Southern Style Sweet Tea (Diabetic/Sugar Free)

sweetteaFIX-jar1

I posted a picture earlier today on my Facebook page of a glass of “Sweet Tea” and it said it goes with everything.  I got a bit of flack from a few people via email and private posts that it does not go with Diabetes.  This I do know.  I was in no way trying to offend any of my followers.  My step father and maternal grandmother are both diabetic and I know the struggle they go through daily in what they can eat and drink.

I myself drink almost nothing but “sweet” tea.  I will tell you though that I have not drank sweet tea made with sugar in more years than I can count.  I make mine with “Stevia”.  I know that some of you are now saying that artificial sweeteners are bad for you as well.  I agree that they are not the best for  you and that is why I chose the one I did.  After researching as much as possible I found this to be the best overall sweetener for what I was looking for and what fits my needs.  We ALL need to make the best choices that fit our individual lifestyle and likes.  As I always say, “everything is good in moderation”.

So I thought I’d show y’all how I make my “artificial” Sweet Tea.

How to Make Southern-Style, Sugar-Free, Sweet Iced Tea ~ For a Diabetic

Instructions

  • Put about 2 quarts of water in a large pan and bring  to boil.
  • Pour 4 cups of artificial sweetener  into a  1-gallon pitchers.
  • Once your water comes to a boil, pour it into the pitcher containing with the sweetener
  • Being Very Careful, stir the mixture.  Be careful not to get burned by the boiling water or the steam. IT IS HOT
  • Place 6-8 family size tea bags into the pitcher of water with the bags’ strings draped over the side of the pitcher. ( I either put the lid on or tape them to the side so they don’t fall in)
  • Let this sit for  30 minutes or up to 2 hours.  Each of us should experiment to get the exact flavor we want.  I found about 2 hours works for me. 
  • Once done steeping,  remove and squeeze out the water from tea bags, draining the excess into the pitcher.
  • Now finish filling the gallon pitcher with water to the 1-gallon mark. (this is a concentrate and will make 4 gallon pitchers when used) 
  • Keep refrigerated.

To make the tea:

  • To make a gallon of tea from the “concentrate” you made earlier….. pour 1 quart of the concentrate into an empty 1-gallon pitcher. 
  • Now fill the remaining way with water to the 1 gallon mark. (experiment on how much of each to add for your desired taste.  A bit more “concentrate” for sweeter and stronger tea taste, or less for less sweet and lighter tea taste.)
  • Y’all just made your very own Sugar Free Sweet Tea.  Make sure you keep both refrigerated. 

Just a note.  I made this at our last family gathering and made the whole 4 gallons at once in a very large (of course) glass serving vessel.  I added a 1 gallon sized freezer bag of peaches my mom had put up earlier that summer and made peach tea.  It was great.  (p.s.  mom made her frozen peaches with artificial sweetener so grandma and my step dad could eat them so this was still a totally “NO Sugar Added” tea.)

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13 Comments on Southern Style Sweet Tea (Diabetic/Sugar Free)

  1. Thank you for this. My mother is diabetic and she will love being able to drink sweet tea with us

  2. I always buy the store brand instant tea. I don’t like the after taste. I guess I could experiment with this and different sweetners to see what we like. Thank you Greg

  3. How long with the mix last? Do you have to use it up within a certain period of time?

    • I can go through a pitcher in a two days so mine never lasts more than a week. I would think it would be good for up to a week. I have found that it does get stronger the longer it sits and does start getting a bit of after taste after a week.

  4. Maria Torrez // February 19, 2014 at 2:54 pm // Reply

    Can you put other fruit in as well?

  5. This will be great for the kids…Less sugar

    • Just remember that artificial sweeteners trick the brain momentarily in to thinking it got sugar. Once it realizes it didn’t your kids and you will start craving sugar and you might find them snacking more on other sugar filled treats. Just thought I’d share that with you, plus there are a lot of studies out on artificial sweeteners and child development. You might want to google that and find more facts as I am not a doctor…LOL…Respiratory Therapist, but not a doctor.

  6. Rose Jones // March 31, 2016 at 6:06 pm // Reply

    Hello. I am diabetic and love sweet tea. Just read your recipe for diabetic sweet tea. What brand of tea bags should I get to make this sweet tea? Please get back to me. Thanks.

  7. Rose,

    You can use any tea bags you would normally use. I usually use Lipton Cold Brew

  8. You put 4 cups of Stevia? What kind? There seems to be different kinds nowadays. My son is 11 and lives a certain kind of tea that has aspartame. I cringe every time he drinks it. Every time I’ve made tea with Stevia or spends, he says it’s gross. Wanting to try yours.

  9. Should have proofed before I posted. Likes, not lives a certain kind of tea. Splenda not spends.

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