Caffeine Intolerance??

So there I am drinking lovely teas and writing about them on this very blog... when guess what happens?  The return of my caffeine-intolerance! Oh great!! 

I've actually had a sensitivity to caffeine since having M.E and although I will usually feel a bit rubbish after drinking a whole teapot, it's been a lot better over the last few years.  However, it seems to have got out of hand again recently with symptoms appearing after even one cup.  So i've had to take a tea break - literally!  Symptoms are probably a little different for everyone, but for me, it's stomach cramps, nausea, faintness and shakiness (attractive).  Not the effect you want to have after a lovely cup of your favourite tea or coffee!

So what was I to do?  I tried a Mocha last weekend and it all came on again so I think i've got to persevere with my tea break for a while until it sorts itself out again.  In the meantime, I've stocked up on decaf teabags and decaf coffee, which tastes the same as regular teabags and coffee to me.  Now they do say that even de-caff alternatives have a small amount of caffeine in them but I feel ok drinking them, so it's worth experimenting if you have a sensitivity too.

It is still a little disappointing though because I don't always 'do' teabags and my favourite quality loose-leaf black and green teas aren't the sort to have de-caff alternatives!  So i'm going to have to concentrate on Herbal teas/Tisanes for now, which really shouldn't be a consolation prize, as there's some lovely ones out there.  Rooibos tea is hugely popular now as well as ginger and peppermint teas and there's some more obscure ones to try as well.  To start off my herbal phase, i'm going to look at a Hibiscus blend from LuLin teas in my next post.  I've tried it already and it's lovely, so call back soon for my write up!