How many calories in sweet tea?

Sweet tea is a ‘style’ of iced tea beverage popular in the southern United States. In fact, it is considered to be a staple beverage in the southern U.S, and may be consumed daily! To prepare sweet tea, you add sugar or simple syrup to black tea while the bags are steeping in hot water. Sweet tea may be served plain or flavored and is usually served over ice in a tall glass. The first recipe is believed to have been published in a community cookbook as early as 1879 and was derived from a recipe for American tea punch which included black tea, sugar, sweet cream and champagne.

Though it is usually less sugary and lower in calories than regular soda, it is not a low-calorie beverage. The calorie content depends upon how much sugar you add. Recipes recommend ½ cup to ¾ cup per ½ gallon (along with tea bags, hot and cold water and ice). If you prepare it with ¾ cup of sugar and stick to an 8-oz. serving, you’ll consume 73 calories and 19 g carbohydrate (4½ tsp sugar per cup). McDonald’s serves up sweet tea in four sizes, from 12 fluid oz. all the way up to 32 fluid oz. The smallest size provides 110 calories and nearly 7 tsp sugar. The 32 fluid oz. sweet tea provides a whopping 280 calories and over 17 tsp sugar!