BACKGROUND: Dietary flavonoids may protect against cardiovascular disease, but evidence is still conflicting. Tea is the major source of flavonoids in Western populations. OBJECTIVE: The association of tea and flavonoid intake with incident myocardial infarction was examined in the general Dutch population. DESIGN: A longitudinal analysis was performed with the use of data from the Rotterdam Study-a population-based study of men and women aged >or=55 y. Diet was assessed at baseline (1990-1993) with a validated semiquantitative food-frequency questionnaire. The analysis included 4807 subjects with no history of myocardial infarction, who were followed until 31 December 1997. Data were analyzed in a Cox regression model, with adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, pack-years of cigarette smoking, education level, and daily intakes of alcohol, coffee, polyunsaturated fat, saturated fat, fiber, vitamin E, and total energy. RESULTS: During 5.6 y of follow-up, a total of