Despite having tons of health benefits, keto tea fits right on in with my breakfast and lunch schedule. I do intermittent fasting, and ketoproof tea gives me plenty of energy along with satiation through the morning fasting hours. I decided to take on an iced approach since I really like a cold drink in the morning and it helps me get it down much quicker in my morning eating window.
Since I don’t do a full day fasting, drinking ketoproof tea in the morning really ramps up my metabolism with the fats, amino acids, and caffeine. Keep in mind that even if you don’t fast, this is still a wonderfully healthy and filling breakfast.
I started using Numi Organic Tea and I love it. I got myself a sampler set on amazon, and it’s only $23. You get 9 flavors, with 5 teabags of each flavor.
It’s a great way to test for what you like, and what you don’t and then order them much cheaper in the single packets. In fact, they’re around 27 cents a teabag if you start ordering individual flavors.
So far I’ve actually enjoyed all of them, but I have a preference toward the Golden Chai and Gunsmoke Green. I figured since this is ketoproof tea, gunpowder green was a very fitting name for the tea of choice! Heck, we should start calling it Gunsmoked Ice Tea – has a nice ring to it, don’t you think?
Main Components for Keto Green Tea
Coconut Oil or MCT Oil – Coconut oil technically is MCT (Medium Chain Triglyceride) oil, well about 65-80% MCT anyway. MCT oil is just more concentrated than coconut oil, but both have been shown to aid in fat loss. I use coconut oil because, to me, it gives it a nice taste and it’s a heck of a lot cheaper!
Grass Fed Butter – Cows that have a diet of fresh grass yields butter that has improved consistency and nutritional properties. The nutritional quality also increases, it’s loaded with Vitamin K2, Omega 3 Fatty Acids, and an increased amount of saturated fats.
Green Tea – With a myriad of health benefits that are covered below, green tea not only gives you energy from caffeine and amino acids, but also can improve your overall health.
So, Why Green Tea on Keto?
Polyphenols – These function as antioxidants in your body, reducing the formation of free radicals in the body and helps to protect your cells from damage. The most powerful antioxidant in green tea is Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), which has shown to be effective against fatigue and is used medicinally for HIV and Cancer patients.
Improved Brain Function – not only does green tea contain caffeine, it also contains L-theanine, which is an amino acid. L-theanine increases your GABA activity, which improve anxiety, dopamine, and alpha waves. This leads to a much more stable energy than coffee.
Increased Metabolic Rate – Green tea has been shown to improve your metabolic rate. Independent studies were done on 10 males, where their BMR increased by 4% for the entire day. That’s a lot just for having a cup of green tea! In combination with the caffeine, this can lead up to 15% increased fat oxidization and 10% physical performance increase.
A Quick How-To On Brewing Tea
Water Temperature – You want your water temperature to be between 160°F and 170°F. Why? Amino acids dissolve at 140°F, leaving you with a good punch of nutrition in your tea. The tannins in the tea start to dissolve at 175°F which leave an unforgettable bitter taste in your tea. With green tea, brewing at the correct temperatures brings out the sweet and complex flavors, without being overpowered by bitter notes.
Length of Steep Time – Steep times are very dependent on the tea that you have, but are crucial in how the tea turns out. You want to steep your tea at lengths of 2-4 minutes, allowing the flavors to develop while not allowing too much bitter flavor to come through. Your steep times should be in measure with your water temperature. Lower temperatures require longer steep times, and higher temperatures require shorter steep times.
Recommendations – When you boil your kettle, walk away for 5-10 minutes. This allows the boiling water to cool down enough for you to properly steep your teas in. This stops the aromatics from being destroyed or overpowered. But, don’t let the water cool too much. If the water is too cool, the flavor cannot be extracted, and the nutrients will also remain in the leaves.
I know that some of this may sound pretty annoying – I mean it’s just a cup of tea, right? In the end, you want the most flavorful and nutritious cup of tea, don’t you? You’ll get the hang of it!
Yields 1 servings of Iced Ketoproof Green Tea
The Preparation
excessive amount of fluoride:
- 3 whole green tea with bags
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 2 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- 3 cups ice cubes
The Execution
1. Start with a good organic green tea. Bring water to a boil in a kettle and make sure you use filtered water for this. It comes out with an overall cleaner taste. If you don't have a kettle, you can boil the water on the stove in a pan. Once your kettle finishes boiling, let it sit for 5-10 minutes. You want the water temperature to be between 150F and 175F. Let your teabags brew in the water for 2-4 minutes, depending on what strength level you'd like.
2. Remove the teabags from the water. You want to make sure you're not getting too much dilution in your tea.
3. Add the butter and coconut oil to the tea.
4. Add the heavy cream to the tea. It should change the color of the tea almost immediately.
5. You need to mix the tea with an immersion hand blender. The fats won't mix if you don't apply enough pressure to them, so a fork is out of the question. Start to blend your ketoproof tea. You'll notice that froth starts to build up. This is just air coming into the tea – keep blending for about 2 minutes.
6. Once finished, you should have a thick layer of froth on the top. It's time to chill the tea. Put it in the freezer for at least 2 hours. If you can, make this the night before so the tea will already be chilled in the morning. When removed from the freezer, you shouldn't notice too much of a separation between fats. That's because we spent the time to blend them before chilling it.
7. Add ice to a blender. I use a Ninja Blender, which cuts through everything I give it. Add the tea to the blender, you should have around 1.25 – 1.5 litres of liquid in there. Blend everything together for about 5 minutes. You really want to make sure that the ice is thoroughly broken down and everything is incorporated well.
8. Once finished, it should look like an iced slushy. Ration it out in a cup, or just drink the whole thing!
This makes a total of 1 serving of Iced Ketoproof Green Tea. The serving comes out to be 0 calories, 0g fats, 0g net carbs, and 0g protein.
| NUTRITION | CALORIES | FAT | CARBS | FIBER | NET CARBS | PROTEIN |
| 3 whole green tea with bags | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 3 whole green tea with bags | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 tablespoon butter | 203 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.2 |
| 2 tablespoon coconut oil | 243 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream | 51 | 5.4 | 0.4 | 0 | 0.4 | 0.4 |
| 3 cup ice cubes | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Totals | 497 | 55.4 | 0.4 | 0 | 0.4 | 0.7 |
Iced Ketoproof Green Tea
Ingredients
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- 3 whole green tea with bags
- 2 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
- 3 cup ice cubes
Instructions
- Start with a good organic green tea. Bring water to a boil in a kettle and make sure you use filtered water for this. It comes out with an overall cleaner taste. If you don't have a kettle, you can boil the water on the stove in a pan. Once your kettle finishes boiling, let it sit for 5-10 minutes. You want the water temperature to be between 150F and 175F. Let your teabags brew in the water for 2-4 minutes, depending on what strength level you'd like.
- Remove the teabags from the water. You want to make sure you're not getting too much dilution in your tea.
- Add the butter and coconut oil to the tea.
- Add the heavy cream to the tea. It should change the color of the tea almost immediately.
- You need to mix the tea with an immersion hand blender. The fats won't mix if you don't apply enough pressure to them, so a fork is out of the question. Start to blend your ketoproof tea. You'll notice that froth starts to build up. This is just air coming into the tea - keep blending for about 2 minutes.
- Once finished, you should have a thick layer of froth on the top. It's time to chill the tea. Put it in the freezer for at least 2 hours. If you can, make this the night before so the tea will already be chilled in the morning. When removed from the freezer, you shouldn't notice too much of a separation between fats. That's because we spent the time to blend them before chilling it.
- Add ice to a blender. I use a Ninja Blender, which cuts through everything I give it. Add the tea to the blender, you should have around 1.25 – 1.5 litres of liquid in there. Blend everything together for about 5 minutes. You really want to make sure that the ice is thoroughly broken down and everything is incorporated well.
- Once finished, it should look like an iced slushy. Ration it out in a cup, or just drink the whole thing!
I just make mine in the morning and drink it every other day to give myself caffeine and palette variety from the coffee. I will say, I like this more than the coffee since the creamy flavors of butter and cream come through very prominently but maybe that’s because I brew my coffee very strong. Neither keep me full for long though lol.
Hassan,
Yeah with regular Bulletproof Tea it’s easy to make in the morning. I was just giving a variety to the iced kind since some people have trouble with the fats solidifying too much 🙂
I’m with Hassan. Many times I have read that bullet proof coffee keeps people from feeling hungry for hours. Every time I make bullet proof coffee I keep waiting for it to happen to me but never does. I still make the coffee version because I like the “treat”. Maybe it will be better with tea for me.
Bonnie, for me coffee is no big deal but for those sensitive to caffeine it can make you hungry. Tea is a really mellow way to do it, a lot less caffeine and a lot more tastier (in my opinion). Let me know how it turns out!
I find it easiest to make a hot version with matcha: powdered green tea. I heat up the water and put it in a VitaMix with matcha, stevia, MCT oil, coconut oil, some vanilla and blend it until blended and smooth. Very yummy and easy. Sometimes I put in a little tumeric for the anti-inflammatory benefits. That sounds weird but it’s very good.
I’m going to try this version though, as I like iced drinks in the morning.
won’t it freeze solid if you leave it in the freezer overnight?
Alisha,
I suppose it depends on what time you make it and what time you wake up. Along with your freezer’s temperature. I keep my inside freezer relatively warm, and my outside freezer very cold. I go to bed around 1 am and wake up at 6:30am so it is about halfway frozen when I wake up. But after I scoop it out and put it in the blender, it takes care of it in a few seconds.
This sounds sooo delish! I LOVE bullet proof coffee! I make mine with butter, coconut oil and a splash of whole fat canned coconut milk. I cant wait to try this with the green tea, what a great idea! I really miss my starbucks and iced chai tea lattes! I dont suppose the addition of some chai spices would hurt this recipe, excited to try it out! Thanks!
No the chai spices won’t hurt at all, hope you enjoy!
I just got around to trying this today. VERY delicious! I was surprised by how good it tasted! I used MCT oil and added a bit of truvia for sweetener, ended up tasting oddly like caramel (no complaints about that, though!). My only issue was that the butter did seem to stick more to the sides of my cup, I assume this is something that just can’t be helped though? I just scraped it off with my spoon anyway.
Sounds good! When I made this the butter didn’t stick too much to the side of the cup after it was all blended up but I could see it happening. Glad you liked it though 🙂
Hi Craig,
Must you use butter at all? May you simply double up on the coconut oil? I’m curious what the benefit is, if any, vs coconut oil.
I began keto 2.5 weeks ago, and I lost 4 – 5 lbs in the first week and a half, and nothing since. Feeling super frustrated.
I cam across your site last night, and I find the information very helpful. Going to try and adhere to some. I have also never heard of bulletproof coffee or tea.
Thanks!
Jennifer,
You don’t necessarily have to use butter. Do you track the food you eat? Did you calculate your macros? If not, you may want to start just so you can get an idea of what’s going on and pinpoint anything that might be going wrong.
Thanks for this tasty idea! I had the darndest time getting this to blend in my blender (with ice). I don’t know if its my cruddy blender or something else. I had to add about a cup of coconut milk. Not a terrible thing and only an extra carb. Enjoying it as I type! Thanks again!
Glad you’re enjoying it Katie! I have a pretty strong blender, so I’m not sure – but at least in the end you’re enjoying it! 🙂
I find this recipe intriguing! I would love to try it but have a couple of questions.
Doesn’t putting it in the freezer completely freeze the mixture solid? It appears from your pictures and verbiage that it is still liquid, a little confused here.
And I’m also a little confused about your mention of using this in the morning on days that you intermittent fast. How can consuming 500kcals be fasting? I would think that by drinking this at all will break your fast, so technically you aren’t fasting at all but you’re drinking your breakfast.
I’d appreciate your thoughts. I’m only 2 months in on this woe so I am always looking for new ideas and information on how this woe works!
Caitlin,
Depending on your freezer, it may freeze completely solid. It depends what time you put it in and what time you wake up in the morning to blend it together.
Consuming this will break your fast. A fast is considered 12 hours between eating – so between breakfast and dinner and breakfast again, I suppose I do 2 fasts in this timeframe. Though lately, I have stopped IFing on a consistent basis and only do it a few times a month.
Hope that helps with the confusion!
Yes, thank you! I have been doing a LOT of reading about LCHF/Keto lately trying to figure out what works for me. I have seen people say they do IF and only eat in an 8 hour window so they skip breakfast and just eat lunch/dinner. Then they say that they have bulletproof coffee every morning which helps them get through to lunch during their fasting period! Was just looking for confirmation 🙂
Thank you! I can’t wait to try this tea!
Sure thing. In all honesty, true intermittent fasting won’t include breakfast or lunch (or any liquid forms, unless it is plain black coffee or tea). But I liked the energy I gained from the “fasting” I was doing so I kept doing it. Everyone is going to be different, and some people prefer to eat in an 8 hour, 4 hour, or 3 hour window. It’s moreso what works for you than what works for someone else 🙂
Dear Craig,
I’m excited to be trying the bulletproof green tea this morning. I made it warm but looking forward to making the iced version (when I get a blender that can actually handle ice!). I’ve also mapped out my keto menu for the day (with what I think are the macros? Fat, protein, carb rations?). I wonder if I can get any feedback on what I’ve planned for my menu. I’d been doing the fat fast and then iterations of it but I think my body was getting depleted (I’d done it for 4 days) but then went back to keto but I was doing it wrong (way too much protein and not paying attention to rations and I gained some back) so I went back to the fat fast for a while. Now I’m trying to add more veggies so that I’m not depleted. Here’s what I’ve got for today:
Food Food amount Calories Fat Protein Carbs
avocado 1/2 cup sliced 117 10.5 1.45 6
chicken thigh 1, with skin 120 9 10 0
lettuce 6 leaves 15 0 1 2
olive oil (for lettuce) 2 tbsp. 240 28 0 0
mushrooms 3 oz. 20 0 2 2
gunshot green tea 2 tbsp. coconut oil 250 28 0 0
2 tbsp. butter 200 22 0 0
1 tbsp. heavy whipping cream 50 5 0 0
3 green tea bags 5 0 0 0
jalapeño bacon-wrapped poppers
( peppers) 12 0 0 3
cream cheese 2 tbsp. 80 7 2 2
3 strips bacon 120 10.5 15 0
My totals: 1229 120 31.45 15
Keto daily counts (goals): 1384 118.6 64.1** 15
** I read (I think in another page of your blog) that this protein count is too high (another poster listed her intakes and her lean body mass/weight was similar to mine and you suggested that her protein count be lower) so I’m aiming for a lower protein amount.
Thanks in advance for any input or advice. I’m really trying to make this work and craft a healthy keto lifestyle that is also not too high maintenance!
Auds
Auds, it looks good but may I ask if you’ve used the keto calculator to calculate your macros? 1229 calories seems extremely low and 31g protein seems very low also. With that kind of calorie/protein intake, you’d be losing muscle no doubt.
Hi Craig! Thanks for responding to me so fast. I did try using (I’m still a little confused about macros and don’t know my exact body mass/lean body mass) a keto calculator. Those were the values I got–the calculator gave me several options like weight maintenance, moderate weight loss, or more quick weight loss. I’m trying to lose weight so that’s the one I chose. But I definitely want to be losing fat, not muscle! Do you have a specific keto calculator that you’d suggest? Thanks so much for your help. This is the first time I’m doing keto and actually approaching it correctly (before everyone just told me just eat meat and lots of protein; so this approach is much more clinical and I’ve definitely been getting better results). If it helps, I am 5’8″ and started off at 155 lbs. I’ve lost about 15 lbs (I fluctuate about 2 lbs. after I finished the fat fast). So now I’m between 140-142 depending on the day and my intake and my goal is a solid 135. Thanks again!
Auds
Hey Auds,
Sure thing. I do have a keto calculator I made one myself on the site (In the navigation menu under “Keto Diet”). When you’re already pretty small, you won’t need a high deficit (default is 20%, and you might not even need that much).
I also have a Keto Academy that would give you a meal plan, guide, and a few other things in there that would pretty much be a completely starter kit – all you have to do is follow along. If you’re interested (and it can fit into your budget), check out //www.ruled.me/keto-academy/
Hi Craig, Thanks for pointing me to your keto calculator. I redid my macros and I think got a better result, although I wasn’t able to estimate some stuff (base metabolic rate and calories I burn when I jog). But I did the 20% deficit you recommended. So it looks like the estimate is a bit higher, just like you suggested. The higher protein amount will make it easier for planning meals because the low count was tricky! I will definitely look into getting your keto academy book. I think I’ll start with your 7-day meal plan and see how it goes. But I think a full, detailed guide might be just what I need! Thanks so much for all your help so far! Your blog is so helpful 🙂 ~Auds
1617 kcal Daily Calorie Intake
20 g Net Carbs (5%, 80 kcal)
64 g Protein (16%, 256 kcal)
142 g Fat (79%, 1281 kcal)
That looks much better. Check out the 30 day meal plan before the 7-day meal plan because it’s much more updated, nicer formats, and better overall 🙂
Thanks, Craig. It does seem a bit more balanced. I ate an extra piece of chicken last night to add more calories, fat, and protein to the menu I had previously. I was really full yesterday though! But maybe breaking up the meals will make me less full. I will definitely check out the 30 day meal plan. I’ll let you know how things go (and I may have more questions but hopefully I’ll get the hang of this soon). I’m planning on trying to integrate working out into my routine (I’m trying to lose weight but get more tone, especially in my legs and stomach). My plan is to do a light-to-medium weights routine (I’ve always loved lifting, but not for bulking up obviously) and do jogging with my dog. I was thinking of alternating days of the week between the two. Hopefully between that and getting the right balance of macros I’ll see some good progress (I know that like only 10% of weight loss on keto can come from working out (?) but I’m looking for the tone). Thanks again! 🙂 Auds.
~20% of weight loss in general (not just keto) will come from diet rather than exercise. My suggestion would be to keep with what you’re doing – HIIT and heavy lifting. That’s the best way to increase “tone” (muscle mass) while getting rid of some of the excess fat.
Hi Craig, Thanks for the follow-up. I didn’t know that exact statistic about percentage of weight loss based on diet. That’s good to know. What is HIIT? I will definitely continue with what I’m doing and add heavy lifting (you say heavy lifting is better than light lifting, even if I don’t want to add bulk?). I will let you know how things go. Thanks again for all the advice, insights, and encouragement! Auds
HIIT is High Intensity Interval Training. Give a quick search for it on Google and you can find plenty of routines 🙂
Thanks for clarifying, Craig. I’ll look up some HIIT routines and get to work! 🙂 Auds
Sure thing 🙂 Good luck!
Hey! Newbie to keto here! My classes start at 6 in the morning and i wanted to make something easy to make! Glad I found this! Thanks a ton! I do have one doubt though: Is it important to use coconut oil or mct oil? I find coconut oil very stomach-upsetting and I can’t really find mct oil here. Is it okay if I use 2 tbsp of ghee instead? Moreover, is it fine if i just leave in the refrigerator, i.e. without freezing? I think it would be solid if I leave it in the freezer! Can’t wait to make this tonight ! I can take it to my class tomorrow and feel brisk and enjoy my lessons!
Hey Aruna,
The MCTs in both coconut oil and MCT oil are a great way to add in extra fats for this. It’s generally because MCTs are processed differently in our bodies (it’s converted directly to ketones in the liver, so it should essentially give you a fast boost of energy in the morning). But, if you don’t want to go that route, you definitely don’t have to. As for the stomach upset, I see that some people also have the same problem. They tend to work up to it – going from 1 tsp to 2 tsp and onward over a few weeks…building a “tolerance” if you will.
You can definitely leave this in the fridge rather than the freezer, and then add ice in the morning and blend. That would work just fine 🙂 Hope you enjoy!
I know green tea has a lot of health benefits, but I’m wondering if I drink a cup of this before bedtime, will the caffeine interfere with my sleep?
It really depends on your sleep cycle, but generally you can find many non-caffeinated green/black tea blends that still give most of the health benefits.
Please enlighten me. I have loved several of your other recipes, but with this one, I’m completely confused and frustrated, actually quite angry at this point. I am using your same blender, and it’s just a brick of “sno-cone” material, and I can’t get it to blend completely. At all. It just spins until it pushes all the snow away from the blender. And my tea came out of the cup a brick. You don’t describe the breaking of the brick in your recipe, so my kitchen is littered with chips of buttery tea ice. Maybe you should clarify the consistency the tea should be at, or maybe have people pour it into ice cube trays, or else it just doesn’t blend. I’m having to swap the contents of my sno-cone mass in and out of two other bowls to eventually get this mess blended. Very very frustrating and I’ll probably never make this again unless there is some way to control how it goes into the blender.
Hey Craig, I am about to try making this recipe and I have a question. I am using matcha powder, so how much would equate the 2-3 tea bags? Thanks!
Could I bulk make this and make say 5 teas for the week and just get them out and blend them in the morning?
I think you could, yes. Just give it some time to thaw prior to blending or it’ll turn into a block.
Teresa
I have tried a couple of different types of bulletproof tea & I get bumped out of ketosis when I use them. I’m not eating anything else when I drink them. Any ideas?
What type of tea are you using? The only thing I could imagine is hidden sugar somewhere if you’re getting knocked out of ketosis. You could skip the coconut oil and go straight for MCT Oil (more ketone production), but that wouldn’t make a difference to the situation you’re describing.
Thanks for sharing this recipe its something I will be trying. My questions about this drink and fasting, I thought the point of fasting is for your body to use what you alright have stored for energy if you drink this or any “bulletproof” drink wouldn’t it take you out of your fasting state?
Yes, it would. When I was writing this I had a late morning eating window (fasting for the rest of the day/sleep).
Do you use heavy cream or heavy whipping cream?
Heavy whipping cream is what’s used in our recipes.
So, I made this but I had two “issues”. The first was that I couldn’t wait until the next day, or even to add the ice, to drink it! The second was that when I DID ‘follow the directions”, I found it a bit bland. Soooooo, I tweaked it up a bit and now I’m addicted. Before I blend in the cream, MCT oil, and butter, I added a teaspoon of organic Ceylon cinnamon and a teaspoon of organic turmeric – Holy bologna cakes Batman is it good! Thanks for the idea, it’s my go-to drink now…either hot or cold, it’s wonderful!
Thank you! It’s awesome to hear you adjusted the recipe to fit your own tastes – and that you love it 🙂
Hi, is it okay to use a heavy cream powder in your recipe? And also I was wanting to make this in the morning for a cup of hot tea. Is there anything I need to do additionally?