Catherine Tea is one of the best-known Thai laxative infusions. Made from senna and chrysanthemum, it is used as a short course to support transit and relieve occasional constipation. Here is everything you need to know before starting: real benefits, how to use it, how long, effects and precautions.
What is Catherine Tea?
It is a herbal infusion packaged in bags, traditionally drunk as a short course. Its composition rests on:
- Senna leaves (Cassia angustifolia) — a natural laxative that stimulates transit;
- Senna pods — they reinforce the eliminating effect;
- Chrysanthemum flowers — they provide the floral taste and soften senna's bitterness, with no laxative effect of their own.
Senna (Cassia angustifolia) is a stimulant laxative, just like those sold in pharmacies: that is its pharmacological category, not a marketing angle. Its leaves and pods contain sennosides, which are not absorbed by the small intestine and travel down to the colon, where gut flora activates them. Those molecules then act in two ways:
- they stimulate colonic motility, the contractions that move the bowel contents along;
- they alter water and salt exchange across the colon wall: less water is reabsorbed, so stools stay softer.
Senna does the work, chrysanthemum makes it pleasant.
What are its benefits?
- Supports transit and helps counter occasional constipation;
- Detox effect: helps reduce the sensation of bloating;
- A flatter stomach felt thanks to elimination;
- Fits easily into a wellness routine alongside a balanced diet.
Note: Catherine Tea acts on transit, it is not a “fat burner” and it does not make you lose weight. Drink it with good hydration and a balanced diet.
How to prepare and take Catherine Tea
Water: hot but not boiling, around 90 °C — water that has simmered and then rested for a minute. A rolling boil does not extract sennosides any better and damages the floral notes. Allow 250 to 350 ml per bag.
Steeping time is the only parameter you truly control: the longer the infusion, the more sennosides it carries and the stronger the laxative effect. The usual setting is 2 to 3 minutes.
The first time, steep it short — one to two minutes, a single bag, in the evening — and watch how your gut reacts. Adjust from there, and if the effect is too strong, go back to a shorter steep. Do not steep it "as long as possible": you will mostly get cramps.
Timing: traditionally in the evening, before bed — since the effect takes several hours to arrive, an evening cup places it at waking, when you are at home.
Frequency: one cup per serving, no more than one serving a day, and never reuse a bag. Doubling the dose mostly increases cramps and mineral salt losses. Drink water regularly throughout the course: the water the colon no longer reabsorbs has to be replaced.
How long a course lasts, and why you should not extend it
Stimulant laxatives are not designed for prolonged use. European recommendations on senna preparations all point the same way: occasional, short-term use, a few days, with medical advice beyond roughly one week of continuous use. Constipation that does not resolve is not a dosing problem: it is a problem that deserves examination.
Hence a fair question: the box holds 32 bags, which is the format of a 14-day course. Both pieces of information hold together — the 32-bag format corresponds to a 14-day course, and stimulant laxatives based on senna are generally not recommended beyond roughly one week in a row without medical advice; if you are considering the full course, ask your pharmacist or your doctor. This is exactly the kind of question they answer in two minutes.
- Tolerance: being stimulated from the outside makes the colon less responsive; a stronger infusion is then needed for the same effect.
- A lazy bowel: once you stop, transit may be slower than before, hence the feeling of no longer being able to do without it.
- Potassium loss: repeatedly accelerated transit means losing water and mineral salts, potassium above all — fatigue, muscle cramps, sometimes palpitations, and certain medicines become riskier.
Short course, clean stop, no back-to-back courses. If transit does not restart on its own, the question is fibre, water and physical activity, then medical advice — not another course.
How long does Catherine Tea take to work?
Sennosides have to cross the small intestine and then be activated by colonic flora, which takes time. For senna preparations, the delay usually described is on the order of 6 to 12 hours after the dose — hence the evening rule: drunk at bedtime, the infusion works during the morning.
Feeling nothing within the hour is normal and does not call for a second cup. Plan your first serving for an evening when the following morning is free.
The effect on transit is therefore generally felt from the very first servings. The feeling of lightness and of a flatter stomach, for its part, settles in over the length of the course.
Catherine Tea side effects
Senna is a laxative: too high a dose or prolonged use can cause cramps or intestinal discomfort.
- Cramps and abdominal pain: these are the colon contractions, often a sign the infusion was too concentrated — shorten the steeping time.
- Bloating and rumbling in the hours before the effect arrives.
- Soft to liquid stools, urgency to reach the toilet: the intended effect pushed a little too far — steep shorter, do not increase the dose.
- Tolerance with repeated use: the colon responds less and less to the same infusion.
- Darker urine, harmless, which clears once you stop.
Hydrating well throughout the course compensates for the elimination.
Stop and seek advice for: diarrhoea that persists after stopping, severe abdominal pain, blood in the stool, signs of salt loss (fatigue, muscle cramps, palpitations, dizziness) or the sense that you can no longer pass a stool without the infusion.
Who should not take Catherine Tea
- Pregnancy: senna is not recommended; constipation in pregnancy is managed differently — see your doctor, midwife or pharmacist.
- Breastfeeding: also not advised.
- Children: these infusions are not intended for under-12s; constipation in a child is a matter for the doctor.
- Bowel obstruction, suspected obstruction, arrested transit: stimulating the colon downstream of a blockage is dangerous. A formal contraindication.
- Unexplained abdominal pain, especially with fever, nausea or vomiting: it needs examining, not treating with a laxative.
- Inflammatory bowel disease: Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis.
- Dehydration or ongoing water and salt losses.
- Known allergy to senna, chrysanthemum or the Asteraceae (the family of chrysanthemum and chamomile).
When in doubt, in case of chronic digestive disorders, and especially on long-term medication or with a digestive, cardiac or kidney history, ask your doctor or pharmacist before starting.
Does Catherine Tea make you lose weight? The honest answer
No. Senna speeds up transit; it does not make you lose weight. It does not act on fat cells and does not reduce the calories you absorb, because it acts on the colon — downstream of the small intestine, where nutrient absorption has already taken place.
If the scale goes down after a course, it is because it measures total mass, not fat mass. What you lose is essentially bowel contents and water, along with the mineral salts that leave with it. That is not fat mass: those kilos come back within a few days of stopping.
The flatter-stomach feeling is real: a less loaded colon, and you feel lighter. But a flat stomach obtained by emptying is not fat loss, and it lasts only as long as the course. Lasting fat loss comes from food, physical activity and sleep.
Interactions to know about
The reason is almost always the same: potassium loss caused by accelerated transit, especially if the course drags on.
- Diuretics: several also cause potassium loss, and the two losses add up — avoid without medical advice.
- Digitalis medicines (digoxin, in cardiology): their toxicity rises sharply when potassium is low. This is the most delicate combination — talk to your doctor.
- Systemic corticosteroids and liquorice, which also lower potassium.
- Antiarrhythmics, and any treatment whose tolerance depends on mineral salt balance.
- Other laxatives: combining them improves nothing and multiplies side effects. If you take a medicine regularly, mention this infusion to your pharmacist.
- Oral medicines in general: accelerated transit leaves less time for absorption. Space out your doses and ask your pharmacist whenever the dose matters precisely — contraceptive pill, thyroid treatment, anticoagulant, antiepileptic.
Storage and bag format
A box of 32 individual bags: the dose is consistent from one cup to the next, without the guesswork of loose tea measured by the spoon.
- Moisture: reseal the box after each serving, away from the sink and from steam. A damp bag loses its aroma and can go mouldy.
- Light and heat: a dry cupboard at room temperature, out of direct sun, preserves the chrysanthemum better.
Keep the bags in their original box, check the date printed on it, and store the product out of reach of children: this is an infusion with a laxative effect.
Reviews: what do customers think?
The verified feedback on our product pages (via Judge.me) often highlights reduced bloating and a feeling of lightness. You can read it, and leave your own, on the Catherine Tea product page.
Frequently asked questions about Catherine Tea
Catherine Tea: what exactly is it?
A Thai bagged infusion made from senna (Cassia angustifolia) and chrysanthemum. Senna is a stimulant laxative and chrysanthemum provides the taste: this is a laxative infusion, not an everyday herbal tea.
Is Catherine Tea a laxative tea?
Yes, unambiguously: that is its main function. Senna belongs to the stimulant laxatives, which work by triggering colon contractions — hence the short-term use.
Catherine tea benefits: what are the real benefits of Catherine Tea?
Just one: helping to restart sluggish transit on an occasional basis, with the digestive comfort that comes with it — less bloating, a feeling of lightness. The rest (fat loss, lasting slimming) is not what senna does.
When should you drink Catherine Tea?
Rather in the evening, before bed: the effect takes several hours to arrive and generally comes during the following morning.
How long does a course last, and can you drink it every day?
The 32-bag format corresponds to a 14-day course, and stimulant laxatives based on senna are generally not recommended beyond roughly one week in a row without medical advice; if you are considering the full course, ask your pharmacist or your doctor. It is in no way a permanent daily drink, and courses should not be run back to back without a break.
How long does Catherine Tea take to work?
Generally 6 to 12 hours after the dose, the time it takes for sennosides to reach the colon and be activated there — hence the evening serving.
Does Catherine Tea make you lose weight?
No. It speeds up transit and helps you debloat; what the scale shows as lost after a course is essentially water and bowel contents, not fat mass — and it comes back once you stop.
In summary
Catherine Tea is a detox infusion made from senna and chrysanthemum, which acts on transit and bloating, sold in a box of 32 bags, to be drunk in the evening with good hydration. It is a stimulant laxative: it is for a short course only, it replaces neither fibre nor water, and it does not make you lose weight. Authentic, imported from Thailand.
Where to buy the real Catherine Tea?
At Siam Marketplace we import the authentic box from Thailand (32 bags), with fast delivery in Europe. Find the composition, the format and the verified reviews on the Catherine Tea x32 bags product page.
The product page carries the verified customer reviews — for you to read yourself rather than through selected excerpts.
This information is provided for information only and does not replace the advice of a healthcare professional: your doctor or pharmacist remains your best point of contact.