Substituting honey for sugar

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Apr 16th, '11, 11:57
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Substituting honey for sugar

by ACardAttack » Apr 16th, '11, 11:57

Not sure if this is the best subforum, but this really isnt specific to any type of tea. I did a search but didnt see anything

Anyone have any advice how much honey to use compared to sugar? Ive seen some conversions online that vary and are mostly for cooking.

For example, say I put a cup of sugar when I make a gallon of tea, any suggestions on how much honey to put in instead? Anyone done any experiments on this?

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Apr 16th, '11, 12:15
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Re: Substituting honey for sugar

by betta » Apr 16th, '11, 12:15

Honey produced from different region has different composition. Moreover its aroma will affect natural aroma and taste of tea.

A rough estimation is given in wikipedia.

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Apr 16th, '11, 12:21
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Re: Substituting honey for sugar

by Chip » Apr 16th, '11, 12:21

Moved this topic to Other Tea where it should be more at home. I have left a "shadow" under teaware for the time being.

... as little to none as possible. Personal preference. Seriously, just experiment and find your zone. But try less, you might find you can make do with less as your teas improve in quality.

I sometimes do use a touch of honey more as a natural preservative for larger amounts of iced tea made with sencha.

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Apr 18th, '11, 01:14
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Re: Substituting honey for sugar

by entropyembrace » Apr 18th, '11, 01:14

I use 1-2 teaspoons of wildflower honey in black tea, preferably a 2nd flush darjeeling if I have any when I have a sore throat....2nd flush darjeelings tend to go well with most honey. But I´m mostly just trying to make a comforting, good tasting sore throat medicine with that...normally I drink my teas without anything added.

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Apr 18th, '11, 13:16
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Re: Substituting honey for sugar

by chamomileteaguy » Apr 18th, '11, 13:16

I take honey over sugar any day. all sugar does is really add the sweet elements, but honey bring flavor along with sweetness. Also, i think honey has a stronger sweetness, so you need to use less.

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Apr 18th, '11, 15:55
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Re: Substituting honey for sugar

by iannon » Apr 18th, '11, 15:55

I use a lot of honey over sugar in my mint iced tea's I make in the summer. And my Wife uses honey in her herbals a lot. never sugar though

Apr 18th, '11, 18:37
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Re: Substituting honey for sugar

by beecrofter » Apr 18th, '11, 18:37

Because one of the sugars in honey is fructose it has a greater sweetening effect. The bee's trick of splitting a complex sugar into simple sugars to double the concentration is amazing.

Apr 30th, '11, 22:48
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Re: Substituting honey for sugar

by fewture » Apr 30th, '11, 22:48

Yeah it really depends on the honey.

Some strong honeys will bring an overpowering flavour (in addition to sweetness) that makes it become 'honey tea' as opposed to sweet tea.
Other honey will be more mild.

I usually put an equal amount of honey to sugar, but sometimes I put more in, if I am going for an Indian style sweet chai.

On another note, stay away from commercial 'supermarket' style honey. They are over heated, have lost most of their nutrients, have lousy flavour and sometimes have had other sweeteners added. Also some of the honey is from questionable sources with concerning bee keeping practices.

Another thing to keep in mind is the temperature of the honey. Both Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese medicine recognise that heated honey can be toxic, and recommend if using honey, it should be raw honey, and you should wait for your tea to cool down a bit before adding it.

I really only add honey to black teas with milk, herbal teas, and sometimes when I am feeling crazy, a milky sweet puerh tea I sometimes make.

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