The Joy of Tea

[Source]

The title comes from a quote from the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh: "Peace, happiness and joy is possible during the time I drink my tea." - [Source] It is a reflection of the reverence for tea in this part of Asia, where the beverage has been drunk for thousands of years.

Tea in Literature and in Figures

Literary references to tea abound, and most of those I have found are positive. According to British scholar, novelist, and author C.S. Lewis, “You can never get a cup of tea large enough or a book long enough to suit me.” - [Source] In Notes from Underground, Russian novelist Fyodor Dostoyevsky writes that “I say let the world go to hell, but I should always have my tea.” - [Source] From Henry James, in The Portrait of a Lady comes the quote that “There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea.” - [Source]

A discussion of the figures associated with tea yields more than its share of superlatives. According to the British Broadcasting Corporation, it is "the first truly global commodity. After air and water, tea is the most widely consumed substance on the planet and the British national drink. In this country it helped define class and gender, it funded wars and propped up the economy of the Empire." - [Source]

Locally, tea has undergone a transformation from the traditional hot drink taken like coffee, to iced tea, accompanying snacks, and more recently, green tea, packaged or presented in a variety of ways. In its expanded role, it has provided a desirable, healthy alternative to beverages like soft drinks.

Sugar-free Tea Drinks

Unlike many sweet foods and drinks, tea has been a relative sugar-free latecomer. In comparison, sugar-free soft drinks date back to the 1960s, and "light" or "sugar-free" versions of this beverage are now found everywhere, and marketed way beyond the original market of diabetics or dieters. In fast food restaurants, sugar-free colas have become part of the beverage mix. In contrast, for tea, examples even now remain "few and far-between".

In any case, here they are:

Among fast food outlets, I can name only two offering sugar-free or "light" versions of iced tea. American-based Wendy's Hamburgers, one of these, has a "light" version of its iced tea, to accompany the food. For its part, Bon Chon Chicken, which specializes in Korean-inspired fast food (and not just chicken), has its "premium iced tea lite," a counterpart of its "premium iced tea". They stand in sharp contrast to a multitude of fast food restaurants, which offer only sugared iced tea, although, to their credit, their soft drinks include light or sugar-free versions.

C2, a leader in the "bottled tea" market, which has made major inroads in a market long dominated by soft drinks (it "became URC’s largest selling brand in just over a year from launch," notes Universal Robina Corporation’s VP-Marketing Edwin Totanes, the key person responsible for its conceptualization and launching. - [Source]

Happily, C2 has a sugar-free product, which is apple flavored. C2 Sugar-free is available in 355ml and 1500ml pack-sizes. - [Source]

There is a powdered iced tea mix, one intended for dieters (a "weight control iced tea") which is sugar-free - CarbTrim. It comes in two flavors, apple and lemon. It is sold in boxes containing ten one-serving packs.

Another product, also directed towards dieters, is not strictly tea (Camellia sinensis), but contains extracts of a South American tree, Ilex paraguariensis, whose dried leaves are steeped to produce a tealike drink. This is MySlim, a "yerba mate drink" which has a strawberry flavor.

It comes in 200-milliliter red plastic bottles.

Sugar-free Tea Websites

• BonChon Chicken Philippines
• CarbTrim
• C2
• MySLim
• Wendy's Hamburger Philippines