annuin | The things you find when researching stuff

So I was looking into stuff about Earl Grey tea, nectar of the gods as far as I'm concerned, especially the double bergamot version that I always get from Stash Tea.

Found on some New Zealand website:

As reported in the journal Lancet, large quantities of tea flavoured with bergamot essence (as in Earl Grey tea) can cause health problems. It may bring on muscle cramps, involuntary twitches, burning or prickling feelings, and blurred vision. A man aged 44 years reported muscle cramps to his doctor. He had consumed up to four litres of black tea daily for 25 years and had recently switched to Earl Grey tea, believing it would be less harmful to his stomach. Within a week, he developed muscle cramps and other unusual symptoms, including a feeling of pressure in his eyes. He also had blurred vision, particularly in darkness. After five months, the patient switched from Earl Grey back to pure black tea and his symptoms completely disappeared within a week. They remained absent when he stopped drinking all tea for a week. He also found they did not recur as long as he consumed no more than one litre of Earl Grey tea daily. Essence of bergamot oil is used to flavour Earl Grey tea. The side effects observed in this man can be explained by one of its components bergapten.
Finsterer J. Lancet 359:1484, 27 Apr 2002

4 Liters??!! I can't even consume half that in fluids in a day, I'd never leave the bathroom. Even a liter of fluid is quite a lot for me (I don't drink much at all during the day, unless I'm exercising a lot). This man's bladder must be the size of an aquarium.

I can't even imagine what the caffeine content is doing to that man's body though... it can't be good for his liver and kidneys. There's less caffeine in black tea than there is in (fresh drip) coffee, but at those quanitities I doubt that really makes too much difference.

Other fun, or rather yummy looking, stuff I came across includes a recipe for Earl Grey Stars (cookies)

Earl Grey Stars

250g butter
3 tablespoons earl grey tea leaves
120g sugar
320g flour
60g potatoe starch
3 tablespoon sugar

*melt the butter in a small pot, take off and add the tea leaves. let steep for 3 minutes, then pour through a fine sift and let cool.

* combine butter and sugar in a bowl until soft and creamy. add flour and starch. continue kneading the dough with hands until the texture is smooth and homogeneous. wrap in foil and let rest in a cool place, about 1 hour.

* preheat oven to 180*C

* roll out cookie dough, about 1cm thick; with a star cutter, punch out stars and place on lined baking sheet.

* bake 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. take out, sprinkle with sugar and let cool completely. store in airtight containers.

makes about 55 pieces.
nutrition values p.p.: 55Kcal, 1g proteins, 4g fats, 7g carbs.

Looks like it can be adapted for the vegans too, and I'm definitely interested in giving this a shot. Though I'll need leaf tea for this I think, teabag tea might be too fine... or I need a better/finer sieve.

The measurements will need adapting, as they're in metric, so those with imperial are going to need to find conversion sites.