Is herbal tea high in histamine?
Herbal tea is likely low in histamine: a 2024 clinical review lists herbal teas among low-histamine foods, though individual herbs were not measured. They are dried plants brewed fresh, with no fermentation.
- Histamine
- Not measured
- Other amines
- Not measured
- Liberator
- Not on the lists we use
- DAO blocker
- No evidence
What each source says
| Source | Verdict | What it says, in our words |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical review, 2024 1 | Lists herbal teas among examples of foods low in histamine. | |
| 10 published low-histamine diets (2021 review) 2 | Herbal teas are not on the review's chart; tea is, excluded by 2 of 10, without saying which kinds. | |
| Lab measurements, Spain 2 | Measured | Nine teas of unstated type had no detectable histamine; herbal teas were not reported separately. |
| SIGHI food list 3 | See source | See SIGHI's own list for its rating. |
How freshness and processing change it
Dried herbs keep well in a closed jar or packet; brew them fresh and drink the tea the same day. Iced and bottled herbal drinks contain other ingredients and were not measured.
Not measured. Dried plant brewed in hot water, with no fermentation or storage step. (estimate)
Not measured. Contain dried fruit or peel; some fruits are high in putrescine. (estimate)
Why we rate herbal tea 0
Herbal teas are a common stand-in for coffee and black tea on a low-histamine diet, and the case for them rests on how they are made more than on measurements. None of the studies we use tested chamomile, peppermint, rooibos, ginger or fruit infusions for histamine. A 2024 clinical review does list herbal teas among its examples of foods low in histamine, alongside water, fresh juices, bread and rice.
The reasoning behind that is straightforward. Histamine in food is made mainly by bacteria breaking down the amino acid histidine, which is why the foods that carry the most are spoiled fish and meat and fermented products such as cured cheese and sauerkraut. A herbal tea is dried leaves, flowers, roots or seeds steeped in hot water and drunk soon after. There is no fermentation, no stored protein and no time for bacteria to work, so there is no obvious route for histamine to form.
Real tea, from the tea plant, is the nearest measured comparison. Nine teas sold in Spain had no histamine in a University of Barcelona survey, and only two of the ten published low-histamine diets in the team's 2021 review exclude tea. Its chart has one bar for tea and does not say whether herbal infusions were meant.
Blends are less certain. Fruit infusions often contain dried citrus peel, apple, hibiscus or berries, and some fruits carry a lot of putrescine, a related amine: citrus fruits averaged 79.75 mg/kg in the same survey. How much passes into the cup has not been measured, so we rate fruit blends a step higher as a precaution.
We rate single-herb teas 0, "low", as an estimate, and the page is marked "not measured" until data appear. If a particular herb seems to bother you, keep a note of it in a food diary and discuss it with your doctor or dietitian.
Questions about herbal tea and histamine
Are herbal teas low in histamine?
Very likely, though they have not been measured. A 2024 clinical review lists herbal teas among low-histamine foods, and they are dried plants brewed fresh, with no fermentation. We rate them 0 as an estimate.
Is chamomile tea low in histamine?
Chamomile was not measured in our sources. It is a dried flower brewed in hot water, so there is no obvious way for histamine to form, and we rate it with other single-herb teas at 0 as an estimate.
Evidence behind this page
- A 2024 clinical review gives water, fresh juices and herbal teas among examples of foods low in histamine when used in normal quantities. 1
- Nine teas sold in Spain, type not given, had no detectable histamine; two of ten published low-histamine diets exclude tea. 2
- Histamine in food is formed mainly by bacteria breaking down histidine, so foods at risk are microbially spoiled foods and fermented products. 2
- Citrus fruits are rich in putrescine, averaging 79.75 mg/kg across 38 samples. 2
Sources
- Jochum C. Histamine Intolerance: Symptoms, Diagnosis, and Beyond. Nutrients 16(8):1219, 2024. doi:10.3390/nu16081219 (Jochum C 2024)
- Sánchez-Pérez S, Comas-Basté O, Veciana-Nogués MT, Latorre-Moratalla ML, Vidal-Carou MC. Low-Histamine Diets: Is the Exclusion of Foods Justified by Their Histamine Content? Nutrients 13(5):1395, 2021. doi:10.3390/nu13051395 (Sánchez-Pérez S et al. 2021)
- Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI). Food compatibility list for histamine intolerance. histaminintoleranz.ch (accessed November 2026), 2026. Link (Swiss Interest Group Histamine Intolerance (SIGHI) 2026)