All of the TEA DUPES in one easy-to-find place!

This post will be your guide to all of the Herbalife dupes ("duplicates") that we have discovered, researched and shared with our followers when it comes to making loaded teas.

Loaded Teas

What is a loaded tea?

A loaded tea is a drink with vitamins, aloe, caffeine and flavoring mixed with water. The majority of them, especially the super popular tea and "nutrition" shops, are made using Herbalife products. 

Most of us see the brightly colored drinks in clear cups labeled with cool names flooding our social media timelines. In addition to the punch of energy, they claim to increase mental clarity, help burn fat, and boost your metabolism. 

How to make loaded teas at home without Herbalife

Now, let me tell you how you can make your own loaded teas at home without being overcharged or misled into signing up to join a Multi Level Marketing pyramid scheme. We just want our loaded teas without all the bull -- am I right?

Here at Silver Lining Lessons, we knew there had to be a better, more budget friendly way to duplicate "dupe" these teas. So, we got to work and developed a method to make loaded teas at home using products that can be purchased at Walmart, grocery stores, discount stores, and online. Not a single one of the products we use is part of a Multi Level Marketing scheme and nothing we do requires you to join any such recruiting based business to enjoy these teas at home.

If you're interested in trying to make your own loaded teas at home but don't really know where to start, we've put together a Guide to Making Loaded Teas at Home just for you. We believe that guide will show you the basic items to experiment with multiple flavors and see if you love them as much as we do. If you do, which we just know you will, then you can easily and affordably expand your stock from there.

1. Instant tea powder

First, you will need your tea component, which needs to be an instant tea powder. This is the dupe for Herbalife's tea concentrate. Their concentrates are filled with maltodextrin, fructose, tea extracts, caffeine powders and cardamom seed extract. Through all of our extensive research, we've discovered that the flavored tea concentrates that Herbalife distributors use do not impact the overall flavor of the drinks when all of the ingredients are mixed. You really only need a black tea and/or a green tea to make the teas.

You are much better off by using a pure tea powder with no extra junk! Out of all of the instant teas we've used, we prefer Waka Instant Tea, which has one ingredient - pure tea powder.  You can get the black tea, green tea, lemon green tea, raspberry green tea or peach green tea, depending on what you prefer. You can make 113 TEAS with just one 4.5 oz. bag of Waka Instant Tea! That's a whole lot of bang for your buck.

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2. 4C Energy Rush

Next, you will need a box of 4C Energy Rush drink mix, which comes in a variety pack of citrus, berry and orange. This is your Herbalife Liftoff dupe. 4C Energy Rush Orange is the Orange Liftoff, 4C Energy Rush Citrus is the Lemon Lime Liftoff, and 4C Energy Rush Berry is the Pomegranate Liftoff. 

Using the 4C Energy Rush will give you the lightly carbonated and caffeinated elements of the loaded tea while also providing vitamins. These can be found at most Walmart stores in the drink mix aisle, some smaller chain grocery stores and online.

It is important to note that 4C does make some other flavored drink mixes that are not caffeinated, so it is important to make sure you are grabbing the 4C Energy Rush if you want the caffeine boost. 

LIFTOFF FLAVOR DUPES

• 4C Energy Rush Orange = Orange Liftoff
• 4C Energy Rush Citrus = Lemon Lime Liftoff
• 4C Energy Rush Berry = Pomegranate Liftoff
• 4C Energy Rush Citrus + 4C Energy Rush Orange = Tropical Liftoff
• 4C Energy Rush Citrus OR Berry + 1/4 tsp. blackberry drink mix = Blackberry Spark Liftoff
• 4C Energy Rush Citrus + 1/4 tsp. pineapple drink mix = Pineapple Push Liftoff 

3. Flavored Drink Mixes

These flavored drink mixes are the ones most commonly used to make our loaded tea recipes and will allow to make the most variety without buying too many at once.

• Skittles variety pack (Grape, Strawberry, Orange and Green Apple)
• Hawaiian Punch Berry Blue Typhoon
• Pineapple
• Watermelon
• Cherry Limeade (can be used alone & combined with grape to make Rainbow Candy)

You should be able to find all of these flavors at Walmart, grocery stores, and even most discount or dollar stores.

Note that most of the powdered drink mixes are sugar free and are made using some type of artificial sugar. If you are interested in making teas that specifically do not contain aspartame, these are some aspartame free options:

• Gage Foods drink mixes (use sucralose)
• GramZero drink mixes (use Stevia)
• Most liquid drink mixes
• Crush brand watermelon and orange
• Most Welch's, Tampico, True Lemon, Stur and ZHOU brand mixes.

There are other aspartame free options, but they really are hit or miss depending on the brands available to you in stores. Double check the labels if you are curious.

4. Aloe Vera Juice (Optional)

This is the dupe for Herbalife's aloe concentrate. We use Fruit of the Earth brand, which can be found in most Walmart stores, and it works perfectly in the teas. Remember to refrigerate your aloe after opening and read the product labels to ensure you aren't exceeding the recommended serving amount if you are drinking multiple teas per day. It helps with color separation and digestive health while also adding vitamins and antioxidants. There is great information on Healthline and WebMD if you are interested in finding more information.

Adding aloe juice is totally optional depending on your preference. If you want to start making loaded teas without buying this part, go right ahead! You can always incorporate it later or just leave it out. If you don't use any, just sub cold water in its place in our recipes.

5. Guarana Powder (Optional)

This is the dupe for Herbalife's NRG powder, which stands for Nature's Raw Guarana Tea. Ironically, Herbalife's NRG is filled with maltodextrin, guarana seed extract and caffeine powder. Sounds far from natural!

This is not a critical ingredient for loaded teas. You can absolutely make any recipe without adding any, and it will still have the same great flavor. Guarana is only needed if you want an extra boost of caffeine, in which case you can actually buy a pure guarana powder, again without all of the added junk. We recommend the Nutricost brand guarana powder, which we get on Amazon. You only have to use 1/8 teaspoon to get about 55 milligrams of extra caffeine. It also has a finer texture, which helps it dissolve easier, leaving no grainy texture.

6. Beauty Booster (Collagen)

The Great Value strawberry lemonade with collagen drink mix is the Beauty Booster dupe. We've learned that this is not sold in all Walmart locations and cannot be found online. If you're unable to find this product, we would recommend using 1/2 scoop of the Garden of Life Collagen - Strawberry Lemonade collagen powder.

If you have a favorite unflavored collagen powder that you prefer, you can absolutely substitute that in and even add 1/8 or 1/4 teaspoon of a strawberry lemonade drink mix, if wanted.

7. Beverage Mix (Protein)

The Health Wise fruit drink mix is the Beverage Mix dupe. The unique ingredient in all of the Specialty Drinks is the Herbalife Beverage Mix. It comes in two flavors, wild berry and peach mango, and provides the extra 15 grams of protein. The Health Wise also comes in both flavors. You can find the full article about this dupe here - The Ultimate Herbalife Beverage Mix Dupe.

8. H3O (Hydration)

Gatorade Endurance Formula orange flavored drink mix is the H30 dupe. It's specifically the Gatorade Endurance Formula, which is packed with extra sodium, potassium, and carbs for endurance athletes. When I say it's for endurance athletes, I'm not talking about people at your local gym. It's the official hydration product for IRONMAN races - the hardest endurance race on the planet! This is pushed by Herbalife nutrition shops as an extra "hydration" add-on, but this is not something everyone needs.  You can find the full article about this dupe on our website - The Herbalife H30 Fitness Drink Dupe.

If you want to make the Hydration Teas but don't want to use the Gatorade Endurance, you can use a plain orange flavored drink mix in its place.