Tea to permanently stain hair?

[diewassermelone]

So, an explanation of my stupidity: the other day I was showering and was out of vinegar, so used lemon juice instead as a rinse, mainly on my scalp (helps keep it clean and happy I've found when I'm working up a sweat). I then hopped out of the shower and went about minding my own business, mainly reading in the park or going for walks for the past three days...in the sun...I'm sure you see where this is going lol. To make matters worse, I noticed it was a bit dry (duh, it had lemon juice on it) but didn't make the connection as to WHY it was dry, and hence waited longer to wash it.
My hair always has a gradient, from very dirty blonde/light brown at the top to very blonde at the tips. Now, as best I can tell, my roots are much closer to the color of the midsection of hair. It's still wet at the moment, I frantically washed it after realized my foolishness so I'll have to wait till morning to get a better look.
I've read that black tea can stain hair, so my question is this: Is this a viable option to darken my roots again? I'm going to a wedding in a month, and don't want there to be awkward darker roots, but also don't want to dye all of my hair.

[Anje]

I don't believe tea stains very permanently, and you might find the tannins drying. On the other hand, some people swear by tea rinses. You can give it a try, I suppose. I'd probably brew it strong and use a mister/spray bottle to spritz it on the roots a bit and let it dry for a while, in hopes of increasing the stain.

If that fails, I'd suggest a semi-permanent dye. I know Adore comes in various shades of brown. (Medium brown is a bit green-ashy, and Mahogany is very warm and reddish. Those are the only two I've tested, myself.) You could dilute it in some conditioner if you want to make the stain more subtle, and it'll wash out slowly. Perhaps apply some diluted in conditioner to your dry hair nearer the scalp for a while, then rinse it out. Assess and repeat if needed. If it's not very intense, there won't be any line of demarcation, and it should fade, but that might be enough to blend any root line.

[Reyn127]

Tea definitely can stain the hair, more or less permanently. But it would have to be a very strong concentration, and Anje is right about the tannins potentially giving you some issues, although I don't think it would be terribly damaging.

[spidermom]

Try some deep conditioning treatments first. Moisture might even the color.

[Nini]

Wait until it's dry to assess it It might easily just look sunkissed.

[mamastawb]

Well, I don't know much about hair, but I know about tea. If you want to avoid tannins, only brew it for 2-3 minutes. If you want it stronger, use many many tea bags(you get get a box of 100 for like $3 at Walmart) and a lot of water, and once the bags are removed, boil for a while to concentrate.

[diewassermelone]

Nini, it did end up looking more "sunkissed" than the obviously lightened effect that I feared, so that's a definite plus. If anything my hair actually looks MORE natural now, as before because of the huge difference between top and bottom a lot of people assumed I was growing out bleach.
I think I might try tea first just to see if I can get by without buying any dye (the grad student life is real) but I'll keep an eye out for dryness. Thank you all for the suggestions!