You order iced tea with lunch, take a sip, and realize it’s much sweeter than you expected. If you enjoy tea but could do without all that sugar, you might be surprised by how good it tastes when the tea takes center stage.
For many of us, iced tea is tied to a place or a moment: a long lunch on a hot day, a pitcher on the table when family visits, or the first cold drink after working outside. You don’t have to lose any of that to drink it unsweetened. You may simply find that you notice the tea more.
Why try it unsweetened?
The practical reason is added sugar. In a comparison of common drinks, the CDC lists about seven teaspoons of sugar in 12 ounces of brewed sweet tea. Plain unsweetened tea has none. That makes it a useful choice if sweet drinks have become an everyday habit and you’d like to cut back. www.cdc.gov
But you don’t have to pretend that the first sip will taste exactly like the tea you’re used to. If you’ve always had yours sweet, try ordering it half sweet and half unsweetened. Next time, ask for a little less of the sweet tea. The American Heart Association suggests that same gradual switch.
Find the tea you actually like
“Unsweetened” tells you what isn’t in the glass. It doesn’t tell you much about how the drink tastes. If you find one tea too strong, that doesn’t mean every unsweetened tea is for you to endure.
Black tea is a good place to start if you want the familiar iced tea flavor. Brew a pitcher, chill it, and squeeze in a little lemon just before drinking. If you prefer something lighter, try green tea with a few peach slices. Mint brings a fresh smell to either one, especially when you crush a leaf gently before dropping it into the glass.
There’s also the matter of how you drink it. Tea that seems ordinary from a warm bottle can be lovely poured over plenty of ice. At lunch, ask for a lemon wedge. At home, make enough for tomorrow so a cold glass is ready when you want one. These are small details, but they can turn “I’m trying to drink less sugar” into “I’d like another glass of that.”
Peach and Mint Iced Tea
This makes a lightly fruity tea with no added sugar. The peach adds flavor as it sits, so make it a little ahead of time if you can.
Makes: 4 glasses
Ingredients
- 4 green tea bags
- 4 cups water
- 1 ripe peach, thinly sliced
- 4 to 6 fresh mint sprigs
- Ice
- Lemon slices, optional
Directions
- Heat 2 cups of water until hot but not boiling. Add the tea bags and steep for 3 minutes, then remove them.
- Stir in the remaining 2 cups of cold water. Let the tea cool, then add the peach slices and mint.
- Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Pour over ice and add a lemon slice if you like.
If you’re making it for the evening, use caffeine-free herbal tea instead of green tea.
time of day
A glass of iced tea with lunch may fit easily into your routine. Later in the evening, you might prefer a caffeine-free herbal blend served cold. If you’re curious about those flavors, our article on calming teas offers a place to start. It focuses on hot tea, but you can chill a blend you like and serve it over ice.
Unsweetened, With Plenty of Flavor
When you haven’t made a pitcher, ready-to-drink tea is convenient. Check the label before choosing one: a fruity name doesn’t necessarily tell you whether the drink contains added sugar.
Tama Tea is one example of a company taking a different approach. It makes sparkling green tea and yerba mate drinks with whole-leaf tea and real fruit, without added sugar or sweeteners. The fruit adds flavor without covering up the tea. Its drinks contain caffeine, so that’s something to check along with the ingredients when you choose one.
You may end up liking a green tea with lemon, a lighter glass with peach, or something sparkling when you’re out for the afternoon. There’s no single right version. The pleasure is finding the glass you’d choose even if no one had suggested cutting back on sugar.
Disclaimer: Tama Tea sent us product to try. We were not paid for this article, and the opinions are our own.
