Loaded teas are the tall, brightly coloured iced drinks that keep turning up on social media, often layered from gold to red like a sunrise. They look like a cocktail, but most are a simple mix of instant tea, an energy drink style booster, flavouring, cold water and plenty of ice. They are easy to make at home, and it pays to understand what is in the glass, starting with the caffeine.
What goes into a loaded tea
Recipes vary, but almost every loaded tea is built from the same four parts:
- A tea base: usually an instant black or green tea powder, which gives the drink its colour and the first dose of caffeine.
- A booster: an effervescent tablet or powder of the energy drink type, typically with caffeine and B vitamins.
- Flavour: sugar-free squash, a splash of fruit juice, fresh lemon or lime, or a flavoured aloe drink.
- Water and ice: lots of ice, in a tall glass or a large tumbler with a straw.
There is no blender involved and no special equipment. A teaspoon, a tall glass and a full ice tray are enough.
How to make a basic loaded tea
- Dissolve the tea powder in a small splash of warm, not boiling, water at the bottom of the glass.
- Add the booster and wait until it has dissolved completely.
- Fill the glass to the top with ice.
- Top up slowly with cold water, leaving a little room at the top.
- Add the flavouring last. Pour it gently down the side of the glass if you want the layered look, because denser syrups sink.
The whole thing takes four or five minutes. If you are making several, dissolve everything in a jug and pour it over glasses of ice.
Where the caffeine comes from
The colour and the flavour come from the extras, but the caffeine comes from the base and the booster, and the two add up quickly. As hlfonlinestore.com, a UK online store run by a Herbalife Independent Member, shows in its loaded tea recipe, a homemade version made with half a teaspoon of instant herbal tea and one effervescent energy tablet contains roughly 160 mg of caffeine: around 85 mg from the tea and around 75 mg from the tablet.
To put that in perspective, typical values are around 90 mg for a 200 ml cup of filter coffee, 50 mg for a cup of black tea and 80 mg for a 250 ml can of energy drink. One loaded tea, in other words, carries about as much caffeine as two cans of energy drink.
How much caffeine is too much?
The European Food Safety Authority, in its overview of caffeine safety, concludes that single doses of up to 200 mg and daily intakes of up to 400 mg do not raise safety concerns for healthy adults. For women who are pregnant or breastfeeding, the reference is up to 200 mg a day from all sources. EFSA also notes that 100 mg taken close to bedtime may affect sleep in some adults.
In practice, one homemade loaded tea fits within those limits for most healthy adults. The risk is stacking: two cups of coffee in the morning, a loaded tea at lunch and a can of cola in the afternoon add up to around 380 mg.
There is also a labelling detail worth knowing. In the UK, drinks with more than 150 mg of caffeine per litre must carry a "high caffeine content" warning stating that they are not recommended for children or for pregnant or breastfeeding women. A 160 mg loaded tea in a 600 ml glass works out at more than 250 mg per litre. If it came in a can, it would need that warning. Made at home, nobody prints it for you.
How to make a lighter version
- Skip the booster: a tea-only version has roughly half the caffeine.
- Use less tea powder, or half a tablet, and taste as you go.
- Swap to a caffeine-free base such as rooibos or a fruit infusion, brewed strong and cooled.
- Keep it to earlier in the day if caffeine affects your sleep.
- Stick to sugar-free squash and fresh citrus for flavour. Fruit juice adds natural sugars.
The bottom line
A loaded tea is simple to make and fun to customise. Treat it like any other caffeinated drink: know roughly how much is in your glass, count it alongside your coffee and tea, and choose a lighter version when you have already had your share for the day. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding or sensitive to caffeine, check with your GP before making it a habit.