing after everything's prepared. I also investigated Tazo teas (they have those bags at my work). Tazo has a few that are NOT gluten free. A web search will point you to info on that. The one I remember being a problem was Ginger Green. I didn't confirm this with the company though.

I think I'll make a pot of tea now!

[kareng]

On the topic of tea, how do you clean your teapot?

I've got a standard glass teapot, but cleaning the spout seems pretty impossible to do. What's more, if I did manage to clean it all properly, I'm not sure I could tell because I can't really see inside it!

Guess I'm looking for a chemical reaction or something to clean it.

Did you buy yourselves new teapots?

You can get little brushes that you can clean the spouts with. Sometimes they are with the baby bottles at Walmart sometimes just with the kitchen sponges.

Open Original Shared Link

Vinegar cleans tea off well.