What do you put in your tea?

#1

All this talk about tea has made me think of a question I’ve had for some time…what do you guys put in your tea, i.e. milk, honey, splenda, sugar, etc.?

There is a long history of severe diabetes in my family so I avoid excess sugar as much as possible (unless there is a bag of chocolates in front of me, of course…) so I have always put Splenda in my tea (I detest sweetnlow and equal). A while back, I was browsing the internet looking for some tea related info and I stumbled across an article that says that sweetners other than honey could potentially rob tea of it’s antioxidant properties/benefits. Does anyone know anything about this? I can’t find the article I originally found…I’m just wondering if I’ve been devoiding tea of it’s benefits for all of this time…

#2

I like plain sugar in my tea… just for a little sweetness. Sometimes I put milk in it, only if I’m in the mood. But, I don’t really drink tea much… I’m more of a coffee drinker. :rollseyes:

#3

Sometimes nothing, sometimes honey.

#4

I like sugar in my tea- for some reason, the idea of adding milk to tea just give me the willies!! I add milk to my coffee, but not to my tea.

#5

I only drink my tea plain. I had it with sugar once by accident (it was a bad night and a friend made me tea but she didn’t ask how I liked it) and I thought it was pretty awful. I just like the taste of it so much I wouldn’t want to put other stuff in it.

#6

I do prefer honey to sugar in my tea, it gives it a lovely delicate flavour.

I will, however, serve sugar cubes when company comes.

I also put soy milk in my tea, I’ve developed a lactose intolerance so I save my ‘rotten tummy post milk’ feelings for things like Gelato :wink:

#7

I love tea. I will put milk and sugar in black tea, but I mostly drink green and I can’t imagine milk in green tea. I still have a bit of sugar, though. I think artificial sweeteners are gross and probably bad for me, though I know sugar isn’t the greatest either. I’m scouting my health food stores for stevia, which is a natural sweetener that is safe for diabetics, calorie-free and sweeter than sugar.
(Once I did a Google search for Splenda because I wanted to see if I could bake with it for my DBF’s diabetic parents. A lot of the results were kinda scary.)

#8

Mostly I use Splenda too (diet thing) But if it’s tea, usually I drink flavored tea. But most of the time I drink coffee (like every morning :rofling: )

#9

For regular tea, I use about a half teaspoon of sugar. I can’t stand the taste of any kind of artificial sweetener, and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar isn’t going to kill me. I have one large cup in the morning, but drink coffee the rest of the day. Can’t start my day without my tea, though.

#10

Your question made me curious, so I did a little surfing of my own. I didn’t find anything specific about Splenda and tea but this seems to be a fairly comprehensive article about sweeteners of all kinds. I don’t know anything about the author or the cite, but here it is for what it’s worth.

http://www.hpakids.org/holistic-health/articles/126/1/Sugar{47}Sweeteners

#11

I like my tea with honey, but that’s a new thing for me… I used to put regular old sugar in it. DH likes honey in his and he had me try it. I love it that way now!

I really don’t like milk in my tea, but I’ll put in my coffee. Like misstialouise, I’m also lactose intolerant, but a little milk won’t kill me. I do have that awful stomach feeling if I have ice cream, but I’ll do it to myself anyway, if the ice cream is good enough! :oops: [/quote]

#12

I wanted to make a pecan pie for my dad recently so I surfed the internet for diabetic friendly recipes. (he has adult onset, non-insulin injection) Interestingly enough, the information I found said that it is better to use regular sugar and then avoid other simple carbs rather than use artificial sweeteners. So we made the pie and didn’t have the peas and potatos we were planning to with supper. The official diabetic associations embrace artificial sweeteners but many specialists (doctors) question the practice.

Oh, and I cast another vote for plain, though I hestitate to call it plain. Tea is so flavorful and complex it can hardly be called plain just because you don’t add milk or sweetener to it. The only tea I have ever sweetened was Moroccan Mint and I added honey because it just didn’t have the complexity I look for in tea.

#13

My aunt (Yes, she’s diabetic) uses stevia, she swears by it. I haven’t tried it yet, but she has a sweet tooth, so I trust her judgement! :rofling:
I almost always drink black tea, so I put milk and sugar in it… When I drink herbal tea, just sugar - what’s strange is that although I like my coffee with sweetener, I can’t stand it in my tea… :??

#14

Depends on the tea. Usually I have honey with soy milk, but I kind of prefer milk - just don’t normally have it on hand. Green tea definitely needs nothing. Sometimes other teas are sweet enough on their own, but I really like a little soy or milk in most.

A milk question for those who use it: when do you put the milk in? My aunt puts it in right after the water. She thinks it makes better tea. I was always told adding the milk stopped the brewing.

I heard the same thing about sweetening tea, but I have no idea if it’s true. I always add stuff when I’m done brewing! I don’t want to blow a good cuppa.

#15

I love Rooibus Red tea (yummy) with milk and scant of sugar! knitting & cup of tea is pure bliss!!

knitbebe

#16

I drink both tea and coffee plain. If I were going to use a sweetener it would probably be Splenda. I keep for the occasional bowl of cereal that needs it.

#17

[color=blueviolet]My mom and I like a little tea with our sugar. My mom likes hers with lemon, lots of lemon. Our family teases us by saying our kitchen could be completely empty but they would bet their lives that we have lemons, sugar, and tea. Unfortunately for us they’re right.[/color]

#18

Ahhh, tea - my favourite beverage! :inlove:

I grew up taking it with milk & sugar. Where I’m from it’s the universal cure for everything… Fallen & grazed your knee? Have a cup of tea & it’ll be all right. Broken up with your boyfriend? Have a nice cuppa & all will be well. Broken both your legs & arms? Forget medicine, all you need is a hot cuppa & you’ll be feeling better in no time! :roflhard:

My mother seriously believes in the power of hot sweet tea to cure all ills and especially shock. Amazingly, I’ve found it actually works to some degree & I figure it’s a healthier comfort food than chocolate! Nothing makes me feel better after a crappy day at work than a large cup of tea with 2 sugars.

So, for normal days I drink my tea (5-6 cups a day) with milk but no sugar & add sugar if I need the comfort.

On the question of when to add the milk - the correct way would be to add it to the cup first - but that’s assuming the tea is brewed in a teapot & poured onto the milk in the cup. If I use a teabag (which I usually do, PG Tips rule!) then the tea is brewed in the cup & the bag removed prior to adding milk.

Oh, and I’m talking about black tea of course - in the UK that’s what ‘tea’ is; others would be specifically ‘herbal tea’, ‘iced tea’, ‘green tea’ etc. Tea is either hot black tea drink… or a meal but that’s a completely different discussion :wink:

signed: tea lover, coffee hater :smiley:

#19

“black” all the way. I only put honey in it when I have a sore throat. Otherwise, I prefer the natural flavor of the tea.

#20

Milk (preferrably half & half) and sugar (the real stuff)! :heart: If the tea comes from my teapot, the milk and sugar go in the cup first. If it’s a teabag in a cup, then the milk and sugar go in after the tea has steeped. I rarely drink “plain” tea unless it’s iced tea. I only drink hot tea in winter for some reason…but I drink coffee all year round.