Why doesn't tea quench my thirst?

Much of our tea contains the compound tannin – which can cause dryness in your mouth. The astringency of tannin can make your mouth/throat feel dry – this depends on how strong the brew is. It tricks the tongue – making the tastebuds “think” there is a lot of saliva; therefore, the salivary glands produce less saliva ..making your mouth feel dry.

You can reduce the steep-time of your tea (reducing the strength of it). Strong tea is similar to wine – the more astringent, the drier your mouth will feel (worse case is when your mouth feels puckered). Adding a bit of skim milk to your tea and/or having a snack with it will help (chewing increases saliva production). Generally, the darker the tea…the more tannin it contains (black teas and green teas are generally high in tannin). Madura tea is tannin-free. There are actually some health concerns of ingesting tannin. It prevents iron absorption – which can be good or bad, depending on one’s health needs.

And, no, it’s not just you. I get that as well (also when I drink iced-tea). I hope I explained it sufficiently. :)

Perfect, I didn’t know that. Thank you.

You maybe dehydrated and a single cup of tea will not quench your thirst. Try increasing your water intake also some medications can cause your mouth to feel or be dry.

Tea is a diuretic. It removes liquid from the body. (That’s why it makes you pee so much.)