Sugar, honey or syrup? How to sweeten your tea

Tea is a wonderful drink valued for many qualities. Let us be honest, though: its flavour is the main reason we enjoy it so often. Some people prefer it plain; others add fruit, spices or herbs. For another group, what matters most is that tea tastes sweet. This article is for those tea lovers. If that includes you, read on: we have a few interesting ways to vary the flavour of your cup.

Sugar — the classic way to sweeten tea

The most familiar option is white sugar. Its neutral flavour makes it a traditional choice, and it certainly makes a drink sweeter. Because sugar contributes calories, many people look for alternatives.

Cane sugar offers a similar sweetness, sometimes with a different flavour depending on how it is processed. Its calorie content is broadly similar to white sugar, so it is not a meaningful low-calorie substitute. If that is your priority, look beyond ordinary sugars.

Coconut sugar and palm sugar are further possibilities. Both consist largely of sugars, including sucrose, and are available in forms such as crystals or syrups.

Honey — a flavourful way to sweeten tea

If substantially reducing calories is your aim, honey is not the best answer. It is still a concentrated source of sugar. However, it has a distinctive flavour and a long tradition of use in comforting drinks, especially during cold season.

How it tastes depends on the variety. Choose from multifloral, dandelion, lime-blossom, rapeseed or buckwheat honey, among others. Honey may be liquid or crystallised; either can be used in tea.

Important: add honey after the tea has cooled somewhat if you want to preserve its delicate aroma and heat-sensitive components. Honey is a food, not a replacement for treatment for an infection.

Syrup — a creative approach to sweetening

For another way to vary the taste, add a little of your favourite syrup. Options include:

• Maple syrup: best known on pancakes, it also complements tea. It contains small amounts of minerals and plant compounds, but it remains an added sugar rather than a major source of vitamins.
• Agave syrup: a little sweeter than table sugar, with a flavour and composition of its own. Treat it as an occasional variation, not as a nutritionally superior everyday replacement.

You can also try quince, lemon, cherry, raspberry or cranberry syrup. We have not included glucose-fructose syrup in these suggestions; the focus is on interesting flavours. Whatever syrup you choose, use it in moderation because it adds sugar.

Fruit as a naturally sweet addition

If none of those options appeals and you prefer fruit, there is plenty of room for imagination. Try fresh blueberries, raspberries, currants, blackberries or orange.

Fruit preserves, jams and conserves are alternatives, though many contain added sugar. They can give your tea not only extra sweetness but also a richer, more distinctive fruity flavour.

Low-calorie sweeteners

Our final option is a sweetener such as aspartame. Because only a tiny amount is needed, it contributes very few calories in normal use. That can appeal to people managing their calorie or sugar intake, including some people with diabetes.

Aspartame is about 200 times sweeter than sugar, so follow the product instructions rather than adding it spoon for spoon. People with phenylketonuria need to avoid it.

How will you sweeten your favourite tea?

Whatever you choose, a wide tea selection awaits in our online shop: black, green, white and red teas, along with herbal and fruit infusions. Explore the range and find a drink your taste buds will love.