In this article, we are going to discover what Nestea is and how we can make this pleasant drink to enjoy it whenever we want. Also, by doing it ourselves, we find the added advantage that the resulting product will be healthier and cheaper than if we bought it in stores. They are all advantages no matter where you look at it.
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What is Nestea
Technically, Nestea is the name of a brand of iced tea . It was previously produced by the famous Coca-Cola company, however, now it is Nestle who is responsible for its manufacture and distribution.
Nestea has a wide variety of teas, such as dietary, powdered, concentrated, etc. Depending on the country in which you are, you can get one or another flavors in stores.
Its worldwide fame is such that in many places the name “Nestea” has been directly associated with that of iced tea , as happened in the past with the word lollipops. For this reason, in this writing we use Nestea or iced/cold tea interchangeably.
Nestea Ingredients
The iced tea that we buy in stores (especially the Nestea brand) has a large amount of sugars and additives that are not beneficial for our health . That is why, from now on, we encourage you to do without buying these products whenever you can and look for your own alternatives.
To give you an idea of the compounds that a Normal Nestea has, we put them below, but first, keep in mind that it changes depending on the type of Nestea and the country in which it is manufactured.
- Water : Like any drink, water always makes up more than 90% of the content. Something quite striking if we compare the price of water with that of iced tea.
- Acidulant : It is usually used to change the level of acidity of the product and as a preservative. In the case of Nestea, malic acid is usually used.
- Tea Extract : This is the king compound of iced tea, yet it only appears at 0.08%. That is, the amount of extract in the drink is ridiculously small.
- Acidity corrector: Acidity correctors, such as the one known as E-331, are usually used to modify the flavor, eliminate the presence of bacteria in the drink (or food) and lower the pH. In the case of Nestea, sodium citrate is usually used.
- Sweeteners : Substitutes for sugar but with the same function, they are famous for the possible harmful effects they have on health in the medium and long term. Of course, there are many types of sweeteners and not all of them are harmful, but most have not been rigorously studied scientifically, so their effects are unknown.
The Nestea brand of iced teas typically use the sweeteners sucralose and acesulfame-K .
Ingredients of the homemade iced tea
The commented ones are the ingredients that the iced tea of the Nestea brand has. Now let’s see the ingredients that usually appear in a homemade iced tea:
- Water : The basic element for life and for our tea. It is recommended to use bottled water with low mineralization so that it influences as little as possible the flavor of the herbs that we put in our iced tea.
- Various herbs : Depending on the type of iced tea we want to make, we will choose the herb or herbs (since we can combine them) that we like the most.
- Sugar or honey : Some herbs may taste too bitter for many people. If desired, sugar or honey can be added to sweeten it. There are other natural sweeteners, however, as far as possible, we recommend that the doses be reduced over time to get our palate used to the natural flavor of tea.
- Lemon : Many people like to add a touch of lemon to their teas. If you have not tried it, you should know that it is a very good option thanks to the many benefits that lemon has.
That said, you choose which one to drink: commercial Nestea or iced tea.
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Steps to make a homemade Nestea
We are going to choose to make a homemade version of Lemon Nestea , since it is one of the most demanded by regular consumers of the Nestea brand thanks to its pleasant taste, perfect for long afternoons of study or even to accompany during the meal.
The steps that we expose next are the necessary ones to make a liter of Nestea de Limon.
Step 1
Gather the ingredients . As we mentioned, you will need 3 or 4 tablespoons of sugar or honey, 3 or 4 bags of black tea, half a lemon and 1 liter of water.
We recommend starting with 3 bags of black tea(since it is quite an intense tea). If the end result is too soft for our liking, we can increase to a fourth bag next time.
Also prepare the container in which to make the mixture, which should obviously be more than a liter in capacity.
Step 2
Now we are going to prepare the lemon . First, wash the whole lemon well and cut it in half. We keep one of the halves in the fridge and keep the other half that will be the one we will use for tea.
Once we have our half, we divide it into 4 equal parts.
Step 3
We pour the sugar (or honey) into the container , as well as the 4 pieces of lemon and the 3 or 4 tea bags.
Step 4
We boil a liter of water in a separate container and pour it all into the container where we have the ingredients, letting it rest between 6 and 8 minutes until the temperature of the water becomes lukewarm.
Drain the tea bags and lemons and stir everything to mix.
Step 5
Finally, we put the jug in the fridge until it cools down and that’s it .
If you are in a hurry or want to try it now, you can use ice to cool the tea. In any case, we prefer to wait, since ice can deteriorate the flavor of the tea and dilute its concentration.
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