how to make PG tea taste better without a ton of sugar?

[~No~Saint~]

I am NOT a tea drinker and if I have to force myself to drink it, it will be with A LOT of some kind of sweetener in it. I am a big believer in not too much sugars of any kind as it can lower the immune system. But how do I make a yummy tea (or buy my MW's blend) without filling it with sugar?

[freistms]

I find that adding a little bit of milk to my tea (or soy or grain milk) helps to neutralize the flavor a little and it requires less sweetener after that. Also, agave nectar is a great way to get a little sweetness without quite so many calories. Something else that helps is to added natural fruit flavor. It gives the sensation of sweetness without adding calories. You can sometimes find these additives with the teas in your grocery store. Another option would be to mix your tea with natural fruit juices. Although this adds sugar, it's not quite so much. Perhaps you could try using tea instead of juice as your liquid in a fruit smoothie, so that you are getting the value of the tea without the superfluous calories/sugar? That method won't get you a high volume, though.

[aramat]

Why not honey? Honey is awesome, especially if you can get a locally made one!

[JayJay]

Try adding a peach tea bag...it's lovely!

[CalmCenter]

Stevia!!! I add a few leaves to my raspberry leaf tea and it makes a huge difference. You can get some at the health food store, crushed up like herbal tea or other forms. It is very sweet, but earthy tasting at the same time, and doesn't have the effect of sugar at all.

[~No~Saint~]

I'll try the other teas mixed with her tea I guess. I found her tea mix (MW's) was palatable only with a ton of honey in it and drinking that 3 times per day yields a lot of sugar. I am just not a tea drinker I guess

[~No~Saint~]

Originally Posted by CalmCenter

Stevia!!! I add a few leaves to my raspberry leaf tea and it makes a huge difference. You can get some at the health food store, crushed up like herbal tea or other forms. It is very sweet, but earthy tasting at the same time, and doesn't have the effect of sugar at all.

I'm rather hesitant to try stevia again as the first time I ever had it, it tasted like the artificial sweeteners and turned me off from them.

[Astraia]

Do you drink fruit juices? It's sugar, but natural, and I find you need only a small amount of juice to help mask the taste of the tea.

I do 1 part tea, 1 part juice, 1 part water in a 20 oz mason jar

[Ambystoma]

Originally Posted by ~No~Saint~

I'm rather hesitant to try stevia again as the first time I ever had it, it tasted like the artificial sweeteners and turned me off from them.

Glad I'm not the only one-everyone I say this to thinks I'm crazy. It tastes like nutrasweet or something to me.

Anyway, I second local honey! Or, if you don't want any sweeteners--add some lemon balm with your other leaves (or another strong lemon or mint) to take over the taste of the RRLT or nettles. Or, at least raw sugar is better for you than processed white sugar, so that's a lesser evil!

[~No~Saint~]

Originally Posted by Astraia

Do you drink fruit juices? It's sugar, but natural, and I find you need only a small amount of juice to help mask the taste of the tea.

I do 1 part tea, 1 part juice, 1 part water in a 20 oz mason jar

Not a bad idea. The tea leaves I buy from her are her own blend and I think I recall mint in it. So when you do your parts of tea and juice are you doing prepared tea and then added to juice? I guess I need exacts on how you make yours this way.

Originally Posted by Ambystoma

Glad I'm not the only one-everyone I say this to thinks I'm crazy. It tastes like nutrasweet or something to me.

Anyway, I second local honey! Or, if you don't want any sweeteners--add some lemon balm with your other leaves (or another strong lemon or mint) to take over the taste of the RRLT or nettles. Or, at least raw sugar is better for you than processed white sugar, so that's a lesser evil!

I do love me some honey! I just want to start drinking something to help the end process, KWIM?

[sharr610]

A little hibiscus and just a TOUCH of honey makes all icky teas taste like kool-aid or really good iced tea (I do mine all cold. Also helps a TON).

[mommyfied]

I think a blend tastes better. During my last pregnancy I drank a blend with RRL, nettles, alfalfa, and peppermint then I added chamomile for more flavor. Right now I only have RRL and I'm not loving it. I need to get some other teas to mix in. For a sweetener I use a small amount raw honey. Propolis (in raw honey) is good for your immunity, right? I've mixed in milk as well when I've needed a change. I have some stevia but I'm not really a fan either.

[zannster]

I drink my RRL tea iced, with about 2/3 tea and 1/3 blueberry juice cocktail (which does have sugar). Blueberry and/or pomegranate juice mixtures seem to taste best to me. Some moms also like cranberry.

[aramat]

Hadn't thought about it, but I do also usually drink my teas cold--since I steep them forever anyway for potency. And I do almost always blend at least two kinds together.

I think oatstraw adds a nice flavor to most any herbal tea. To me, it's sweet, subtle, almost chocolatey.

And I only discovered recently that all honeys are not created equally. After a few months of jarred honey (the kind that comes with a piece of the comb in it), I bought another kind that came in a squeeze bottle -- I couldn't even stand the smell of it!

[Astraia]

Originally Posted by ~No~Saint~

Not a bad idea. The tea leaves I buy from her are her own blend and I think I recall mint in it. So when you do your parts of tea and juice are you doing prepared tea and then added to juice? I guess I need exacts on how you make yours this way.

I brew my tea once every 2-3 days in a 10 cup measuring cup, strain it, and put it in a jug in the fridge. Then whenever I get a drink I mix prepared juice with prepared tea and add water to top it off.

You can still taste the tea, but I'm at the point now where regular juice tastes weird to me without the odd tang of the RRL (and nettles, lemon balm, etc that I put in my blend).

[~No~Saint~]

These are all great! Thank you!

Ok, one more question: Can I heat fruit juice instead of water and then put the tea into that and brew it that way? That way I have the water, sugar and extra fruity flavoring already in the water to begin with. does this make sense? Does it work like that?

[To-Fu]

Have you tried brewing it and sticking it in the fridge and drinking it iced later? Sometimes I find I need less sweetener that way.

Or what about just squeezing some lemon in there?