Is Fruit Tea Acidic or Alkaline?
Fruit tea (prepared) is alkaline: Negative PRAL: alkalizing after digestion.
Classification
Fruit tea is an infusion of dried hibiscus flowers, rose hips and apple pieces. While it steeps, a little potassium and other minerals pass into the water, enough for a just-alkaline −0.5 per 100 ml. Its sour taste comes from fruit acids, which your body metabolizes. At 0 kcal per 100 ml, unsweetened fruit tea is a good substitute for juice and soda.
In the Drinks category, fruit tea (prepared) ranks #38 of 80, sorted from alkaline to acid-forming. More alkaline options include Sake (−0.5), Wine spritzer (−0.6), Sparkling wine (alcohol-free) (−0.6). More acid-forming are Hugo (cocktail) (−0.5), Herbal liqueur (−0.5), Peppermint tea (−0.4).
Acidic or alkaline: PRAL, not pH
On this site, acidic and alkaline refer to the PRAL (potential renal acid load). It estimates what a food leaves behind once it has been digested: a positive value is acid-forming, a negative value is alkalizing. That is different from the pH of the food itself: a lemon tastes sour, yet its PRAL is −4.0, so it is alkalizing. Your diet does not change your blood pH. It does change how much acid your kidneys have to deal with.
Goes well with
Frequently Asked Questions
Is fruit tea acidic?
It depends on what you mean by acidic. The pH describes the food itself, for example how sour it tastes. The PRAL describes what it leaves behind after digestion: Fruit tea (prepared) has a PRAL of −0.5 per 100 ml, so it counts as alkaline in your daily acid-base balance.
How much fruit tea do I need for a noticeable effect?
A glass (200 ml) of fruit tea adds −1.0 to your daily balance. For comparison: an egg is around +5.4, a slice of cheese around +6. So one serving of fruit tea roughly offsets one of them.
Why is fruit tea alkaline even though it is not a typical alkaline food?
The PRAL depends on the minerals left over after digestion, not on taste or pH. Fruit tea provides more potassium, magnesium and calcium than phosphorus and protein, so the balance is negative (−0.5).
Fruit Tea logged, balance checked.
Basentracker adds up every meal automatically and shows whether your day is in the alkaline range. The same values as on this page, all 977 foods, photo scan, recipes.
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Compare all Drinks: Drinks table. Common questions are answered in Acidic or Alkaline?, and the PRAL calculator adds up a whole meal.
Source: Basentracker food database (PRAL according to Remer & Manz, calculated from protein, phosphorus, potassium, magnesium and calcium per 100 g). This information does not replace medical advice.