Nitrosamine in the film on leftover oxidized tea?

Thanks. Do you really leave your tea out overnight (non-refrigerated) and drink it the next day? All the time? I always do fresh, so I am not worried. I kind of see what they are talking about, and I have a background in chemistry. BUT, and that is a big but, you get those same precursors for nitrosamines eating processed meats, drinking beer, and from smoking from what I have read, and who knows where else. That does not mean the nitrosamines are in there…it just means you need to handle the product properly with refrigeration, be mindful of expiration dates, and generally, if it smells off, don’t consume it. I imagine it is significantly lower in tea, and the risk is pretty low. Does old tea even appeal when it is so inexpensive to make new? If you do drink old tea, just make less and more often so you don’t have to. Then you won’t have to worry about it. I would be more worried about bacteria growth than nitrosamine.

I don’t see any primary sources for your information, though. They are all past a reliable secondary source or even further down the chain for all we know.

Do you really get a white film on your tea after two hours? (It seems to be the color they are mentioning in the secondary sources.) I know there is an oily film from just steaping, but there are oils in all plant life. It makes sense that hot water would extract some of the plant oils. And it might take a bit for them to come to the surface. I also work in the natural cosmetic industry and camellia oil is a very high grade cosmetic oil. It comes from tea plant leaves that are processed differently. I can’t imagine that processing leaves for tea extracts all oil. Most moisture, yes, but not oil.

Just to add food for thought…one of the main compounds that is a precursor to nitrosamine is shortened to TEA (triethanolamine). This is part of the reason why it is very important to know the primary source. It is easily taken out of context and tea and nitrosamines are forever linked in an incorrect association.

I am thinking that there are many things that will kill us long before tea!

I will comb the scientific literature today.