Why does my stomach hurt after doing this?

Mmm, I would say eat something a little light to ease your stomach.
Your stomach may need a little something to calm it.

Do you consume any other caffeine normally? My understanding is that tea only has about half as much as coffee, but if you don’t drink coffee, soda, or another major source of caffeine that could do it and would be the most likely culprit I think.

It could also be an allergy or food sensitivity I suppose. Do other black teas do the same? Do you have a bad reaction to citrus at all?

Outside of those I’d look for things accompanying the tea that might be causing the problem. For instance if you normally eat cookies or biscotti with it, add honey or milk, or usually drink it after a meal, those may be a problem as well.

@funkdaddy Yeah, I drink coffee. Every day. I’m not sure if other black teas do it… Would Spiced Chai be black? Citrus doesn’t usually hurt my stomach, but once in a while an orange might. I don’t snack on things the majority of the time I drink tea.

Someone just said something to me about bergamot being a possible culprit? Could that be it?

I believe Earl gray has bergamot in it. Oh, you just wrote that. Maybe that’s it.

@psychocandy :D Anyone know why bergamot does this? I heard it can make people’s muscles seize in random places on the body, apparently.

I just read up on bergamot on wikipedia and it seems fairly harmless in small doses. It is a citrus and both citrus and black tea can be hard on the stomach. Maybe it’s the combination.

Well… That’s kinda funny. I drank the Earl Gray, got a stomachache as predicted, asked the question – and then while I was waiting for answers, I ate an orange. And now? Yeah… My stomachache is wayyy worse. Wish I had known beforehand. :-/

What’s bizarre is that I only rarely get stomachaches when I eat oranges alone. Most of the time, I’m okay. But when I drink the Earl Gray, it never fails and I always get a bad one.

Try eating something else with the tea. If it’s bad antacids will help. I can’t eat citrus, drink juice, or drink black tea or coffee. Be careful. You don’t want to end up like me. :/

If other teas cause it as well, maybe it is the tannins? The other answers above seem like good ones also.

Like @JLeslie said, do other teas cause it? If I steep any black tea too long I get horrible nausea.

Probably heartburn.

I have a problem that goes the other way. I start feeling queasy and drinking Earl Grey tea helps it settle down.

@nikipedia No other teas, besides Spiced Chai, seem to do the same thing.

Citrus & caffeine are one of many foods that can case cramps and spasms and heartburn especially on a full stomach.
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