Nicole said

Sensitive to Sheng?

So… I recently sat down and had a gongfu session with a new friend. She prepared some sheng pu-erh (I hope I am recalling correctly that it was sheng). About 2 hours after, I had a hive on my arm. Just one. I thought maybe it was a bug bite. But then an hour later, it had vanished and my wrist on the same arm had small, itchy rash on it. It went away completely in another hour. But the only thing I can think of that I did differently that day from any other was having sheng. I don’t drink pu-erh regularly, and in fact have only tried a few. And of those I wouldn’t be able to tell you if any were sheng or if they were all shou.

Has anyone ever had a similar reaction? I have not had that happen with any other teas or ever before in fact. And I don’t have any allergies to anything at this point except for sometimes seasonal hayfever type of stuff.

7 Replies
Cwyn said

Generally those types of allergies hit immediately and are internal. A dermatitis more often has an external exposure reason. Like a new laundry detergent or soap or developing one to a product I’ve used for awhile.

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Uniquity said

I have no allergies but i did have bedbugs in the past and learned a lot about itchiness. Sometimes people get hives or rashes for no reason. If you see a pattern, check it out. If not, it Dan happen for a number of reasons, or could be reactions to something you don’t notice. A small rash also could still be a reaction to a bite…fleas or something. Or maybe you scratched a bit without realizing and irritated the skin. I would need a much stronger reaction or pattern of reactions before I thought allergy.

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Nicole said

Not so much thinking allergy as sensitivity. And you are both right about it could be anything, just because I didn’t notice anything doesn’t mean something other than drinking sheng for the first time was the cause. :) Just curious if anyone else had noticed anything similar with pu-erh.

Uniquity said

Yeah, as you know, it’s really hard to ever be sure. I find green tea tends to upset my tummy but there’s no hard and fast rule. I am confident someone out there had the same situation as you, but they probably can’t help much! :P

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Cwyn said

The only way to know is by eliminating one thing at a time until you hit on a good guess. Seems to me if a sheng contained pesticides it is more evident in the mouth. And if it is green tea compounds, other teas might have the same effect. Good luck in figuring it out, and hopefully it will just go away and not be an ongoing thing.

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You can be sensitive to histamines and teas that undergo fermentation can cause a reaction, it is like an allergic reaction but not…it is super weird and not enough research has been done (especially since it is one of those things that may or may not exist)

I have had issues with Shou but not Sheng, well except some of the really abrasive ones giving me a belly ache but that is for a different reason. I hope it was just something random and that it is not the pu!

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boychik said

i have allergies. seasonal and food related. i drink a lot of pu. the only trouble i have is young sheng. it gives me cramps. sometimes severe, so i limit my young sheng intake. i didnt have any rashes from it.
did you have any pastries or sandwiches with it ?

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