Elizabeth said

Tea in replace of "Junky Soda"

Hi! It is interesting how much sugar is in “Junky Soda”! It was amazing when I converted it and it is 10 (average) TEASPOONS OF SUGAR! That is disgusting! I promised myself that I would not go to the sugary nectar aka “junky soda”. And having a husband who LOVES his “junky soda”. His favorite has 4 teaspoons of straight sugar.

So…as I find alternatives. I now make no sugar, sweet smelling iced teas! Any suggestions about brands or how to make fizzy teas?

18 Replies

Kombucha.
Add tonic water/La Croix to your iced teas.

I second kombucha! I’ve also written a guide that makes it super easy to make your own if you’re interested :-) http://whisperingpinestea.com/kombucha

I’ve made my own kombucha before too! I got a kit as a gift and have kept the Scoby/mother since!
http://www.amazon.com/Oregon-Kombucha-Ginger-Black-Starter/dp/B008X9Q48W/ref=sr_1_8?ie=UTF8&qid=1421034651&sr=8-8&keywords=kombucha+kit

Yep! They do last forever. Mine is two years old. Haha

I am new to steepster and am thrilled I get to have my first comment be about kombucha: one of my favorite things in the universe. There are several great brands out there, from vinegary and harsh to light and sweet. Kombucha making is a fun wintertime hobby for me and it starts with a bottle of unflavored from the store!
Another tea-related “junky soda” (or “pop” here in buffalo) is to brew a very strong tea and add it to seltzer. Especially made with a soda stream!
Cheers’

Elizabeth said

Thanks for the ideas!

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cookies said

I know people make tea concentrate and add seltzer to make a sort of tea soda. You may enjoy 52teas and their SBT line of iced teas. I believe he has even made some soda flavored ones. http://www.zoomdweebies.com
Good for you for removing soda from your life, after a while you won’t even miss it. Most soda isn’t even sugar (in the US anyway) but HFCS.

Uniquity said

Yeah, I like the tea pop idea that Davids Tea does in the summer. They use carbonated water and mix that with tea brewed really strong, so even when it is diluted with the soda water, it tastes delish!

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My interest in tea actually began when I realized it was time to cut out soda and juice for the most part. Now I have maybe one soda a week on average. I started out using sugar in my tea, (correctly) assuming that it added up to way less than regular sodas did. And I still believe it is healthier to consume real sugar than fake, calories be damned. Then I found I needed less and less. Now I only sweeten occasionally, except chai which always gets sweetened.

MelissaTea said

Same here. I went from soda to tea with sugar and am now virtually sugar/sweetener free with my teas. I still enjoy a soda about once a month.

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I had a big Diet Coke habit, but have switched to (mostly) tea during working hours. I do sweeten with Stevia, but it just has to be healthier than Diet Coke all day.

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Everune said

A google search says that a cola has about 182 calories in it. Even if someone just took one of those out of their diet every week and replaced it with unsweetened tea, they would save nearly 10,000 calories in one year.

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MzPriss said

Kombucha!

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SarsyPie said

You can make tea “soda” by fermenting your tea, very lightly. You just end up forming bubbles, without making it boozy, if you’re careful with timing. It does require that you add a small amount of sugar and you also need baker’s yeast or beer/wine yeast, but I think it’s still way less sugar than soda.

MzPriss said

Im wondering if you could use those water kefir grains?

SarsyPie said

Not sure. Never tried those. I’ve made kombucha which is quite easy. But to me, the easiest way is to just add a small bit of sugar and some yeast in a plastic bottle to get the bubbles!

If you try it, LMK. I am definitely interested.

MzPriss said

yeah thats what you do with the kefir grains. They would need a little sugar to eat as well – I think the only diff would be a not yeasty taste. But then I love yeasty taste so….

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Elizabeth said

Thank you all for the ideas! :)

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