# Herbal fruit tea as hydration drink?



## gsoroos (Jan 4, 2012)

I'm getting too cheap to buy hydration sports drinks (or mixes) any more. I'm wondering if anyone has done this and/or what they think.

For each large water bottle, add 2 tbs sugar, about 1/8 tsp sea salt and one of these Fruit Tea Sampler | Herbal Teas | Celestial Seasonings tea bags. Does this seem to be about the same ratio as most sports drinks? The tea is mainly for flavoring as it's decaf. Though I might try a green tea or something for long rides.

In addition, on longer rides I eat a tums about once every hour for calcium, as well as actually eating some type of food/energy bar.


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## GlazedHam (Jan 14, 2004)

I did that back in the 1996-98 time frame. One of my staple summer evening rides was a three hour dirt road loop that I would do on a bike with 3 water bottle cages --I H A T E D hydration packs back then -especially in the summer in Texas. As I pedaled along, I would brew up a nice herbal tea with honey and some extra sugar. On weekends, I would use green tea. The crazy thing is that it was always only that ride and no others.

If it gets you drinking water and taking in carbs, then I say do it.


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## turquoise (Jul 25, 2011)

Not sure about the herbal tea but if cost is the concern, gatorade in bulk powder is really quite cheap. Walmart/Target has it for about $4 a canister. Lasts quite a while for me


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## gsoroos (Jan 4, 2012)

Just an update:

So what I've been doing is soaking a teabag in water in the fridge overnight. Remove the teabag in the morning before a ride, sticking it in a ziplock in the freezer as I can get 1 more use out of it before it goes in the compost bin.

2 tablespoons of sugar was too sweet. Seems the magic number is 2 teaspoons of sugar, 1/8 teaspoon of seasalt. I add this to the bottle, shake it up and I'm ready to go. 

However, seems to work for keeping hydrated with a little bit of fuel. However if I need more calories, I'll bring something I can eat.

@turquoise the price seems great. Looks like 2 servings for waterbottle, so 17 servings per canister. So very similar. My only hesitation is the artificial flavors in it and the additional additives. I know most of it is to get the 'electrolytes' in.


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## dave54 (Jul 1, 2003)

Depends upon the tea, but many can be a mild diuretic. Also regular black and green teas can interfere with vitamin B (1&2) processing and cause B to spill out with your urine. The effect is minor and in most healthy people is ignorable.

Read the ingredient list and check out to see if there are any nutrient or drug interactions. Just because something is labeled herbal and sold OTC does not mean there are no potential side effects.


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## dirt farmer (Mar 28, 2005)

What about buying coconut water in bulk? Works wonders.


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## TX_Shifter (Aug 14, 2007)

It's fresh brewed "red tea" (water, organic rooibos and pomegranate). Would I take this over electrolytes if working out? Heck NO!!! ~~ But it's good


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## monzie (Aug 5, 2009)

Also, a good trick is to add a healthy squirt of lemon juice, a tablespoon of black strap molasses, and a pinch of salt to your water bottle. shake like a maniac and drink. It works really well.


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