How much black tea should I drink?

In case of diarrhea, the body loses a lot of fluid. Small children can dry out as a result. It is therefore important to drink a lot – more than normal.

Because of the caffeine content, other liquids should be taken in addition to black tea. Camomile tea is also highly recommended for gastrointestinal diseases. Besides water, the body also loses a lot of electrolytes. Therefore, it should also be ensured that these are taken in sufficiently – e.g. in the form of a vegetable broth or food supplements.

How long must the tea steep?

Since the tanning agents are crucial for the effect of black tea, it is important that the tea is steeped long enough for the tanning agents to transfer to the hot water. For therapeutic purposes the tea should be steeped for at least 3 minutes to allow the tannins to dissolve. If the black tea is brewed for a shorter period of time, the tea has a stimulating effect due to the caffeine released.

After eight to 15 minutes of infusion, almost all tannins are dissolved. However, the tea then tastes somewhat bitter than usual. The long infusion time causes the caffeine to combine with the tanning agents. These can be absorbed by the body more poorly, which is why the caffeine has hardly any effect.

Can I sweeten the tea?

After the recommended infusion time the black tea tastes more bitter than usual. For some – especially for children – it is then no longer edible. This can be counteracted by sweetening.

Nothing speaks against sweetening in moderation. However, large quantities of sugar are not healthy. With small children, however, a little sugar does no harm to compensate for the loss of minerals.

Sweetener is under discussion to have a laxative effect. The laxative effect is caused by sugar substitutes, which are often combined with sweeteners. These have a laxative effect in large quantities. In small quantities this danger does not exist.