16 packets of sugar a day can't be good for me

1-25-2007 @7:40PM Aleks said... Stevia tastes unbelievably disgusting to me; I've tried it several times with the same result. I found it sickeningly sweet and I don't consider it a substitute for real sugar. I used to drink my tea with sugar, then when I was on one of my health kicks, I gradually decreased the amount of sugar in my tea, eventually putting in none. I now drink black tea without any sugar and truly like it much better than with. And believe me, I have a serious sweet tooth, including putting plenty of sugar in cappuccino and eating a lot of chocolate and other sweets.
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1-25-2007 @8:46PM Robyn said... the idea of sugar in tea kind of grosses me out, but i guess thre are still teas i drink that i think of as sweet even without sugar. i don't know if this makes sense, but i'm talking about stuff like vanilla teas or fruity teas. there's also celestial seasonings toffee. tastes like it's bad for you! and i hear the sugar cookie one is good too. (i don't think these are actually tea leaves, with the health benefits, but maybe getting rid of the sugar will be just as healthful.)
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1-25-2007 @8:24PM JM said... I wasn't a 4-per-tea user, but a 2-per-tea user. It took me a few days, but I switched over to agave nectar instead of sugar. I'm sure there are pros/cons with it as with others, but it seemed a better choice than the sugar packets.
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1-25-2007 @9:00PM Becki said... Same calories, but a low-glycemic alternative to sugar is Agave Nectar. Tastes neutral, unlike stevia, which seems to elicit either love or hate reactions. Personally I can't stand the anise taste of stevia. That may be fine for certain cold drinks in which the flavor soesn't offend, but in tea you just want the tea flavor to come out strong.
Agave nectar tastes just like sugar syrup. As a life-long tea-drinking Brit I'm a purist. Switching over from regular sugar was painless. I buy mine in bulk from Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000FL521G/102-2879554-2960916
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1-25-2007 @9:44PM Matt Hearn said... 4 packets of sugar in a cup of tea?!? Even when I was like 8 years old I didn't put that much sugar in. Friend, what you're drinking is mildly-tea-flavored syrup.
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1-26-2007 @10:35PM kaitlin Hess said... Hey , don't feel bad....i use to consume about 100 packs of EQUAL a day.....
I think i am down to about 25 now, yay!
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1-26-2007 @8:07AM bdw said... You don't say whether or not you are using tea bags. Bagged tea contains the very smallest particles of tea called "dust" and "fannings." Tannin, the bitter principle in tea, leaks from where the leaf is broken or cut. If you use a whole, looseleaf tea, it will be not be bitter unless you oversteep, plus you can use more tea per cup, which gives you much better flavor. Try some different kinds, especially the "self" or unblended teas from Assam, Darjeeling, or Sikkim, which are usually well balanced and drunk without milk or sugar; Assam in particular is often described as "malty" and has a naturally sweet taste. Most whole green and oolong teas are also mild and commonly drunk without milk or sugar. Find a good tea or coffee purveyor in your city, explain to the barrista what you are trying to do, and buy half a dozen different quarter pound samples.
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1-26-2007 @12:29AM BobM said... Instead of going off sugar cold turkey, why don't you cut down gradually? Try this: next week, only put 3 3/4 packets of sugar in each cup. You probably won't even notice the difference. The week after, cut back to 3 1/2. Keep up at this rate, and you're cutting back a packet a week. In 12 weeks you'll be back down to 1 packet per cup!
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1-26-2007 @4:07AM Sean said... Four packets per cup is a serious amount of sugar. I tend to use about half a packet (about 1 flat teaspoon) in a cup. I think honey is a fantastic option, it is far better for you than sugar, and you shouldn't need more than a teaspoon per cup. Personally I drink Rooibos tea, which tastes great and is also rather healthy (it has no caffeine and is a good source of anti-oxidants). Rooibos is really common in South Africa, but I don't think it's widely available elsewhere.
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1-26-2007 @10:15AM j said... Tea with milk and sugar is good, and can hit the spot when cold (i.e thai iced tea, chinese milk tea or bubble tea)

but when you serve it hot, it should really be pure - no sugar, no milk... that way you can appreciate the true flavor of the tea and realize the difference in qualities of different brands and sources. You might even want to try using distilled or bottled water to brew it as it makes a substantial difference. (compare colors with bottled vs tap water brewed tea and you will see exactly what i mean)

If you must use sugar and milk, maybe once a day as a breakfast drink, and once as a cold refreshment...
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1-26-2007 @11:42AM peggy said... try a better tea, pg tip, yorkshire gold, or go to the indian markets to find an inexpensive but tasty black tea. and try for no sweetener over the stevia. in my experience the stevia just intesifies any bitterness in black tea.
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1-26-2007 @11:45AM Renata said... I second the suggestion of agave nectar. I use it in place of honey, maple syrup and even sugar. Still learning how to work with it, but it's a fantastic substitute and barely registers on the glycemic index. Because it is so much sweeter than sugar, you also use a whole lot less. (I use the same brand that is linked to on Amazon, except I pay $10 for a single bottle!)
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1-26-2007 @12:54PM wynk said... I don't generally sweeten my tea, but I've found a sweetener that I actually LIKE in tea so when I feel the need for a little extra something, I use this.

http://www.sugar-shots.com/

The regular stuff is made from liquid cane sugar. If you want to get away from sugar entirely, though, I recommend the SugarShots Free - it's made from fruit juice and "causes a slower rate of change in blood glucose and does not stimulate a hypoglycemic response." I'm hypoglycemic so this is really important, and it's also handy if you're trying to cut sugar out of your diet. The taste is FANTASTIC, nothing like the sickly sweet artificial sweetener taste you're used to (it basically tastes like really really light molasses).

I'll also echo something someone else said--if you are drinking the equivalent of a Lipton tea bag, you NEED to get some better tea. Something whole-leaf and good quality. Adagio has already been mentioned, and you can get a "starter" pot that sets on top of your mug to steep the leaves in. The best thing about Adagio is that they have sample tins for really cheap ($1-2 usually) so you don't have to commit yourself to a particular tea. And to get you started, anyone who's ordered from Adagio before can send you a $5-off coupon.
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1-27-2007 @11:23AM chasebase said... Tea is just your preferred vehichle for a sugar + caffeine rush. Diabetes is epidemic because of behavior like this, and you may well end up with it if you keep it up, like so many people have. Also, look up adrenaline sensitivity. One thing to keep in mind is that de-stressing feels bad, and that's okay. De-stressing is basically coming off your body's natural stimulant drugs, so if you're needing artificial stimulants to feel like youre relaxing, you may need to rethink that.


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1-27-2007 @1:35PM MJ said... Enjoy your sugar.......Sugar is better than any of that fake stuff. Stevia is ok. I use 3 teaspoons sugar to a good strong cup of english or irish black tea. I have found that when I use any of the mint teas, I dont need as much sugar. I cant tolerate tea without sugar. Coffee, I only put a teaspoon in!
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3-05-2007 @8:17PM N said... one pink,one blue one yellow. It even makes ice tea
sweet. It's sweet and something I found works.
PS sweet n low,nutra sweet and splenda.
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