Refreshing Iced Rooibose Tea Recipe (Caffeine-Free Sugar-Free)

Stay hydrated! This healthy iced tea is a great way to do that.

Now that the weather is starting to warm up, I wanted to share with you a delicious recipe for a very refreshing, healthful iced tea.

If you have not heard of rooibose tea before, it is a very tasty herbal tea that is very high in healthful antioxidants and is naturally caffeine-free. I love using it as a base for my Herbal Chai and Thai Tea beverages. I also love it alone, hot or cold. Look for rooibose at your local health food store, or online.

I have included different sweetening options for this iced tea. I usually cut the amount of granular sweetener called for by at least half and enhance the sweetness with Stevia Glycerite, to taste. It makes the cost of the sweetener alternatives less expensive to use, and it tastes just as good. Stevia only tastes weird or bitter if you use too much. Most people use too much. In a large mug of hot herbal tea, I only use about 4 drops of stevia, just so you get an idea of how much to use. Sour things may need more sweetener, obviously.


Caffeine-Free Rooibos Iced Tea recipe:

5 cups purified water
3 Rooibose tea bags (remove any paper tags)
4 to 5 T. Raw organic sugar, or 5 T. xylitol, or 6 T. erythritol or Lakanto zero-cal sweetener
2 lemons
1 lime


Method:

Bring 4 cups water to a boil, remove from heat and add tea bags. cover and steep several hours, or preferably overnight. The stronger the tea, the better. Store in the fridge until needed.

Dissolve the sweetener in 1 additional cup of hot water and stir until dissolved.

Juice the lemons and lime.

Remove and squeeze dry the rooibose tea bags. Add the 1 cup sweetened water and citrus juice to the rooibose tea. Mix and serve over crushed ice.


Notes: 

If you choose, reduce the above sweetener by half and add a few drops of stevia glycerite, to taste.

You may also try steeping the rooibose teabags with cinnamon chips too.


To make 2 liters:

Place 4 Rooibose tea bags inside a 2 liter jug. Pour boiling water to fill the jug and let steep 5 to 10 minutes. Add about 5 to 6 T raw organic sugar or other sweetener of choice, to taste. stir to dissolve. Remove the teabags when the tea is strong enough for your liking, or leave teabags in and chill for a few hours in the fridge. Do not dilute with ice at this time.

You may like adding chopped fruit to your glass of ice (chopped apple, a lemon slice, orange, pineapple...).


Enjoy!

Leila