With or without sugar: how and when is it appropriate to sweeten tea
Gourmets who love tea and understand the intricacies of its use have long been arguing among themselves - is it possible to add sugar or another sweetener to the finished infusion or is it better to enjoy the taste of the drink without any "clouding"?
There is no clear answer to this question, because circumstances vary. Let's take a closer look at when it is appropriate to make tea sweet and when it is not.
It should be noted right away that sweet tea should not be drunk by those who are on a diet and limit themselves in sweets.
Adding sugar to tea increases the caloric content of the latter by almost ten times, but these calories do not have any nutritional value. In addition, sweets are harmful to teeth and disrupt the acid-base balance in the mouth. Therefore, in order to maintain weight and dental health, it is better to give up the habit of adding sugar to a cup of aromatic tea.
The second point is that an extraneous additive in the form of sugar can change the original taste of some types of tea beyond recognition, turning it into just sweet water.
Tea tasters claim that Longjing from China, Indian Darjeeling and Japanese Gyokuro tea should definitely be drunk without any kind of sweeteners, so that all the flavor nuances of these teas are fully revealed.
And point number three - when drinking sweet tea in the evenings, remember that although such a drink is tasty, the body receives significantly less benefit from it.
There is research suggesting that sugar interferes with the absorption of some antioxidants in tea and reduces their health benefits.
Do we really have to forget about sugar in tea forever? No, sometimes adding it will be very appropriate. For example, cheap low-quality tea will taste much better if you add a spoonful or two of "sweet poison" to it, and the unpleasant bitter or musty notes in the taste will be interrupted by sweetness.
Sweet additives also go quite well with such a tea variety as shu puer. Its original taste with earthy notes may not be to everyone's taste, but adding a small amount of sugar or condensed milk to a cup of puer will allow you to drink the tea and enjoy its taste.
It has already been said that sugar prevents antioxidants from tea from being absorbed. However, there is another opinion: when added not to black but to green tea, sugar, along with citric acid, helps better absorption of catechins - useful compounds from the group of polyphenols, which are also antioxidants. Therefore, green tea can be sweetened, but in moderation.
Finally, you can drink a cup of sweet tea when it's still a long way to lunch or dinner, but you want to eat right now. The sweet taste of the drink will dull your hunger and help you hold out until the main meal. And the harmful effects of sweets on your teeth can be easily reduced by simply rinsing your mouth with clean water after drinking tea.
If you want to drink sweet tea, but not with sugar, but with healthier additives, honey, stevia, maple syrup, the previously mentioned condensed milk and just sweet fruits can come to the rescue. The latter can be eaten with tea or put directly into the cup. Then the infusion will be additionally enriched with apple, cherry or peach shades and will become even more interesting to taste.
