Okay, so I kept seeing these “loaded teas” popping up everywhere online and people talking about them. Looked kinda fancy, kinda energizing. I figured, why not try making them myself at home? Seemed like it could be cheaper and maybe even fun to experiment with.
Getting Started
First thing was figuring out what actually goes in these things. It looked like a mix of tea, some kind of flavor stuff, maybe something for energy, and often aloe. So, I went ahead and gathered the basics.
- Got some plain instant green tea powder. Seemed like a common base.
- Found a few different sugar-free drink mix powders – like a berry flavor and a citrus punch one. The kind you usually mix with water.
- Picked up some plain aloe concentrate liquid. The kind meant for drinks, not the sunburn stuff!
- Also grabbed one of those effervescent energy tablet things, thought I’d try that too. You know, the ones that fizz up in water.
Didn’t go crazy, just got enough to try a few different combinations.
My First Try – Mixing it Up
Alright, time to actually make one. I grabbed a big tumbler cup, probably around 32 ounces.
Step 1: I took about half a teaspoon of the green tea powder and put it in a small glass. Added just a little bit of warm water, maybe two ounces, and stirred it really well until the powder dissolved. Didn’t want clumps.
Step 2: To that tea mixture, I added one packet of the berry flavor drink mix powder. Stirred that in too.
Step 3: Then I added about a tablespoon of the aloe concentrate. Gave it another stir.
Step 4: Okay, here’s the important part I saw people mentioning – ice. I filled my big tumbler cup all the way to the top with ice cubes. Packed it in there.
Step 5: I carefully poured my tea and flavor mixture over the ice.
Step 6: Then I just topped the whole thing off with cold water, leaving a little space at the top so it wouldn’t spill when I stirred it.
Step 7: Gave it a final gentle stir with a long spoon or straw.
How’d it Taste?
Honestly? Pretty good! It tasted a lot like the berry drink mix, but the tea gave it a little something extra. It was refreshing with all that ice. The first one was maybe a tiny bit strong on the berry flavor, but not bad at all. I didn’t use the energy tablet in this first one, wanted to get the base flavor right.
Playing Around with Flavors
Over the next few days, I tried some other versions.
- Mixed the citrus punch flavor with the green tea and aloe. That was nice too, very bright tasting.
- Tried adding one of those fizzy energy tablets (dissolved in a bit of water first) along with the tea and flavor. It definitely added a bit of a kick, felt a little more like the “loaded” part people talk about.
- Even tried mixing half a packet of berry and half of citrus. Wasn’t bad, kind of a fruit punch vibe.
It’s really easy to adjust things. Too sweet? Add more water or use less flavor powder next time. Not strong enough? Use a bit more tea or flavor.
What I Learned
Making these at home is totally doable. Key things I figured out:
Dissolve properly: Make sure those powders dissolve in that initial bit of warm water. Nobody wants grainy tea.
Ice is crucial: Don’t skimp on the ice. It keeps it super cold and dilutes it perfectly as it melts.
Simple is fine: You don’t need a million fancy ingredients. Tea, a flavor mix you like, and maybe some aloe is a great starting point.
It was a fun little project. Definitely saves money compared to buying them already made, and you control exactly what goes into it. Easy way to make a big, flavored drink to sip on.
