Many of the ingredients of iced tea, such as preservatives and flavorings, are typical of soft drinks from the supermarket. This is because, along with sodas, fizzy drinks and sweetened juices, iced tea is also one of the so-called soft drinks. These are usually characterized by a high content of citric acid. Citric acid can attack tooth enamel if consumed regularly. In addition, some of the industrially manufactured iced tea products contain up to 90 grams of sugar per liter. This means there is an increased risk of tooth decay. Moreover, these iced tea products can be triggers for obesity and diabetes.
Artificial sweeteners create a desire for more
Although there are also sugar-free iced tea brands, these contain lots of artificial sweeteners, which are highly appetizing. When consuming such flavored iced tea, the taste buds become accustomed to the sweetness, so the body eventually craves more and more iced tea.
Industrially produced soft drinks should therefore be eliminated from the diet. Instead of buying iced tea brands in the supermarket, make your own. We show you how to make the delicious thirst quencher with delicious fruits yourself.
Make sugar-free iced tea yourself
Recipe for iced tea “Hot on ice” (for 4-6 people):
- 1 l fresh water
- 12 tsp black tea
- 3 untreated lemons
- 25 ice cubes
Here’s how it works: take 1 liter of water, twelve teaspoons of black tea, three untreated lemons, 25 ice cubes. Brew the tea with boiling water and steep for three minutes. Rinse the lemons while hot and cut them in half. Squeeze three half lemons and mix the juice with the tea. Cut the other lemon halves into thin slices. Sweeten to taste.
And now the highlight: The iced tea is “shocked”. That is, to preserve the full tea flavor, the ice cubes are poured over with hot tea. The tea immediately becomes cold and tastes wonderfully refreshing.
The advantage of homemade iced tea without sugar: it has hardly any calories and therefore offers itself as an optimal liquid supplier in summer.
Caffeine content of iced tea
Conventional iced tea is often enriched with the extracts of black tea and thus contains plenty of caffeine. Although the caffeine content in iced tea is not quite as high as in other caffeinated drinks, children should still be able to resort to healthier thirst quenchers such as mineral water or homemade iced tea.
Fruit tea, for example, is suitable for this purpose; fruit tea tastes sweet, but is sugar-free and also contains no caffeine. In addition, the iced tea can be filled with seasonal fruits such as strawberries, peaches or even cherries as desired.
If you don’t want to give up the classic tart taste of iced tea, you can use herbal tea instead of black tea. Green tea is also perfect for delicious iced tea creations. Refined with mint leaves and citrus fruits, it gets a particularly refreshing note.
