# Alka Seltzer in tea+ **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [December 30, 2022, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alka-seltzer-in-tea/977349 "2022-12-30T17:51:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alka-seltzer-in-tea/977349/1 "2022-12-30T17:51:27Z")
I discovered an odd chemical reaction. We have some Alka Seltzer Plus Cold & Flu. I’ve used it before and it works just like you expect. Fizzing away in a glass of water until dissolved. I was finishing my morning tea and thought perhaps the slightly lemony medicine would taste good in it. I dropped in the two tablets and immediately a column of brown foam fills the glass and rises straight up like those old fashioned snake fireworks. Now I have a glass with a 3" x 6" column of disgusting brown foam. I’ve been swirling it around and it does not want to dissolve very well. I ain’t drinking that stuff! ---
**Author:** ![Mortimus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e36b37/32.png) [@Mortimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mortimus)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alka-seltzer-in-tea/977349/2 "2022-12-30T18:04:25Z")
Sounds like almost as much fun as Diet Coke and Mentos! ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alka-seltzer-in-tea/977349/3 "2022-12-30T18:07:21Z")
@mixdenny Boy, that would cure ya or kill ya! ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 6:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alka-seltzer-in-tea/977349/4 "2022-12-30T18:46:48Z")
( What’s tea+ ? ) ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 7:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alka-seltzer-in-tea/977349/5 "2022-12-30T19:37:06Z")
It’s not a chemical reaction, it’s just bubbles. Tea contains substances that act as foaming agents, like tannins and saponin. When the tablets dissolve and release CO2, instead of bubbling away like in soda water, it forms a head like in beer. Note that tannins and saponins (among other things) give tea its bitterness, so the foam probably doesn’t taste good. ---
**Author:** ![mixdenny](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mixdenny/32/2962_2.png) [@mixdenny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mixdenny)\ **Post date:** [December 30, 2022, 8:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alka-seltzer-in-tea/977349/6 "2022-12-30T20:52:22Z")
> [@pjd](#): > > ( What’s tea+ ? ) I don’t know. I wrote the title as “Alka Seltzer Plus in tea” and that is how it gets listed. ---
**Author:** ![pjd](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pjd/32/3009_2.png) [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)\ **Post date:** [December 31, 2022, 11:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/alka-seltzer-in-tea/977349/7 "2022-12-31T11:26:12Z")
How bizarre !