Make iced tea yourself – healthy & without sugar!

Iced tea is a refreshing drink that is especially popular on hot summer days. In the supermarket, various brands lure you in with a wide selection and different flavors such as peach,  berries  or  lemon . However, such drinks are usually not healthy. But if you make iced tea yourself, you save on calories and conjure up a real vitamin bomb at the same time. We will introduce you to delicious iced tea recipes with lemon or healthy seasonal fruit.

Is Iced Tea Healthy?

Many of the ingredients in finished iced tea, such as  preservatives and flavorings,  are typical of supermarket soft drinks. Because in addition to lemonades, 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 damage tooth enamel if consumed regularly.

In addition, some of the industrially manufactured ice 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  . Store-bought iced tea is usually not very healthy.

Although there are also sugar-free iced tea brands, these usually contain a lot of  artificial sweeteners,  which are very appetizing. When consuming such flavored iced tea, the taste buds get used to the sweetness, so that the body eventually asks for more and more iced tea. Industrially manufactured soft drinks should therefore be eliminated from the diet if possible.

The situation is different if you make the iced tea yourself. Homemade iced tea  can also be made without sugar, sweeteners or additives. Therefore, homemade iced tea can be a  healthy alternative  to store-bought beverages. But you shouldn’t overdo it with homemade ice tea either. For example, black tea- based iced tea may   contain oxalate, which in large amounts can be harmful to the kidneys.

Make sugar-free, healthy iced tea yourself

Instead of buying iced tea brands in the supermarket, make your own iced tea. We will show you how you can make the delicious thirst quencher yourself. The advantage of homemade ice tea without added sugar: It has hardly any calories and is therefore the ideal source of liquid in summer.

Recipe for homemade iced tea

This delicious and healthy lemon ice tea is quick and easy to prepare.

Ingredients (for 4-6 people):

• 1 liter of water
• 10 teaspoons black tea (alternatively: 10 tea bags)
• 3 organic lemons
• 20 to 25 ice cubes

Preparation – how it works!:

Take a liter of water, ten teaspoons of black tea, three unwaxed lemons and about 20 to 25 ice cubes. The tea is brewed with boiling water and then left to steep for three minutes. Rinse the lemons with hot water and cut in half. Three of the lemon halves are squeezed and their  juice  is mixed with the tea. Cut the other half lemons into thin slices.

You can sweeten to taste. Instead of table sugar, honey is also   a good choice. For a sugar-free version, simply leave out the sweetness.

And now the highlight: the iced tea is “shocked”. In this way, the full tea aroma should be retained. To do this, pour the hot tea over the ice cubes. The tea cools down immediately and tastes wonderfully refreshing.

By the way: White or green tea is also ideal for delicious iced tea creations. Refined with mint leaves and citrus fruits, it gets a particularly refreshing note.

Caffeine celebration iced tea – simply homemade

Conventional ice tea is often enriched with black tea extracts and therefore 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 use healthier thirst quenchers such as  mineral water  or homemade iced tea without caffeine.

Fruit tea , for example, is suitable for the preparation  .  This tastes sweet, but is sugar-free and also contains no caffeine. Rooibos tea is also a caffeine-free alternative. You can also mix the homemade iced tea with juice (note, even natural juice contains sugar) or  with seasonal fruits  such as peaches, strawberries or cherries.

The classic, tart taste of iced tea can also be created by  using herbal  tea instead of black tea .