Teardown

Masala chai

113kcalOne cup, 150 ml, full-fat milk, 2 tsp sugar

Where they sit

Full-fat milk
Sugar
Driving the caloriesNeutralWorth eating

The verdict

The easiest win on this site, and the one nobody counts.

Component by component

Per one cup, 150 ml, full-fat milk, 2 tsp sugar. Estimates.

Full-fat milk
~100 ml · ~100 g
73
Carbs5 g
Protein3 g
Fat4 g
Fibre0 g

Fine in itself. It is the frequency that matters.

Computed from IFCT L002 whole cow milk 100 g

Sugar
2 tsp · ~10 g
40
Carbs10 g
Protein0 g
Fat0 g
Fibre0 g

Forty calories looks trivial. Multiply by your actual cup count.

Computed from sucrose 10 g, standard reference

Where the damage is
Tea, spices, water
0
Carbs0 g
Protein0 g
Fat0 g
Fibre0 g

No calories. The spices are the point.

Computed from negligible

Worth eating

Five cups a day

One cup looks trivial. The arithmetic is what gets people, and almost nobody does it.

Per day565
Per week3,955
Per year kg

Three ways to fix it

Ordered by what you give up.

Option 1 · Cut the sugar200

Two teaspoons down to a half, over three weeks.

Two hundred calories a day at five cups, from one change your palate stops noticing.

Taste cost: Two weeks of adjustment, then none

Option 2 · Reduce the count340

Five cups down to two. Black tea or water for the rest.

Most cups are social or reflexive rather than wanted. Work out which two you actually enjoy.

Taste cost: Habit, not taste

Option 3 · Restructure it480

Unsweetened, with toned milk or a splash rather than a milk base.

Near zero calories. Genuinely a different drink, and worth trying before you rule it out.

Taste cost: Moderate

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