My husband loves sweet tea. He grew up drinking his grandma’s sweet tea which was very sweet (sugar induced coma sweet). I made sweet tea with sugar for many years and, while mine was quite sweet, it still wasn’t as sweet as hers.
I didn’t mind making sweet tea for my husband because I thought it had to be better than drinking pop. I thought that until he was diagnosed with diabetes and I needed to figure out a healthier alternative for sweetening his iced tea.
After doing quite a bit of research I decided that stevia would be the best option for making sweet tea.
What is stevia?
- Stevia Rebaudiana is an herb which is native to parts of Paraguay and Brazil.
- It is very sweet. The leaves are 10-15 times sweeter than sugar, and stevia extracts are 200+ times sweeter than sugar.
- It has no calories. Stevia contains no sugar, carbohydrates, sodium, or fat.
- It has a glycemic index of zero which means it won’t affect blood sugar levels.
These facts made me a fan of stevia before I even tried it. I knew I didn’t want to use artificial sweeteners or even Splenda (which is not at all natural by the way) which are so popular for diabetics because I wanted to use something natural.
Stevia comes in several forms but the liquid version is what I use for sweet tea. I have used this brand of stevia and we like it. There are obviously other brands, but I haven’t tried them. I do want to try making my own liquid stevia because I plan to grow my own stevia this year.
After some trial and error I have figured out the best ratios for making stevia sweet tea, and have been making it this way for over four years now.
If you want to know if it tastes good, just ask some of my husband’s coworkers who liked it so much they wanted to know how I make it.
- 6 Tea Bags
- 1 Gallon of Water
- 1 tsp. Liquid Stevia
- In a small pan, bring 2 cups of water to a boil.
- Turn off the heat and add the 6 tea bags to the boiling water.
- Allow the tea bags to steep for 5-10 minutes.
- Remove the tea bags and stir in 1 teaspoon of liquid stevia. Mix well.
- Pour the tea/stevia mixture into a 1 gallon container and fill the rest of the way with cold water.
If you would like to enjoy a delicious glass of sweet tea that won’t affect your blood sugar, this stevia sweet tea is sure to please.
This post contains affiliate links. Thank you for supporting this site.
