How to Make Tea Sweet Without Sugar

Tea is offered in so many flavor profiles, from light and grassy, to dark and earthy, to warm and rich with spices. What helps bring out these flavors even more when enjoying a cuppa? A sweetener of some kind.

One of the main reasons why Plum Deluxe teas do not have sugar or sweeteners in them is so you can control your sweetness level exactly.  That said, many of our teas have a sweet profile to them (hello, sweet tasting dessert teas!) and don't need any sweetener at all.  But sometimes you need something extra.

While white sugar and sugar cubes may be a traditional way to sweeten hot and iced tea, there are many other options, some that even provide healthy benefits. Let’s take a look at how to make tea sweet without sugar.

Sweetening Tea with Honey & Agave

The first two sweeteners that come to mind are the drizzly goodness of honey and agave. Agave comes in a liquid consistency, while honey may come in liquid form, granulated honey "dust," or a solid raw form. When possible, I recommend choosing organic, raw honey because the good stuff has been preserved by not being heated and processed.

Honey is a standard go-to for sweetening my tea. Honey is a wonderful choice because it provides so many health boosting benefits for the immune system and can even promote better sleep. Honey can be infused with flowers or herbs, such as ginger, lavender, rosemary and many others. Herbs can be finely ground and then mixed with honey to create an electuary - a sweet herbal paste - which is a delightful way to make tea sweet without sugar and provide an even better boost of support from medicinal herbs.    The Plum Deluxe honey sticks are a perfect portion and a flavor profile that complements, not competes, with the tea flavors. 

Agave syrup is known to be about 30% sweeter than white sugar. It’s the processed sap of the blue agave plant, and a vegan product. This wonderful plant also contains beneficial compounds such as antioxidants and B-vitamins. Who knew sweetening tea without sugar could be so supportive to our overall health?

A tea that would be delightfully enhanced with honey or agave syrup is the Banana Bread Herbal Dessert Tea . This tea features chestnut and rooibos and is the perfect vessel for the sweetness of banana and chocolate which shine through like a beloved dessert. This dessert tea is a great companion to your creative endeavors in the kitchen, as well as curling up with a book in a nook with a blanket on a rainy day. 

Another dessert tea that would pair well with honey or agave is the Snickerdoodle Herbal Dessert Tea. Taking the classic vanilla sugar cookie tea and adding a caramel note with a pinch of blackberry leaf, the result is a tea that smells and tastes like a snickerdoodle cookie, fresh out of the oven. It's the perfect hot bevvy to share with friends while catching up on life, or enjoy by oneself while stargazing in the evening after a delicious dinner. 

How to Sweeten Tea with Sweet Spices

Have you ever used spices to make your tea sweet without sugar? There are SO many to choose from and it is an exploration that is both fun and engaging to the senses.

Most likely the first one you may think of is vanilla. Vanilla can be found in liquid extract and also in natural pods, out of which you can scrape the rich, flavorful seeds. Vanilla offers a luxurious scent and flavor, and is abundant in teas, desserts and many culinary delights. Don’t dismiss it because it is widely accessible. This is a delightful way to sweeten your tea without sugar. A drop of extract or a few vanilla beans scraped from a pod will deliver an illusion of sweetness without needing any additional sweetener.

And how about another fan favorite - cinnamon? This warming spice is an excellent option to sweeten your tea without sugar that also provides healthy benefits such as cardiovascular support. Infused into hot tea, it delivers a warm sweetness that works wonders on the taste buds.

The next option may sound a bit out of left field but let’s consider licorice root to sweeten tea without sugar. Licorice root has been used in many cultures for thousands of years to sweeten tea and provide medicinal benefits. Licorice root can be found in powder and whole-root form in health food stores. This spice provides a light sweetness to hot teas (not the powerful flavor of black licorice candy - so don’t panic!) Licorice root is known for its anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antiviral properties.

Spices are lovely to combine with black teas and the Caramel Almond Black Tea is no exception. A festival in a cup, fresh apple and cinnamon layer on top of caramelized vanilla and fragrant almond. Think of it as a light dessert with a particularly balanced flavor. If you've ever been walking at a market or festival and caught a whiff of that sweet aroma of roasted nuts, you can imagine what's in store for you with this blend.

How to Sweeten Tea with Naturally Sweet & Sugar Free Options

For natural sweetness, we look to our whole fruit friends to deliver some sweetness to our tea beverages. Handcrafted tea drinks (and mocktails) are becoming more and more popular and muddled fruits create visual excitement for the beverages as well as a carnival of flavor for the taste palette.

No fancy tools necessary to muddle fresh fruit, just choose a fruit that compliments your tea of choice and that is sweet and soft, such as blueberries, blackberries or strawberries, and smoosh them at the bottom of your glass or mug before adding tea. The sweet flavor from their natural sugars give your beverage a boost. While it might make the most sense for iced teas, I recommend experimenting with muddled fruit for hot tea, too. 

Stevia is a lovely option that offers a zero calorie way to sweeten your tea. Stevia is a flowering plant in the Aster family native to Paraguay. The leaves are naturally sweet and have been used to sweeten yerba mate and other teas by the Guarani people for over 1500 years. Stevia is also known for its health benefits in folk medicine. 

Stevia can be found in powder and liquid form. I enjoy using the organic liquid form because I can dial in the perfect amount of sweetness to my preference, drop by drop. Just keep an eye out for added ingredients when choosing a stevia product. Preferably it will be organic and stevia is the first ingredient. Some stevia products use sugar alcohols as a first ingredient which can cause digestive upset. 

If you are interested in utilizing stevia to make tea sweet without sugar, check out this great pairing of stevia with the Chocolate Mint Oolong Tea. This bright and perky oolong brings together the classic pairing of chocolate and mint in a refreshing and balanced blend. Crisp and energetic, this minty chocolate brew elevates a game night with friends, or watching your favorite comedy. Just like the cookie version, you’ll soon find this to be one of your favorites. 

And so - we have discovered and rediscovered lots about how to sweeten tea without sugar! While many teas need no additions to be totally enjoyable, a slight dash of added sweetness can be a lovely companion to brighten the flavor profile of your tea when desired.