Sweeteners

What kind of sweetener you use in your tea (if any) can be a very important decision. Generally, you only want a touch of sweetener in your tea to bring out the flavor and soften any bitterness that may be present. An exception to this is chai tea, as you may need somewhat more to bring out the flavor of all the spices.

Still, there are many sweeteners out there and they can greatly affect your beverage.

White sugar is, of course, the sweetener most people are familiar with. It doesn't really do anything to the flavor of your tea beyond making it sweeter. I avoid it, but only because it's refined and processed and all that crap most people don't care about.

Raw sugar will sweeten your tea just the same as white sugar, but it may add a faint molasses taste, and being that it's not processed as much, is marginally better for you than white sugar. Brown sugar is slightly less sweet because it isn't as dense, but it will definitely affect the flavor of your tea.

Honey is a popular sweetener given how much it rocks. It's much better for you than sugar, as it contains minerals, antioxidants, and has antibiotic properties. Raw honey is even better and may help alleviate one's pollen allergies. Once you get into honey, you'll find there are actually many different kinds of honey, but I'll go into that in a later article.

A less popular but totally awesome sweetener is agave nectar. I've seen it come in amber and light varieties—I've only tried the amber, and I love it. It's much runnier than honey, which means it dissolved a hell of a lot easier, and to boot it's also somewhat sweeter than sugar (while honey is slightly less sweet), meaning it takes less to reach your desired sweetness. It's also mostly fructose, which means it has an extremely low glycemic load (the lowest of all non-artificial sweeteners, I believe).

Corn syrup is no good. Avoid it. Molasses I have not tried, but I think it would be too strongly flavored to complement tea well.

Artificial sweeteners are crap and are bad for you. Avoid them.

Use Stevia if you don't want any calories (even though a tiny dollop of honey will only be 5-15 calories). Stevia is actually banned for use as a sweetener in the U.S., but is available as an "herbal supplement." I don't see how that follows, so I can only assume the sugar industry has been giving some government officials pretty sweet deals. Although be forewarned: Stevia's sweetness is a little different than that of sugar's. It's not bad, but it does take some getting used to, as it has a stronger and longer-lasting aftertaste than sugar.


And, of course, you can always just take your tea without any additives, although I prefer just a tiny touch of honey, agave nectar, or raw sugar. Just a small dot on a teaspoon is all.