Anti Tea?
Learn new ways to enjoy the world's brew

By now you've heard that a cup or more of tea per day is good for you. And that's great. The only problem is, you don't really like tea. Or you haven't liked it any way you've tried it before.

But there are all sorts of ways to enjoy tea, no wrong way to drink it. If the only way you like it is with milk and sugar, you're in company with millions of others. So you've decided to cut back on sugar. And milk? Okay, you have more options.

It's time to try Stevia, an herb you can find where natural food supplements are sold. Try it in drops or powdered form. A very little bit goes a very long way. Or use an artificial sweetener. So far it looks as if sucralose, sold under the trade name Splenda, gives us the least to worry about. If you're cutting back on milk, then try a nut milk. Soy milk or almond milk make great additions to tea. They are not without calories, but the nutritional boost of either of these make every calorie worthwhile.

Drink your tea and live longer, they say. This stuff is antibiotic, antibacterial, antiviral, and antimicrobial. Add spices like fennel, cardamom, cinnamon, and anise, and it's antispasmodic too, helping ease the pain of menstrual cramps, gas, and heartburn.

Spicy tea has the extra benefit of helping control hunger pangs between meals. Warm tea can be exactly what you need to keep your hunger curbed and munchies under control in the evening before bed.

Fruit may make the difference. Add the zest of oranges, lemons, or limes to give your tea a citrus punch. Or consider blending hot tea with a fresh apple, or mango, or melon, then straining it.

Floral teas win over non-tea-drinkers every day. Dried rose petals, bee-balm petals, lavender, and marigold petals mix well with teas, softening their flavors, bringing summer memories to bear in the middle of snowy evenings.

What's not to love about that? Drink your tea with milk and sweetener, cream and sweetener, soymilk and sweetener. Drink it hot or cold, or freeze it into a sorbet. But don't miss out on the many flavors and benefits of the world's most popular drink. For instance:

Sugar-free Chai

8 teaspoons loose black tea
½ inch crushed cinnamon stick
½ inch slice fresh ginger root, crushed
12 cardamom pods
12 cloves
4 cups water

White Stevia Powder OR Sucralose to taste
Cream, or whole milk, or skim milk, or soy milk, or almond milk to taste

Bring water to boil. Add tea and all four spices. Lower temperature and simmer for 10 minutes. (Watch that the mixture does not boil over.) Strain. You can keep this chai mix on hand for a couple of days. Right now or when you're ready, sweeten to taste, add cream or milk to taste.

Tea benefits

About Stevia

Almond Milk, Enchanted Kitchens