Say goodbye to processed soft drinks
It's time to say goodbye to artificial, sugary store-bought sodas and hello to a healthier and more flavorful option: tea soda. This fusion brings together the soothing qualities of tea and fizzy soda for a customizable drink perfect to help quench your thirst.
While soda can be enjoyed in moderation, excessive consumption has been associated with health concerns due to the high sugar content. As a result, healthier alternatives like tea soda are a great way to satisfy your beverage cravings while also making a more conscious choice about your health and well-being.
Caffeinated soda options
It's no secret that many sodas contain caffeine, which is a big reason why so many people drink it daily. You can still get your caffeine intake by using a caffeinated tea as the base for your tea soda. Plus, you'll have more control over the amount of caffeine in each glass. You can choose to use a highly caffeinated tea like Black Tea, Yerba Mate/Guayusa, or Matcha or make it lightly caffeinated by using a Green or White tea.
Decaf/caffeine free soda options
Eliminating caffeine doesn't mean you have to eliminate flavor. If you drink soda for the flavor and bubbles but are looking to reduce your caffeine intake, tea offers lots of caffeine-free and decaffeinated options. From decaf teas of your favorite classic breakfast blends to fruity and/or herbal caffeine-free blends, there's a large variety of flavor options to choose from without caffeine.
Lots of flavors to choose from
Since we were trying out two methods to easily make tea soda at home, we tried out a hibiscus soda and a sencha green tea soda - both of which hit the spot in their own ways. The hibiscus soda offered a more fruity and sweet taste profile, while the green tea soda gave a more refreshing, classic vegetal green tea taste with a slight natural sweetness.
That's just the start of so many flavor options for your tea soda. We have over 120+ different teas you can choose from, not to mention you can mix and match teas to make your own flavor combinations.
Love a dark, cola like soda? Use a black tea like Vanilla Cream or Monk's Blend.
Into citrusy, clear sodas? Try a white tea like Lemon Ginger or herbal blend like Raspberry Lemon Verbena.
How about a fruity soda? Try herbal fruit tisanes like Purple Papayaberry or Blood Orange!
Two methods of tea soda
Making tea soda at home is great because you can customize it however you see fit. You can choose what flavor(s) you want, choose your own sweetener, make it caffeinated or caffeine free, and it will save you money. We'll show you two methods to make your own tea soda at home - both are easy and will result in a bubbly delight.
Method 1: Tea Concentrate
This first method is the easier of the two - and in addition it allows you to choose to make your tea soda sugar free or sweetened. We used Sencha Green Tea as the base for this method - which resulted in a slightly vegetal, refreshing lighter alternative to traditional sugary sodas.
STEP 1
Add 1 tsp of loose-leaf tea to your infuser basket or tea bag and place into a 8oz glass.
STEP 2
Pour hot water over your infuser or tea bag until your glass is halfway filled, following the teas package directions for water temperature and steeping time.
STEP 3
Let steep according to the tea package directions (typically 3-5 minutes).
STEP 4
Remove infuser/tea bag and let sit until tea reaches room temperature. If adding sweetener, add it after you remove your infuser/tea bag to let it dissolve while the tea is still hot.
STEP 5
Fill your glass with ice cubes and top off with cold soda water.
STEP 6
Sip and enjoy!
Method 2: Tea Simple Syrup
This second method is truer to a classic glass of soda, made by creating a tea infused simple syrup. This method, while it's not necessarily healthy for you, can be used for lots of other purposes like adding to cocktails/mocktails, drizzling on top of pancakes or waffles, and more. Plus, it still enables you to choose how much syrup you add to each glass, allowing you to control how sweet the final result will be plus avoiding other additives found on store brought sodas. We used Hibiscus as the base for this method - which resulted in a slightly tart, bright and sweet soda that reminded us more of a traditional soda.
STEP 1
Add 1 tsp of loose-leaf tea to your infuser basket or tea bag and place into a 8oz glass.
STEP 2
Pour hot water over your infuser or tea bag, following the teas package directions for water temperature and steeping time.
STEP 3
Let steep according to the tea package directions (typically 3-5 minutes), then remove infuser/tea bag.
STEP 4
Pour your cup of hot tea into a bowl and add 1 cup of white sugar. Stir until sugar is fully dissolved.
STEP 5
Let simple syrup mixture sit until it reaches room temperature, then cover and place into the refrigerator until ready to use. This syrup will stay good for up to 2 weeks.
STEP 6
Add 2oz of your simple syrup mixture into an 8oz glass.
STEP 7
Pour ice cubes into your glass and fill the rest of the way with soda water.
STEP 8
Gently stir syrup into soda water. Then sip and enjoy!
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