Why do some people get sick from hot tea? Is it some type of chemical inside the tea?

Answer 1

There is an acid that is difficult to some stomachs.
There are plant acids in tea. There are plant acids naturally in all vegetation. These acids, however, are exceptionally mild and have little if any reaction within the human digestive tract. What may be happening is that you are overly-sensitive to caffeine. Caffeine stimulates the glands in the stomach which produce hydrochloric acid, which, of course, is vital to breaking down food within our stomach. If you are sensitive to caffeine, then these glands may be over-producing this acid and it is, indeed, your own "stomach acid" which is creating your discomfort, and especially if you are drinking black tea on an empty stomach. Perhaps you would be willing to do an experiment: on an empty stomach sip some small amount of black tea. If an acidic or burning reaction follows, which would indicate an oversensitivity to caffeine, you should eat a single piece of bread, any bread. This will absorb the excess acid and the burning should stop. If, indeed, you are over sensitive to caffeine then you should stick with a good quality of green tea. Do NOT consume commercial available tea, because this is usually made of poor grades and some of these poor grades do have more caffeine, because of the location of the leaf (older leaf) on the bush. These lower level (physical location on the branch) leaves, because they are older in age, have slightly more caffeine than flush or spring leaf. The green teas offered at The Tea Shop are of very high quality and should not cause a problem for you.