sweet tea without sugar or honey is it possible

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2

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  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    Love the apple tea recipes. I was in Turkey on a trip 22 yrs ago and had apple tea. I still remember how good it was. Thanks again! :drinker:
  • CindyRip
    CindyRip Posts: 166 Member
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    Liquid stevia, just takes 2 drops and a slice of lemon per cup. Also The Republic of Tea (www.REPUBLICof TEA.com ) has a blend of Sweet Tea that comes in several mixes, 2 you might like are Sweet Tea Classic Black Tea Bags or Calorie-Free Naturally Sweet Tea. You can order small amounts to test and maybe try a few more types of tea. They have some excellent flavors. I generally do not like green tea, but I do like their Goji Raspberry Green Tea and Black Raspberry Green Tea, they also have a white tea that is also very healthy for you. You could give those flavors a try, my favorite is White /Pear tea or White/Honeydew. Hope you find one you like, cause sometimes you just need a sweet tea.
  • sistrsprkl
    sistrsprkl Posts: 1,013 Member
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    Stevia! I use the liquid from Trader Joe's. The bottle lasts forever, easily mixes in liquids, and you can make it as sweet as you like. Just started making iced tea for the summer and I love it so much, just need to watch the caffeine so I can sleep at night.
  • rhtexasgal
    rhtexasgal Posts: 572 Member
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    No one has mentioned Monk fruit sweetener. It is right next to Stevia in the Raw in supermarkets ... tastes better than stevia with less aftertaste. Also called Lo Han if you shop in Asian markets. Monk fruit tastes great in tea and coffee and I absolutely HATE the taste of artificial sweeteners but this stuff is more natural, just like the stevia.
  • lisele03
    lisele03 Posts: 133 Member
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    Try some other fruit flavoured teas or infusions
    ^This. Not to be a commercial for Celestial Seasonings..... but I really like their Raspberry Zinger herbal tea. It has a very slightly sweet flavor, it's sugar and caffeine free, it's strong enough (no wimpy tea for me) and, because it has hibiscus in it, it is good for your blood pressure!
  • tracydr
    tracydr Posts: 528 Member
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    I prefer stevia. I use stevia loose leaf in my hot or iced tea and the extract in things that don't get brewed.
    For teas, I use loose leaf herbs. We have a local health food store that sells all sorts of loose leaf herbs in 1 lb bags. I do all sorts of mixtures using mint,green tea,roobios,and a few others, depending on my mood. I also grow some herbs and dry them. I grow fresh lemon grass and lemon trees, both great for flavoring things like green tea or even an alcoholic drink.
    I have a strainer from Teavana. You put the leaves directly in the water and then the water is strained out the bottom by setting the container on top of your cup. Much,much better than the tiny canisters. Those have been relegated to spice holders for cooking.
    Try adding mint to ice tea. It will give it a natural sweetness and cut the bitterness of the black tea.
    A bagged hot tea that I love is Roastaroma from Celestial Seasonings. I grew up in Boulder so we had their teas before they went national.
    If you like flavored teas, Teavana has some interesting combinations with dried fruits mixed into the tea.
  • amberj32
    amberj32 Posts: 663 Member
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    Aspartame (Equal, Nutrasweet, Canderel), Sucralose (Splenda, Nevella), Stevia (Truvia, Natvia)...

    Splenda is my all-time favourite. But each to their own.
    ^This. Except my favorite is NutraSweet.

    I'm a Equal kinda girl.

    I'm an Equal girl too!! Sweet N Low in a pinch. I think Splenda and Stevia taste horrible. Splenda has a bad after taste to me. Every time I drink a Stevia drink I get a headache. I know it's natural and not do that but it does. I add lemon every once in a while. I don't care for mint in my tea.
  • midas1022
    midas1022 Posts: 151
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    They make a sugar free sweet tea in the Walmart brand. They are the concentrated squirt bottles that they sell. One squirt easily sweetens a cold glass of water and it tastes pretty good.
  • demorelli
    demorelli Posts: 508 Member
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    Lottaburger has an amazing sugar free sweet tea. I think they use splenda.
  • snowflake954
    snowflake954 Posts: 8,399 Member
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    I really enjoy an apple tea in a local shop close to my work place. These are the closest recipes I have found to the tea (they refuse to give their recipe out). However the one I drink; has 2-3 fresh pieces of apple in it.

    Hot Buttered Apple Tea
    Ingredients
    12 cups of water
    2 Family sized tea bags
    ½ cup apple butter
    Directions

    Follow instructions on tea bags and while tea is hot, add apple butter. This smells and tastes so delicious - it is like a warm mulled cider.

    Turkish Apple Tea
    Ingredients:

    Servings:
    4-6

    8 ounces sliced dried apples
    2 cinnamon sticks
    4 whole cloves
    6 cups cold water
    honey

    Place all the ingredients except the honey into a saucepan. Bring to a boil then reduce heat & simmer for 15 minutes.
    Strain the hot tea into a teapot. Make sure to gently push on the apples to remove all the liquid.
    Sweeten with honey, if needed, then pour into tea glasses.

    Alternatively, you can also add dried raisins to the water while boiling it for a natural sweetness.

    I tried the Turkish apple tea last night using fresh apples---it turned out great. I had a mugful left over and am drinking it now, but instead of putting honey in, I tried a teaspoon of fresh squeezed lemon juice. I can drink it without honey or sugar that way. Thanks for the great recipe. I love apples and cinnamon combined, especially in the winter. I want to try it iced for the summer. :drinker:
  • evangey
    evangey Posts: 1
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    I use something called ''sweet freedom'' it has 25% fewer calories than sugar and its 100% from fruit - great alternative and tastes yummy!
  • rwrealm
    rwrealm Posts: 4
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    Like you, I couldn't stand unsweetened. That was 6 months ago, now I prefer it. In fact, I also abhored plain water as well, now I prefer that over anything else. In addition, I didn't much care for green tea at first. I just forced myself to drink water and unsweetened tea and now I drink unsweetened green tea because it actually tastes sweeter than black or white. A lot of people have given good responses. Stevia is an excellent choice. I used it and slowly cut it back until I no longer found the need for it. I also bought infused teas from Teavana, very good. Here's the thing, as you cut out the sugar in your diet your pallet changes. Things that you don't find sweet now, will once your pallet changes. If getting fit is truly important to you, you will learn to cut out any sweet drinks.
  • 47Jacqueline
    47Jacqueline Posts: 6,993 Member
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    You can at Stevia or Truvia. Those are sugar replacements without the issues of Equal if that bothers you.
  • BrittanyMG3
    BrittanyMG3 Posts: 163 Member
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    Stevia in the raw. It is a sugar substitute but is all natural, made from a plant! That'a what I use! :smile:
  • meeulk
    meeulk Posts: 246 Member
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    I go back and forth between sweet and unsweet. When I'm really motivated to drink unsweet and stick with it, some unsweet teas start to taste naturally sweet.
  • KerryITD
    KerryITD Posts: 94 Member
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    I like stevia as it's all natural, but some people notice a bitter aftertaste (my husband does, but I don't!). Lately I've been sticking a cinnamon stick in the cup--it gives a sweet mellowness and the stick can be reused multiple times.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    OP doesn't like green tea (or honey) but this can be adapted ....black tea, citrus, and stevia.

    CITRUS GINGER GREEN TEA

    1 1-inch piece of ginger peeled and sliced
    1 orange thinly sliced, leaving the peel on
    1 lemon thinly sliced, leaving the peel on
    2 family size green tea bags (8 single bags)
    1 tablespoon honey or to taste (optional)


    Heat 1 Qt of water with ginger slices to just boiling. Remove from heat and add tea bags, steep for 3-4 minutes. Add the fruit slices and steeped tea to a gallon pitcher. Let stand about 10-15 minutes, then add honey and stir. Add enough ice and cold water to fill the pitcher.

    Taste will be stronger the second day. Rub fruit slices against the back of a slotted spoon to release some juices.
  • TeaBea
    TeaBea Posts: 14,517 Member
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    I go back and forth between sweet and unsweet. When I'm really motivated to drink unsweet and stick with it, some unsweet teas start to taste naturally sweet.

    Re; naturally sweet

    I make iced tea with 1 family size bag of black tea and 2 pyramid bags of Bavarian Wild Berry (Lipton) - makes 1/2 gallon. I wouldn't say this is naturally sweet, but it is definitely more MELLOW than plain black tea. This needs no sweetener for me.

    The Lipton Superfruit Green teas are naturally sweet to me. These make great iced tea also.
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,953 Member
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    If you're looking for a sweet tea that also has caffeine, perhaps try mixing an herbal raspberry or peach tea with earl grey?
  • VeryKatie
    VeryKatie Posts: 5,953 Member
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    Try some other fruit flavoured teas or infusions
    ^This. Not to be a commercial for Celestial Seasonings..... but I really like their Raspberry Zinger herbal tea. It has a very slightly sweet flavor, it's sugar and caffeine free, it's strong enough (no wimpy tea for me) and, because it has hibiscus in it, it is good for your blood pressure!

    Haha this was exactly the tea I was thinking!

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