Giving up sugar in tea

[Rune]

I agree with changing the type of tea, here's a reasonable selection

https://www.theteamakers.co.uk/types-of-tea.html

https://www.whittard.co.uk/tea/discover_tea

Rune

[Dod1010]

I only drink tea twice a day, once first thing in the morning and the second time mid/late afternoon. In between I drink 3/4 cups of coffee. I cannot have sugar in coffee and cannot have tea without. I only have about 3/4 of a spoonful but although black Chinese tea is fine without sugar, I drink Twinings English Breakfast tea and I prefer a little sugar in it so to the OP, I do not think a small amount of sugar will do you any harm and I expect there are other ways you can reduce your calorie intake.

[Howard]

Dear CK

I think you have missed the obvious. Throw away those horrible tea bags and change to Yorkshire tea.

You might have to move East, but would that be a problem?

[Stompa]

I probably get through around 10 mugs of tea a day. I gave up having sugar in it many years ago, and it didn't seem to be a problem, I was fine with it from day one. Some years ago I also switched from caffeinated to decaf, and was unable to tell the difference.

Stompa

[Gaggsy]

CK - maybe it's not the length of time but the number of cups taken without sugar before you get used to it?

I gave up sugar in my hot drink overnight several years ago. I tend to drink only coffee rather than tea but I have to admit I drink a lot of it, especially when I'm at work - possibly 7 or 8 mugs on a bad day. It took me about 2 or 3 weeks to get used to it.

Now on this basis, if you only drink 2 or 3 cups of tea a day, and if my theory is correct, it could take you 3 or 4 times as long as me to give up.

Perservere. It's worth it!

[shinygoldcar]

Hmm. thanks for all the replies, but it's very much a mixed message.

I'll give it another 3 weeks, but if I still don't like it I'm giving up. I'm not at all a morning person, and my first cuppa of the day is a critical incentive in dragging me out of bed. If I no longer look forward to it I can see that I'll just turn over and have a nice snooze instead.

In any case, particularly as the years tick by, I've concluded that life's too short to do things you don't want to when you don't have to!

Hi CK,
I would really strongly suggest you try different brands of tea, and perhaps get a water filter jug if you are in a hard-water area. These things really do make a difference to the taste of the tea! Don't just give up because your current tea is bitter!

I haven't gone as far as others on this thread, I still buy teabags from the supermarket, but I have worked out there are some brands I'm not that keen on (Yorkshire) and some brands I like (PG, Morrisons fairtrade own-brand, Clipper).

I also use a Brita water filter (living in a medium water-hardness area) and try to brew my tea for 3 minutes or longer. However, brewing a bitter tea for longer will just make it more bitter, so that's not something I would suggest with your current tea.

[jackdaww]

up to about 40 years ago i took tea with three teaspoons of sugar .

i was able to stop by just making the tea very weak , still with milk ( which is sweet) .

it worked and i soon got the tea strength up again .

[JustLetOneOff]

So many posts and nobody has mentioned sweetex. I gave up sugar in my tea years ago. I only had one teaspoon per cup but I was prone to getting mouth ulcers and I loved tea. It took a while to adapt to the taste of sweetex but I love it now. It maybe an alternative for you to try although you may need to give it a couple of weeks.

[stevensfo]

So many posts and nobody has mentioned sweetex.

Wow, that takes me back decades. But wasn't it just another brand of saccharin? I thought saccharin was banned years ago. These days it's either aspartame or Stevia.


Steve

[swill453]

But wasn't it just another brand of saccharin? I thought saccharin was banned years ago. These days it's either aspartame or Stevia.

Yes, Sweetex is saccharin. No, saccharin isn't banned.

Scott.

[AleisterCrowley]

I like tea with milk and sugar (usually two, as I drink from v. large mugs) Decided it wasn't worth depriving myself for the sake of relatively few calories. I did switch from full fat to semi skimmed milk 20+ years ago, and now find tea with FF just too creamy/yucky. Skimmed milk is too watery...

[redsturgeon]

I like tea with milk and sugar (usually two, as I drink from v. large mugs) Decided it wasn't worth depriving myself for the sake of relatively few calories. I did switch from full fat to semi skimmed milk 20+ years ago, and now find tea with FF just too creamy/yucky. Skimmed milk is too watery...

Full fat milk is now considered better for you than semi skimmed!

John

[Phileasrob]

I gave up sugar in tea/coffee about 4 years ago. The taste has never been the same for me but when I put sugar back in after a few months, I found I didn't like it.

[UncleIan]

So many posts and nobody has mentioned sweetex.

So many posts and no one has said "Sugar in your tea CK? Aren't you sweet enough already?"

[bungeejumper]

Tea? Shudder, horrible stuff, mainly fit for polite teatimes with cake, and generally unsuited to mugs unless it's a strong Yorkshire brew, in which case it works for gardening and outdoor purposes.

Half a pint of espresso from my trusty Krups machine is what it takes to get me conscious in the morning. After that it's water or nothing. No sugar with anything, ever.

I appreciate that my preferences might not be universally shared.

BJ

[swill453]

Half a pint of espresso from my trusty Krups machine is what it takes to get me conscious in the morning.

That's about 12 shots. Expensive!

Scott.

[bungeejumper]

Half a pint of espresso from my trusty Krups machine is what it takes to get me conscious in the morning.

That's about 12 shots. Expensive!

Okay, a third of it is the frothed milk, I suppose. But hey, you haven't seen me in the mornings. And for that, be grateful.

BJ

[Rhyd6]

Never had the luxury of sugar in tea probably because of rationing. Mum always said she kept the sugar ration to make puddings, made with home grown fruit palatable. OH used to take sugar but he soon realised if he wanted sugar he had to remember to buy sugar, he no longer takes sugar.

I remember a calypso song from the 50s/60s with the line "If its something you like doing you can be certain that its illegal, its immoral or it makes you fat" = so, so true!

R6

[stooz]

I gave up last year and it's bad tea bags you notice.

I've now gone earl grey and no milk. Can't stand tea with milk or sugar now.

[nimnarb]

"In any case, particularly as the years tick by, I've concluded that life's too short to do things you don't want to when you don't have to!"

CK, unless you health dictates otherwise, I say your above comment is on the money. If you look forward to sugar in your tea then have sugar in your tea. However, Earl Grey with or without milk is actually a good substitute for your cravings. But when the cravings drive you mad and its something you really enjoy........go back to your statement above. Fwiw, I used to have 3/4(overflowing) teaspoons in tea and a lot more in coffee..........cut the coffee out somewhat as I prefer tea anyway and my wife cut me down to one small dollop of sugar. Said I was too hyper, I agreed due to hopefuly losing weight.... At first it was horrible, even worse without milk(off with her head) but I also have got used to it............no sugar, tolerable now but not really acceptable, particularly first thing in the morning. Let us know how you get on in a few weeks..............

still hyper and haven't lost weight..............