Is it okay to put sugar in green tea?

Sugar is a commonly used additive for beverages like tea, coffee, and fruit juice for enhancing the taste. As a tea lover, you must have come to a point when you are in a dilemma about whether to add sugar to your green tea or not worrying about its impact on the health benefits offered by the tea.  In this blog, we will make it clear for you to get rid of this confusion. Stay tuned.

Can You Add Sugar to Green Tea?

Can we add sugar to green tea? Well, it depends on personal taste preferences and health conditions. 

We all know, green tea is praised as the healthiest tea among the many tea varieties. Sugar in tea may impact the taste profile as well as health factors of the tea. So, green tea with sugar - “best” idea or “bad” idea? The answer varies on what you are looking for in your tea.

Keep on reading to find out the best time to “add” and “avoid” sugar in your green tea.

When to add sugar to your green tea?

You are new to green tea

When we say add green tea if you are new to green tea, note that it is not mandatory. Undoubtedly, green tea is the tea with the most delicate flavor, however, green tea might taste undesirably bitter if not brewed in the right way. If you are in the beginning phase of the green tea journey, you can try adding sugar to it to avoid bitterness if any. Gradually, you can reduce the sugar amount as you get along with the original taste of green tea.

You are looking for maximum catechins

There is a misconception that adding sugar to green tea destroys the health benefits green tea has to offer. Fun fact, green tea offers stronger health benefits when served with sugar. Surprised? Let us explain. 

According to the research by Food Research International, tea absorbs catechins better when sugar is added. So what are catechins? Catechins are antioxidants that help protect your body from fatal health issues like cancer, strokes, and heart diseases. By boosting your immune system, with abundant catechins, you are less likely to fall sick. So, sugar and green tea are great from a health perspective as sucrose aids in better transfer of catechins to your blood circulation. 

When not to put sugar in your green tea?

You are drinking tea for weight loss

Aiming to lose weight, many people include green tea in their diet plan to maintain a healthy fit body. However, adding sugar to green tea will not improve the situation, presumably, it will only worsen it. So, avoid adding sugar to green tea if your goal is to lose weight with green tea. 

Sugar is most often slammed for high-calorie content. You may wonder that adding a little sugar to the tea must not make a big difference, however, regular consumption of a little sugar makes a big difference. Did you know, you are adding 16 calories with a single spoonful of sugar in your green tea? This is a huge amount for people looking to lose weight.

So, adding green tea to the workout plan? Great.

 Adding sugar in “green tea” with an aim of weight loss? Big “No”.

If you are defending against diabetes

Recently, green tea benefits have been a common topic of talk amongst people who are dealing with high blood sugar or diabetes. This is because the antioxidants in green tea have been effective in managing those health issues. Studies show drinking 4 cups of green tea daily may help reduce blood sugar levels and prevent diabetes.

We all know sugar is a “poison” for people with diabetes and high sugar levels. So, if your purpose of green tea is to manage diabetes or high sugar levels, avoiding sugar is a must. 

If you are looking for the “real delicate” taste of the green tea

Unlike other teas, the oxidation process is completely avoided during the processing of Green tea. This is the reason for the delicate flavor of the tea that everyone loves about green tea. However, adding sugar may spoil the real flavor of the tea. 

Green tea offers a naturally sweet tone when prepared in the right way. Adding sugar will overwhelm the natural sweetness preventing you from enjoying the original taste of the tea. So, avoid sugar if you are drinking tea for its naturally delicate flavor. 

Different ways to sweeten green tea without sugar

Love the sweetness in the tea but are worried about sugar’s impact on your health? Good news!  You can add sweetness to your tea with different healthier sugar alternatives. So, what are the healthier green tea sweeteners? Let’s find out.

Honey

After sugar, honey is the most commonly used ingredient for sweetening tea. Honey with lower calorie content, makes your green tea better in health as well as taste perspective. Honey contains high amounts of flavonoids (antioxidants) and essential nutrients such as vitamin B, vitamin C, and amino acids that add some extra benefits to your green tea which itself is one of the healthiest beverages in the world. 

However, the way of adding honey to green tea also matters for gaining maximum health benefits. Do not add honey to boiling green tea as it may result in the loss of nutritional value. Add honey after the temperature of the green tea settles down a bit in your teacup.

Stevia Leaf

Natural Sweetener is always the best alternative and stevia is one of the best options available. Stevia with no calories and carbs is sweeter than sugar. Interesting, right? This healthy sugar substitute is rich in vitamin C that boosts your immune system. It is made from healthy flowers such as chrysanthemums and asters, and generally, they are available in granulated, powdered, and liquid forms in the market.  

Lemon Juice

If your aim of adding sweetener is actually to reduce the bitterness of green tea rather than adding extra sweetness, then lemon juice can do the magic. The citrus not only beats the bitterness in the tea to increase the fragrance; but also adds many health benefits to your tea. However, be careful about the way you add lemon juice to your green tea. Do not pour lemon juice when the tea is still in the brewing process. Wait for the tea to cool down a little bit in your teacup before adding lemon juice. 

Mint

Just like lemon juice, with mint, the aim is to reduce the bitterness in green tea rather than adding extra sweetness. Mint provides a crisp taste that cuts down the bitterness in the green tea and provides a smoother flavor.  So, how to add mint leaves to green tea? Well, the process is simple. Add 2 mint leaves per teaspoon of green tea in hot water while brewing. The antibacterial property of mint provides some additional health benefits to green tea.

Maple Syrup

Maple syrup is another popular natural sweetener you can use as an alternative to regular sugar. Derived from a maple tree, it not only comes with a delicious flavor; but is also packed with antioxidants and nutrients that help in preventing cancer and heart diseases.  

Green tea with sweeter undertone

Assuming you have been drinking green tea for some time and are able to pick up on flavor notes on plain green tea without added sweetener, we recommend you try some green tea with sweeter undertones. Naturally shaded by monsoon clouds in the tea mountains of Nepal, with very mild summer temperatures, humidity and lush green environment , our 29° Nepal ILam Green Tea expresses itself with deep sweet undertone, when steeped at 160 F for 2 minutes. Enjoy! 

How to make green tea?

As we have mentioned earlier, the preparation method hugely decides the taste of your green tea. So, how to make green tea the right way for less bitterness? We have created a simple guide for you. Let’s go through them and enjoy the best taste of green tea.

Step 1: Boil 10 oz. filtered water in a pot.

Step 2: Take out from heat and keep aside for one minute.

Step 3: Place 2 teaspoons of green tea leaves in the steeping cup. 

Step 4: Then pour hot water into the steeping cup that you had placed the green tea leaves in. Steep for 3 minutes.

Step 5: You will see the tea achieve a bright golden color. Strain the tea and start enjoying the delicate flavor of green tea.

FAQs

How much sugar is naturally in green tea?

Green tea is naturally calorie free and it does not contain any sugar which also contributes to making green tea one of the healthiest beverages among the tea varieties. 

How much sugar should you put in green tea?

If you are looking to enjoy the natural delicate flavor of green tea, then you should not add sugar to the tea. In case, you are required to add sugar, do not add more than 2 teaspoons. The excessive sugar in tea not only takes out the original taste of the tea; but also makes the beverage unhealthy. 

Can you put sugar in green tea to lose weight?

No, you cannot put sugar in green tea if you are aiming to lose weight. Instead of aiding weight loss, it will only make the situation worse.   

What is a healthy way to sweeten green tea?

The healthy way to sweeten green tea is to use a healthy sugar substitute rather than sugar itself. Some examples of healthy sweeteners that are suitable for green tea are honey, stevia leaf, lemon juice, and mint. 

Does sugar make green tea healthier?

Sugar helps tea to absorb the catechins in a better way. Catechins are antioxidants that help protect your body from fatal health issues like cancer, strokes, and heart diseases. So, sugar does make green tea healthier. 

Being said that, adding sugar to green tea also has a negative impact depending on different health conditions. People with health conditions like diabetes, or high sugar level should avoid adding sugar to green tea as it worsens the condition.

Does green tea spike blood sugar?

Green tea is naturally calorie free and it does not contain any sugar in it. So, consuming green tea in its natural form does not spike blood sugar. However, you can expect a raise in blood sugar levels if you add sugar to green tea. 

Is sugar needed in green tea?

Sugar is not needed to enjoy the delicate flavor of green tea. However, if you love the extra sweetness in your tea, you can add sugar to it. Consider the side effects of sugar before adding it to your tea.   

Why is my green tea bitter?

The reason for bitterness in your green tea is hidden in your brewing process. The low-quality water, wrong brewing temperature, and unsuitable steeping time are the main culprits most of the time. So, we should only use high-quality green teas in filtered water with a brewing temperature of 150 to 160 F providing 2 to 4 minutes of steeping time.

Conclusion

Now, we know that sugar can do good as well as bad, depending on your goal for drinking the beverage. If your purpose for going with green tea is to lose weight, reduce sugar levels in your body, or enjoy the delicate flavor, then keep yourself away from sugar. Else, it is ok to enjoy green tea with moderate sugar in it.   

Green tea is enjoyed for its delicate flavor and substantial health benefits. At Danfe tea, green tea is not just another ordinary green tea, but they are blended with wholesome Jasmine blossoms from Nepal providing tea the incredible fragrant flavor with alluring aroma, that you can find nowhere. Enjoyed both hot and iced, Nepal Jasmine Green tea from Danfe provides a naturally sweet taste of honey and Jasmine; it is very unlikely that you may want to add sugar to it.