
- HOME >
- How to choose quality tea
The true reason why some pu-erh and black tea causes stomachache
We noticed that there are a number of customers who refrain from black tea or raw pu-erh tea due to the uncomforted stomach. I too have had the same experience that I suffered from stomachache after drinking some black tea. However, it has nothing to do with black tea or raw pu-erh tea. If tea is not made of the right material, any type of tea will give the same uncomfortable effect. Nevertheless, if tea is made from the right material, we can feel free to enjoy any type of tea even when empty stomach.
It is summer tea that causes various problems
Based on our experience, the summer tea has strong astringency which tends to cause stomachache.
During warm season especially in summer, one type of specific substance is composed in tea. When this type of tealeaf is processed into any type of tea, it tastes very astringent and causes stomachache. Because of the same reason, Darjeeling Second Flush gives strong astringency too. If the tea is processed into ripe pu-erh tea or deeply roasted oolong, the astringency is neglectable.
I have experienced the same trend in natural herbs. In Japan, I often go to the mountain to collect natural herbs. In spring, those herbs give sweetish taste and very thick flavor. These herbs are available in summer too. However, it turns extremely bitter and astringent in summer. It is impossible to enjoy them in summer.
For making black tea or raw pu-erh tea, the best quality is the first spring crop. Usually the first spring crop gives very sweet taste with creamy and soft mouth-feel. It is absolutely not astringent. However, the black tea and raw pu-erh tea is often made of the late-plucked tea in summer. The taste of the second- and third-plucked tea is less creamy and not soft but it is still acceptable. After the forth-plucked tea onwards, tea has a noticeable level of astringency.
In China, the price for the first-plucked tea is twice as expensive as the second-plucked tea. The price of third- or forth-plucked tea is much lower. The first-plucked spring tea is very limited due to the high demand. In the famous tea production area, the tea plucking is carried out more than 10 times. That means there is less than 10% of chance for getting the first-plucked spring tea. Considering that the first-plucked tea has high demand in China, most of the black tea or raw pu-erh tea available in overseas is the late-plucked tea. That is the reason why many people have negative experience with black tea and raw pu-erh tea. If the tea is of the first spring crop, it gives no astringency at all and the effect to the stomach is very gentle, no matter how thick we brew tea or drinking even when stomach is empty.
The root cause of the astringency
Now the question is what substance in tea causes stomachache and astringency. We should be able to identify it if we investigate which substance is particularly increasing in summer tea. I found the data in the Japanese book “Science of Tea” written by Yamanishi, on page 22. It shows that towards summer Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCg) is particularly increasing.
They monitored 4 different types of tea. No.1 from the left is Yabukita cultivar, No.2 is Qing-xin-wu-long, No.3 is Benihomare cultivar and the last one is Assam variety from Sri Lanka. 春 means spring and 夏 means summer.
Another literature, B Schwarz, T Hofmann – European Food Research and Technology, October 2008, 227explains in the abstract that Epigallocatechin gallate has a strong binding ability with protein.
Susanne Scharbert , Nadine Holzmann , and Thomas Hofmann, J. Agric. Food Chem., 2004, 52 (11), pp 3498–3508 carried out the sensory study to identify the substance in tea that causes astringency. The table below indicates the taste threshold to various poly phenols. The data shows that Epigallocatechin gallate gives the strongest astringent effect. Based on the data, we should be able to conclude that Epigallocatechin gallate is the substance causing the astringency and stomachache.
The mechanism that EGCg causes the astringency
Our oral and stomach cavity is made of protein. If any substance is binding with this protein layer, it gives astringent taste and uncomforted feeling. Tea with milk gives least effect in astringency and to the stomach, because Epigallocatechin gallate has already been reacted by milk protein and it is no longer reactive.
As a conclusion, the astringency or uncomfortable feeling with the stomach has nothing to do with the process or type of tea but it is directly affected by the material. If those teas are made of the first-plucked spring tea, we will not experience any astringent taste or stomachache at all.
In HOJO’s black tea and pu-erh tea lineup, all teas are made of the first spring crop except some Darjeeling autumn tea and second flush tea.
Every year we constantly visit the tea production sites to select tea in order to make sure that teas is mellow and not astringent.
Related Articles
How to get the latest update on HOJO Tea?
1. Follow Twitter, 2. Click "Like" on Facebook, and 3. Subscribe in newsletter. You can have the latest tea news from HOJO Tea.
Subscribe the Newsletter to enjoy the privileges
- You may receive a free sample upon purchase, or you may have the priority to purchase special products. So please remember to subscribe our newsletter as well as the social network.
- New Release of Tsuge Zairai Sencha from Sustainable Tea Garden
- Tsuge Zairai Sencha 都祁在来煎茶 is made from “zairai” tea plucked in spring, from the naturally farmed tea garden located in Tsuge, Nara City, Nara Prefecture. The tea garden of Tsuge Zairai Sencha is maintained in sustainable manner applying neither pesticide nor fertilizer. Tsuge Zairai Sencha has a subtle and refreshing floral scent with a hint …
- New Release of Da Xue Shan Wild White Tea Cake 2021
- Da Xue Shan Wild White Tea 2021 is available now. This tea is always very popular in our shop. In Japan, we brought in loose tea this year, and for Malaysia we produced 200g cake. Mao cha before compressing into cake Very limited resources This tea is made from the wild tea, called Camelia taliensis. …
NEW ARTICLES
New Release of Tsuge Zairai Sencha from Sustainable Tea Garden
- Tsuge Zairai Sencha 都祁在来煎茶 is made from “zairai” tea plucked in spring, from the naturally farmed tea garden located in Tsuge, Nara City, Nara Prefecture. The tea garden of Tsuge Zairai Sencha is maintained in sustainable manner applying neither pesticide nor fertilizer. Tsuge Zairai Sencha has a subtle and refreshing floral scent with a hint …
New Release of Da Xue Shan Wild White Tea Cake 2021
- Da Xue Shan Wild White Tea 2021 is available now. This tea is always very popular in our shop. In Japan, we brought in loose tea this year, and for Malaysia we produced 200g cake. Mao cha before compressing into cake Very limited resources This tea is made from the wild tea, called Camelia taliensis. …
New Release of 2 Types of Darjeeling 1st Flush
- We have released two types of Darjeeling 1st Flush Tea. The reason why the Darjeeling 1st Flush is greenish In Darjeeling tea, the 1st flush refers to the first-plucked spring tea. Usually, the Darjeeling 1st Flush tea is greenish. From the outlook, it looks like a green tea. Many people misunderstand that it is green …
Gushu Dian Hong, The Rare Yunnan Black Tea made from Ancient Tea Tree
- The characteristic of Gushu Dian Hong is its intense aftertaste, and this is far better than ordinary black tea. Dian Hong means Yunnan Black Tea Yunnan black tea is called “Dian Hong” in Chinese. “Dian” means Yunnan, and “Hong” means black tea. Gushu means Ancient Tree in Chinese. After all, Gu Shu Dian Hong means …
Limited Release of Single Tree Raw Pu-erh Tea from Pine Forest Ancient Tea Garden
- We have released Pine Forest Single Tree Raw Pu-erh 2019. This tea was made from the fresh tea leaves collected from very old tea trees grown under the shade of the pine forest. The tea trees are more than 300 years old. It is a good chance for you to experience the distinctive characteristic of …
New Release of Wu Jia Zhai Raw Pu-erh Tea 2018 Loose
- We have released Wu Jia Zhai Raw Pu-erh Tea. It is a Loose Tea (Mao-cha). This tea was made in 2018 and has been aged for nearly three years. Thanks to the aging, it has developed more distinctive flavour with sweet scent of sugar cane and dried fruits. Sustainable Tea Garden at high altitude of …
New Release of Tong Mu Shui Xian Black Tea
- We have released very rare black tea, Tong Mu Shui Xian Black Tea. This tea is from Tong Mu Guan in Wuyishan, Fujian Province, China. The tea garden is located at 1000m above sea level, and the tea garden is totally sustainable, the tea trees are grown without pesticide and fertilizer. Tong Mu Shui Xian …
New Release of Da Xue Shan Wild White Tea 2020
- We have launched Da Xue Shan Wild White Tea 2020, in loose tea. For Malaysia, we release the 200g cake version. This year, we have made major improvements in the raw material, producer, and production method, resulting in a very satisfying quality. However, the production volume is extremely small; it will likely to be sold …
Limited Release of Yunnan 10 Years Vintage Black Tea 2010
- We release 10-year vintage Yunnan black tea. This tea was produced in 2010 and aged in Yunnan for 8 years in aerobic storage. We bought this year in 2018, and it has been aged in Japan and Malaysia for two years in anoxic storage condition. The production area is very near to the Myanmar border …
Da Xue Shan Wild Raw Pu-erh Tea 2020 was Released
- We have launched 2020 wild puerh tea. This wild tea is from Da Xue Shan located in Lincang of Yunnan Province, China. We started to introduce Da Xue Shan Wild tea since 2010. But 2020 version was completely renewed. This year, we changed the source of tea, the producers and the production method too. Why …
Shop Info

Address:Lot No. T-215, 3rd Floor, The Gardens Mall, Mid Valley City, Lingkaran Syed Putra, 59200 Kuala Lumpur
Tel: +603-2287-4537
Business Hour: 10am to 10pm
Category
- New Arrival at HOJO Online Shop
- Featured Articles
- Newsletter
- Types of Tea
- Origin of Tea
- Teapot and Tea Equipment
- Tea Column
- How to enjoy tea
- Tea Processing
- How to choose quality tea
- Tea constituents and functional effect
- Safety of Tea
- Foods
- Tea Business Operation
- Hobby and Outdoor Activity
- Ranking of Tea
- Video
- FAQ
- Media Release
Profile

- AKIRA HOJO
- I invite you to experience my tea selections.I was born in Nagano, Japan. In university, I studied agricultural chemistry, and I have the master degree in food science. I worked in Japanese food industry for 10 years. I involved in R&D, QC and QA. As a factory manager, I implemented ISO9000 series and managed the factory.
- The Art of Tea Magazine
- We posted the article on “The Art of Tea Magazine No.9, the magazine is published in Taiwan. We featured some scientific view about the tetsubin
- New Straits Times
- The Malaysian National Newspaper, New Straits Times featured HOJO Tea on 17-Oct-2007.