Drinks

How Many Calories in Teh O Ais?

Also known as Teh O Peng, Iced Black Tea.

Iced black tea with sugar and nothing else. No milk, no condensed milk, which makes it the cheapest thing on most kopitiam drink lists.

60kcal / 1 glass (hawker, normal sweet)
A normal glass of teh o ais is around 60 calories, and effectively all of it is the sugar. The tea itself is about 2 calories, the ice is free, and roughly three teaspoons of sugar does the rest. That makes it one of the lightest drinks you can order anywhere in Malaysia. For comparison, teh ais with condensed milk is 150 and teh tarik is 130, so switching to teh o ais saves you 70 to 90 calories per glass without giving up your drink. Ask for kurang manis and you are at about 30. Ask for kosong and you are at 2.

Nutrition facts

Per 1 glass (hawker, normal sweet) (250g)AmountPer 100g
Calories60 kcal24 kcal
Protein0 g0 g
Carbs15 g6 g
Fat0 g0 g

Where the calories come from

Brewed black tea200g
2 kcal
Sugar (about 3 tsp)15g
58 kcal

The real talk

Teh o ais is the drink I switched to and never switched back. Teh means tea, O means no milk, ais means iced. That is the whole thing. No condensed milk, no evaporated milk, which is where basically every other kopitiam drink hides its calories. At 60 calories a glass it costs you almost nothing, and you still get something cold and sweet with your food instead of sitting there with plain water feeling sorry for yourself.

The number moves entirely with the sugar, so it depends completely on who is making it. Some stalls pour three teaspoons, some pour five. Five teaspoons puts you at 85 and you would not taste the difference at that point. These are estimates based on typical hawker sweetness, not lab numbers, so treat 60 as a fair middle.

Here is the maths that actually mattered for me. One teh ais a day for a year is about 55,000 calories. Switch to teh o ais and it is 22,000. That gap is roughly 4kg of body fat a year from changing one word in your order. I am not saying it did all the work, but it was the single easiest change I made in the whole 42kg.

Teh O Ais variants, ranked by calories

VariantCaloriesNotes
Teh O Ais kosong2 kcalNo sugar at all. Just tea and ice.
Teh O Ais kurang manis30 kcalRoughly half the usual sugar
Teh O Ais (normal)60 kcalAbout three teaspoons of sugar, standard hawker pour
Teh O Ais manis85 kcalHeavy hand on the sugar, five teaspoons or so
Teh O Ais Limau70 kcalSame drink with calamansi lime added

How to eat it lighter

Common questions

How many calories in Teh O Ais?
About 60 calories for a standard hawker glass, almost all of it from roughly three teaspoons of sugar. Kurang manis is around 30 and kosong is about 2.
Is Teh O Ais good for weight loss?
It is one of the best drink swaps available. Teh ais is 150 calories and teh tarik is 130, so ordering teh o ais instead saves you 70 to 90 calories every glass for no real sacrifice. Go kurang manis and you save more.
What is the difference between Teh O Ais and Teh Ais?
Teh O has no milk. Teh ais has condensed milk, which is where the calories are. Teh o ais is about 60 calories, teh ais is about 150.
Berapa kalori dalam Teh O Ais?
Teh O Ais ada kira-kira 60 kalori untuk 1 gelas (250g), dengan 0g protein, 15g karbohidrat dan 0g lemak. Angka ini anggaran untuk hidangan gerai biasa, jadi ia berbeza ikut kedai dan saiz hidangan.

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Calorie and macro figures are estimates for a typical hawker or kopitiam serving. Actual numbers vary by stall, recipe and portion size. Use them as a guide, not gospel.

New to all this? Read how I went from 128kg to 86kg without cutting rice →

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