Herbal teas- are they really zero calories?

RedheadedPrincess14
RedheadedPrincess14 Posts: 415 Member
edited November 18 in Health and Weight Loss
So lately I've been drinking a lot of unsweetened plain tea over ice. Particularly, fruity herbal teas such as the celestial brand. When I look it up, it says the tea contains zero calories but if I just look up herbal tea without the brand it says it's 45 calories per 100g. I'm very confused. Anyone have any light to shed on this?

Replies

  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    That entry probably had something added to it. Tea is 0 calories.
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    That entry probably had something added to it. Tea is 0 calories.
    Actually, 45 calories per 100 grams is likely correct. The tea has less that 5 calories per serving which allows US manufacturers to round down to 0.

    Things like this are why I wish that labeling laws in the US were more like those in the EU.
  • RedheadedPrincess14
    RedheadedPrincess14 Posts: 415 Member
    seska422 wrote: »
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    That entry probably had something added to it. Tea is 0 calories.
    Actually, 45 calories per 100 grams is likely correct. The tea has less that 5 calories per serving which allows US manufacturers to round down to 0.

    Things like this are why I wish that labeling laws in the US were more like those in the EU.
    So since it says 0 calories per tea bag, would that mean that it would be less than 5 per tea brewed per bag?
  • seska422
    seska422 Posts: 3,217 Member
    RedheadedPrincess14 wrote: »
    seska422 wrote: »
    Chef_Barbell wrote: »
    That entry probably had something added to it. Tea is 0 calories.
    Actually, 45 calories per 100 grams is likely correct. The tea has less that 5 calories per serving which allows US manufacturers to round down to 0.

    Things like this are why I wish that labeling laws in the US were more like those in the EU.
    So since it says 0 calories per tea bag, would that mean that it would be less than 5 per tea brewed per bag?
    Yes, as long as that nutritional info is correct. Most MFP entries are user-entered so it's a good idea to check them against a reliable source such as the box or the manufacturer's website. Less than 5 calories per brewed teabag sounds about right to me.
  • paperpudding
    paperpudding Posts: 9,300 Member
    I'm not sure which tea you are drinking - but the herbal tea I drink is 4 calories per serve - ie per brewed teabag.
    Says so on the packet - In Australia where we dont have < 5 calories can be called zero rule.

    I would say yours is probably pretty much the same.
  • inertiastrength
    inertiastrength Posts: 2,343 Member
    I sometimes add Splenda to iced "Passion" tea by Tazo, worst case it's 5 cals
  • RedheadedPrincess14
    RedheadedPrincess14 Posts: 415 Member
    Okay thanks everyone!
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    For context, a 16 oz latte is 200 kcal without sweetener.
  • Chef_Barbell
    Chef_Barbell Posts: 6,644 Member
    Myzzlone wrote: »
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    For context, a 16 oz latte is 200 kcal without sweetener.

    Yes, but lattes are made with milk. Plain brewed tea isn't. A black coffee is also zero calories.

    This.
  • smotheredincheese
    smotheredincheese Posts: 559 Member
    If you actually ate the tea leaves then 45 kcals per 100g might be accurate, but infused in water? It's got to be negligible.
  • pebble4321
    pebble4321 Posts: 1,132 Member
    Myzzlone wrote: »
    NorthCascades wrote: »
    For context, a 16 oz latte is 200 kcal without sweetener.

    Yes, but lattes are made with milk. Plain brewed tea isn't. A black coffee is also zero calories.

    Pretty sure black coffee isn't 0 cal either - but it's certainly very low in calories (about 5-8 from memory). I don't bother logging either black coffee or herbal tea.
  • Alatariel75
    Alatariel75 Posts: 18,326 Member
    45 cal for 100g would be for 100g of the leave - that's a LOT of tea. 100g lasts me weeks.
  • TimothyFish
    TimothyFish Posts: 4,925 Member
    Nothing is truly zero calorie. Even tap water has some energy content if you have equipment sensitive enough to measure it. Best not to stress over small numbers of calories.
  • RedheadedPrincess14
    RedheadedPrincess14 Posts: 415 Member
    edited May 2017
    SusanMFindlay wrote: »
    RedheadedPrincess14 wrote: »
    So lately I've been drinking a lot of unsweetened plain tea over ice. Particularly, fruity herbal teas such as the celestial brand. When I look it up, it says the tea contains zero calories but if I just look up herbal tea without the brand it says it's 45 calories per 100g. I'm very confused. Anyone have any light to shed on this?

    100 grams of tea is a *lot* of tea. I buy loose tea at David's and a whole tin is 100 g. For each cup I brew, I use about 1 teaspoon - which weighs about 2 grams. So, that math suggests that tea is actually about 1 calorie per cup. Nothing to worry about as long as you're not drinking 100 cups of tea a day! :smiley:

    The only exception would be any blend with sugar of any sort as an ingredient.
    thank you! Really helps.

    No sugar in the blend :)
  • SusanMFindlay
    SusanMFindlay Posts: 1,804 Member
    edited May 2017
    SusanMFindlay wrote: »
    RedheadedPrincess14 wrote: »
    So lately I've been drinking a lot of unsweetened plain tea over ice. Particularly, fruity herbal teas such as the celestial brand. When I look it up, it says the tea contains zero calories but if I just look up herbal tea without the brand it says it's 45 calories per 100g. I'm very confused. Anyone have any light to shed on this?

    100 grams of tea is a *lot* of tea. I buy loose tea at David's and a whole tin is 100 g. For each cup I brew, I use about 1 teaspoon - which weighs about 2 grams. So, that math suggests that tea is actually about 1 calorie per cup. Nothing to worry about as long as you're not drinking 100 cups of tea a day! :smiley:

    The only exception would be any blend with sugar of any sort as an ingredient.

    Also, I just realized that the "1 calorie per cup" assumes that all calories steep into the water. Because the 1 calorie per tsp estimate would be for eating the loose tea leaves (the equivalent of eating the contents of a tea bag). Yuck!
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