Sweet Tea Calories and Sugar: Glass, Gallon, McDonald's

Brewed black tea has almost no calories, about 2 in an 8 oz cup. Every other calorie in sweet tea is sugar stirred in while the tea is still hot. An 8 oz (248 g) glass of sweet tea has about 79 calories and 19 g of sugar, according to USDA, and a small Southern Style Sweet Tea at McDonald's has 230 calories, nearly three glasses' worth. In Dietfit, snap the cup together with your plate and AI Scan logs the tea along with the meal, so the drink does not slip out of your day.

Sweet tea calories by size

Source: USDA FoodData Central, black iced tea pre-sweetened with sugar. Teaspoons use 4.2 g of granulated sugar per teaspoon, also from USDA.

Ice changes the count more than most people expect. USDA puts about 23 g of tea in each fluid ounce of a cup filled with ice, against 31 g without ice, so a 32 oz cup packed with ice holds about 236 calories of tea instead of 317.

How much sugar is in sweet tea?

Almost all of the sugar in sweet tea is added sugar. A 16 oz glass has about 38 g, or 9 teaspoons. That is the American Heart Association's whole daily limit for most men, about 9 teaspoons (150 calories) of added sugar, and half again the limit for most women, about 6 teaspoons (100 calories).

The AHA notes that a 12 oz can of regular soda has 10 teaspoons of sugar and 160 calories. A 12 oz glass of sweet tea has about 6.8 teaspoons and 119 calories: less than the soda, but already past a day's limit for most women. Our guide to how much sugar per day explains where those limits come from.

Homemade sweet tea: it depends on the cups of sugar per gallon

Made by the gallon, homemade sweet tea gets its calories from one choice: how many cups of sugar go into the pitcher. Here is what each amount of granulated sugar adds to a gallon of brewed tea:

Source: USDA FoodData Central, granulated sugar (1 cup, 200 g, 774 calories) and brewed black tea. A gallon makes 16 glasses of 8 oz.

The USDA sweet tea in the first table works out to about 1 1/2 cups of sugar per gallon. If your family recipe uses 2 cups, each glass has about a quarter more calories than the numbers above; if you make it with 1 cup, about a third fewer. Each half cup you leave out of the gallon saves about 24 calories a glass.

McDonald's and bottled sweet tea

McDonald's sweet tea is sweeter than the USDA average, while bottled brands land close to it. McDonald's lists its Southern Style Sweet Tea in four sizes:

Source: McDonald's USA nutrition information.

Bottled sweet tea is labeled per bottle or per serving:

Source: Nutrition Facts labels as listed by US grocery retailers.

Put on the same 12 fl oz basis, Pure Leaf has about 104 calories, Milo's 110, USDA sweet tea 119 and Gold Peak 123. McDonald's sweet tea, at about 42 calories per 100 g in its nutrition data, works out to about 155 calories and 36 g of sugar per 12 fl oz, roughly a third more than the USDA average.

If you order sweet tea with a meal, count it with the food. A large McDonald's sweet tea adds 370 calories to whatever is on the tray; our fried chicken calories guide covers what a Southern-style plate adds.

Planning a full Southern meal? See whether grits are healthy before adding the sides.

Is sweet tea bad for you?

The tea is not the problem; the sugar is. Unsweetened black tea has about 2 calories per 8 oz glass, while the same glass of sweet tea carries 4.5 teaspoons of added sugar. One 8 oz glass stays under the AHA's daily limit for both women and men. A 32 oz cup has about 18 teaspoons, three times the AHA's daily limit for most women.

Sweet tea also has caffeine: about 45 mg in an 8 oz glass, according to USDA, and 150 mg in a large McDonald's sweet tea. For most adults, the FDA cites 400 mg a day as an amount not generally associated with negative effects. A whole gallon of sweet tea has about 714 mg, well past that.

How to drink sweet tea and still lose weight

You do not have to give up sweet tea to stay in a calorie deficit. Start from a 16 oz glass of USDA sweet tea, 159 calories, and pick one change:

Source: USDA FoodData Central; calories worked out from the values in the tables above.

At McDonald's, the size matters most: an extra small sweet tea has 150 calories and a large has 370, so sizing down saves 220 calories. If milk tea is your other daily drink, our bubble tea calories guide shows how the toppings add up.

Drinks are easy to forget when you log a meal. With an AI calorie tracker like Dietfit, you snap the plate and the cup in one photo, and AI Scan logs the tea along with the food, so you can see what the glass adds to your day.

FAQ

How many calories are in a gallon of sweet tea?

A gallon of sweet tea has about 1,270 calories and 305 g of sugar, based on USDA values. Made at home, a gallon ranges from about 425 calories with 1/2 cup of sugar to about 1,586 calories with 2 cups.

Is sweet tea healthier than soda?

Glass for glass, average sweet tea has fewer calories than regular soda. A 12 oz glass has about 119 calories and 6.8 teaspoons of sugar, while a 12 oz can of soda has 160 calories and 10 teaspoons, according to the American Heart Association. Restaurant sweet tea can come close: McDonald's works out to about 155 calories per 12 oz.

How much caffeine is in sweet tea?

An 8 oz glass of sweet tea has about 45 mg of caffeine, according to USDA. At McDonald's, Southern Style Sweet Tea has 60 mg in an extra small and 150 mg in a large.

Does unsweetened tea have calories?

Unsweetened black tea has almost no calories: about 2 in an 8 oz glass, according to USDA. Sweetened with a low-calorie sweetener, it has about 5 calories a glass.

How many calories are in a large McDonald's sweet tea?

A large McDonald's Southern Style Sweet Tea has 370 calories and 88 g of added sugar, about 21 teaspoons, according to McDonald's. An extra small has 150 calories.

Can you drink sweet tea on a diet?

Yes, in a measured amount. An 8 oz glass of sweet tea has about 79 calories. Half sweet and half unsweetened tea cuts a 16 oz glass from about 159 calories to 82, and unsweetened tea has about 5.

References

• https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/2710515/nutrients, FoodData Central, "Tea, iced, brewed, black, pre-sweetened with sugar", FDC ID 2710515

• https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/2710517/nutrients, FoodData Central, "Tea, iced, brewed, black, unsweetened", FDC ID 2710517

• https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/2710516/nutrients, FoodData Central, "Tea, iced, brewed, black, pre-sweetened with low calorie sweetener", FDC ID 2710516

• https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/173227/nutrients, FoodData Central, "Beverages, tea, black, brewed, prepared with tap water", FDC ID 173227

• https://fdc.nal.usda.gov/food-details/169655/nutrients, FoodData Central, "Sugars, granulated", FDC ID 169655

• https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/product/southern-style-sweet-tea-small.html, McDonald's USA, "Southern Style Sweet Tea" product and nutrition pages (extra small, small, medium, large)

• https://foodlion.com/groceries/product/milos-famous-sweet-iced-tea-refrigerated-1-gallon/295784, Milo's Famous Sweet Tea, Nutrition Facts label as listed by Food Lion

• https://www.brookshires.com/sm/planning/rsid/71/product/pure-leaf-real-brewed-tea-sweet-185-fluid-ounce-id-00012000286193, Pure Leaf Real Brewed Tea Sweet, 18.5 fl oz, Nutrition Facts label as listed by Brookshire's

• https://giantfoodstores.com/groceries/product/gold-peak-brewed-sweet-iced-tea-18-5-oz-btl/142050, Gold Peak Sweet Tea, 18.5 fl oz, Nutrition Facts label as listed by Giant

• https://www.heart.org/en/healthy-living/healthy-eating/eat-smart/sugar/added-sugars, American Heart Association, "Added Sugars", last reviewed August 2, 2024

• https://www.fda.gov/consumers/consumer-updates/spilling-beans-how-much-caffeine-too-much, U.S. Food and Drug Administration, "Spilling the Beans: How Much Caffeine Is Too Much?", content current as of August 28, 2024