By Akanni Dorcas

Tea is a favourite drink around the world. It is loved for its warmth, health benefits, and variety of flavours.

While tea goes well with many foods, some combinations can affect its taste, nutrients, or your health.

Here are five foods you should avoid taking with tea and why.

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Citrus Fruits

Citrus fruits like oranges, lemons, and grapefruits may not pair well with tea. While adding lemon juice to tea is common, eating whole citrus fruits with tea can cause acidity or stomach discomfort for some people. The acidity in these fruits can also change the taste of delicate teas like green or white tea.
It may irritate sensitive stomachs and change the tea’s flavour.

Spicy Foods

Spicy foods, like heavily seasoned curries or snacks, can clash with tea. Spices may overpower the delicate flavours of tea, making it less enjoyable. Also, combining spicy food with hot tea can intensify the heat, which might irritate your throat or stomach.

Spicy food can mask the tea’s flavour and cause discomfort from the added heat.

Chocolate

Chocolate may seem like a good match for tea, but its rich flavour can overpower the drink. Dark chocolate, in particular, has strong, bitter notes that clash with the tannins in tea. This mix can leave an unpleasant aftertaste. The strong flavours of chocolate and tea do not pair well and can ruin the experience.

Leafy Green Vegetables

Raw leafy greens like spinach, kale, or lettuce are high in oxalates. Tea also contains oxalates. Eating them together can reduce calcium absorption in the body. Over time, this might increase the risk of kidney stones or calcium deficiencies.

Pairing tea with raw leafy greens can lower calcium absorption and increase health risks like kidney stones.

Milk-Based Desserts

Tea and milk often go well together, but pairing tea with creamy desserts like ice cream, custards, or cheesecakes can be a bad idea. The fats in these desserts can coat your palate, making it harder to enjoy the tea’s flavours. For black tea, this pairing may even make it taste flat. The fats in milk-based desserts interfere with the tea’s flavour.

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