What are the nutritional facts of milk tea?

What is in milk tea?

Milk tea contains brewed tea and milk, and often sugar or sweetened condensed milk. What it contains depends entirely on how it is made, so there is no single set of facts.

Plain tea with milk

One generic database entry lists a 180 ml cup of tea with milk (no sugar) at about 17 calories, 1.5 g carbohydrate, 0.8 g fat and 1 g protein. That is a small splash of milk, so a milkier cup has more. Treat such figures as approximate, not exact.

What raises calories and sugar

• Sugar: each teaspoon adds about 4 g sugar, around 16 calories.
• Condensed milk or creamers: add sugar and fat quickly.
• Bubble tea toppings: tapioca pearls, jelly and syrups add carbohydrate. Shop drinks vary widely, and published numbers from different sites disagree, so use the shop’s own nutrition chart.
• Cup size: a 16 oz shop cup is far larger than a small teacup.

Caffeine

The tea provides the caffeine, and the amount varies with the tea type, how much you use and how long you steep it. Adding milk does not remove it. Coffee milk teas add coffee caffeine on top. Check the label or ask the shop if you are limiting caffeine.

Other things milk tea contains

• Water from the brew
• Tea compounds and a little protein and calcium from the milk, in small amounts unless the cup is very milky
• Lactose, so it is not lactose-free unless made with lactose-free or plant milk

How to make a lighter cup

• Use less sugar or none, and measure it.
• Choose milk or unsweetened plant milk instead of condensed milk.
• Order a smaller size and ask for less sweetness at shops.

This is general information. People with diabetes, allergies or medical advice on caffeine should follow their own care plan.