How many calories in a cup of tea
HOW MANY CALORIES IN A CUP OF TEA?
Tea is the second most consumed beverage after water. In the UK alone some 165 million cups of tea are consumed every day.
Perhaps surprisingly, the largest tea-drinking nation per capita is Turkey, with Ireland and the UK coming second and third respectively.
Although tea has become an inseparable part of our daily life, does it affects our daily energy requirements? Does tea contain calories? And if so, how many calories in cup of tea?
Let’s find out together.
CALORIES IN A CUP OF TEA?
Tea is a minimally processed drink that is generally prepared by pouring hot water over the tea leaves.
So plain tea when added nothing to it, has a negligible amount of calories.
For example, a cup (240-300 ml) of freshly brewed black tea contains barely 2-3 calories, that’s nothing compared to recommended daily intake of 2000 calories. The same is true for most other tea types.
As we have seen that plain tea itself have negligible calories, added milk and sugar may considerably increase the calorie content.
Here are some well-known teas with their calorie content.
CALORIES IN GREEN TEA
As we know, all tea comes from the same plant, the Camellia sinensis. The different processing styles make them different.
Green tea is non-fermented. The green color of the fresh tea leaves is preserved by arresting the natural oxidation process.
When added nothing, a cup (240ml) of green tea contains 2.40 calories.
But if you are adding any kind of sweetener to it, the calorie count significantly goes up.
For example, adding 1 teaspoon (4 grams) of sugar adds 16 calories to your tea. On the other hand, 1 tablespoon (21 grams) of honey adds 64 calories.
While, powdered green tea like matcha contains relatively high amount of calories, a flat teaspoon (2 grams) of matcha provides us about 6 calories.
CALORIES IN OOLONG TEA
Oolong tea is partially oxidized tea with the characteristics of both black and green tea.
The plain cup (240ml) of oolong tea provides us about 2-3 calories, which is almost insignificant.
However, a sweet cup of oolong tea may provide health benefits including maintaining healthy skin, relieving bronchial tightness, lowering cholesterol, and maintaining healthy weight.
CALORIES IN WHITE TEA
White tea is minimally processed tea among all the other types. The tea leaves and buds are picked very early in the morning while the light green buds are still tightly closed and the fuzzy covering is still fresh. This liquor has sweet and creamy flavor.
Same as oolong and green tea, when prepared only with hot water, it’s calorie count is as low as 2-3 calories per cup (240ml).
The calorie count significantly goes up with added milk or honey. That is, 16 calories per 1 teaspoon (4 grams) of sugar and 64 calories per 1 tablespoon (21 grams) of honey.