Key points
- No tea melts body fat. The best tea for weight loss is a plain cup that takes the place of a sugary drink or an evening snack.
- Plain tea is close to zero calories. A 250 ml cup of black, oolong, chamomile, hibiscus or another herbal tea has about 0 to 3 kcal.
- The effects of tea itself are small or unproven. Black tea, ginger and hibiscus gave tiny or no weight changes in trials, and lemon balm has no weight-loss trial at all.
- Sugar and milk are what count. A sweet milky tea made with milk instead of water can carry about 160 kcal per cup, and four cups a day add up fast.
- Avoid laxative and water-pill teas. Teas sold to make you “flat” or “lighter” work on your bowel and your fluids, not on fat.
- Talk to your doctor first if you are pregnant, take regular medicines or have low iron, and before you change how you eat.
Best tea for weight loss: the short answer
The best tea for weight loss is the one you enjoy without sugar, drunk in place of something sweeter. No black, herbal or fruit tea burns fat in a way you would notice on the scale.
What tea does well is give you a warm, tasty drink with almost no energy in it. If that cup replaces a can of soft drink, a sweet milky tea or a handful of biscuits in the evening, it saves real calories every day.
The effect of the tea leaves themselves is modest. In a six-month trial in regular tea drinkers, three cups a day of black tea held back weight gain by about 0.64 kg compared with a caffeine-matched dummy drink after three months. By six months that difference had gone.
Green tea and matcha have their own research, which we cover with coffee on our page about green tea and coffee for weight loss. This page looks at the other teas people ask about, and at what goes into the cup.
Talk to your doctor first if you are pregnant or breastfeeding, take regular medicines, have low iron or another health condition. The advice on this page is general, and the calorie values are approximate.
Teas compared: what the research shows
Every tea in the table below is almost free of calories when you drink it plain, and none has strong proof of weight loss on its own. The column on study design tells you how much weight to give each result.
A randomised controlled trial (RCT) compares groups chosen by chance and is the strongest single design. A meta-analysis pools several trials. A cross-sectional study only looks at people at one moment, so it can show a link but not a cause.
| Tea | What it is | Approx. kcal, plain 250 ml cup | Weight evidence | Type of study |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black tea | Fully oxidised leaves of the tea plant | About 2 to 3 | About 0.6 kg less weight gain at 3 months, gone at 6 months; hot-tea drinkers had a lower BMI in a US survey | RCT; cross-sectional |
| Green tea | Unoxidised leaves of the tea plant | About 2 to 3 | Covered on our coffee and green tea page | See that page |
| Oolong tea | Partly oxidised leaves of the tea plant | About 2 to 3 | More fat used as fuel, but no change in total energy used over 24 hours | Small crossover trial, 12 men |
| White tea | Young, lightly processed leaves of the tea plant | Probably about 2 to 3, like other tea (no separate USDA value) | No human weight data that we could find | No trial |
| Ginger tea | Fresh or dried ginger root in hot water | About 2 to 3 | About 1.5 kg in pooled trials, mostly with ginger supplements, not tea; low certainty | Meta-analysis of 27 RCTs |
| Hibiscus tea (karkadeh) | Dried red hibiscus flowers | About 0 | No real difference in weight, BMI or waist | Meta-analysis of 6 RCTs |
| Lemon balm tea | Leaves of a lemon-scented mint plant | About 2 to 3 | No weight-loss trial found | No trial |
| Peppermint tea | Dried peppermint leaves | About 2 to 3 | No weight-loss trial found | No trial |
| Chamomile tea | Dried chamomile flowers | About 2 to 3 | No weight-loss trial found | No trial |
The pattern is clear: the plant inside the bag matters far less than what you add to the cup and what the cup replaces. Choose the taste you like best and drink it plain or nearly plain.
For the full list of drinks that suit weight loss, from water to milk, see our guide to weight loss drinks.
Is black tea good for weight loss?
Black tea is a good choice for weight loss when you drink it without sugar, because it has almost no calories. Its own effect on body weight is small and seems to fade after a few months.
The six-month black tea trial
Researchers in Australia recruited 111 men and women who already drank tea, with a BMI between 20 and 35. For six months, half drank three cups a day made from black tea powder, and half drank a dummy drink with the same taste and caffeine but without the tea’s plant compounds.
At three months the tea group had gained about 0.64 kg less weight. Their waist was about 1.9 cm smaller and their waist-to-hip ratio a little lower too.
At six months these differences were no longer significant. Blood sugar, insulin and blood fats did not change either. In short: a small, short-lived effect, far smaller than what changes in food and walking can do.
Hot tea, iced tea and body weight
A US survey of 6,472 adults compared tea habits with body measurements. People who drank hot tea had a lower waist size and a lower BMI: on average 25 against 28 in men and 26 against 29 in women.
Iced tea showed the opposite link. More iced tea went with a higher BMI and a larger waist, above all in women, even after the researchers allowed for sugar and total calories. Iced tea in the US is often bought ready-sweetened, so it may simply mark a different way of eating; the survey itself cannot say why.
This kind of study cannot show that hot tea causes a lower weight. People who drink hot tea may differ in many other habits. What it does suggest is that the form of the drink, and the sugar in it, matter.
Black tea contains caffeine. How much caffeine is safe in a day is explained on our coffee page, so we do not repeat it here.
Oolong and white tea for weight loss
Oolong and white tea are pleasant, nearly calorie-free drinks, but there is no good evidence that either one helps you lose weight. The best-known oolong study was tiny and measured fuel use, not weight.
In a crossover trial in Japan, 12 healthy men without obesity each spent two weeks on oolong tea, two weeks on caffeine and two weeks on a dummy drink. On the last day of each period they spent 24 hours in a room that measures how much energy the body uses.
Oolong tea and caffeine both raised the share of fat burned as fuel by about 20 %. Yet the total energy used over the day did not change, and sleep was not disturbed. Burning a bit more fat and a bit less carbohydrate for the same total energy does not, by itself, shrink fat stores.
White tea is made from young leaves of the same plant. We could not find any human trial that measured its effect on weight, so any claim that it is a “fat burner” has nothing behind it.
Oolong and pu-erh are also sold in “slimming” blends. These products are not the same as plain loose tea, can contain other herbs or hidden ingredients, and are not worth your money.
Herbal teas for weight loss: ginger, hibiscus, peppermint and chamomile
Herbal teas are useful for weight loss mainly because they are caffeine-free and almost calorie-free, so you can drink them in the evening instead of a snack. The trials on the herbs themselves show small or no effects on weight.
Ginger tea
A review pooled 27 randomised trials of ginger with 1,309 adults. People taking ginger lost on average about 1.5 kg more than the comparison groups.
The reviewers rated their confidence in that result as low for body weight and very low for waist and BMI. Most trials tested ginger powder or capsules, so the number tells you little about a cup of ginger tea.
Fresh ginger in hot water is still a lovely drink, warming and spicy without sugar. A slice of lemon or a few mint leaves adds taste without calories.
Hibiscus tea (karkadeh)
Hibiscus tea, known as karkadeh in Egypt and Sudan and as agua de jamaica in Mexico, is deep red and slightly sour. In its plain form it has close to zero calories.
A meta-analysis of six trials with 339 people found no clear effect on weight: about 0.27 kg, with a range that included no change at all. Four trials used capsules and two used hibiscus tea compared with black or green tea. Waist size and BMI did not change either.
The catch with hibiscus is sugar. Karkadeh and agua de jamaica are often served very sweet, so the drink only helps your weight when you sweeten it lightly or not at all.
Peppermint and chamomile tea
We found no trial in which peppermint or chamomile tea led to weight loss. Both are caffeine-free, gentle drinks that many people find calming.
Their value is in the routine. A cup after dinner can work as a signal that the kitchen is closed for the day. If evening snacking is your main hurdle, our page on eating late at night has a fuller plan.
Lemon balm for weight loss: a myth-check of the “natural” trend
Lemon balm has no proven effect on weight loss: we could not find a single randomised trial of lemon balm for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity. A plain lemon balm tea is a fine zero-calorie drink, nothing more.
Lemon balm (Melissa officinalis) is a lemon-scented plant from the mint family. On social media it is shared as a “lemon balm recipe”: a few leaves, hot water and sometimes lemon or honey, with promises of fast fat loss.
We searched the medical research database Europe PMC for randomised and clinical trials of lemon balm on obesity, weight loss or body weight. None tested weight loss in people with overweight or obesity; the trials we found looked at sleep, mood and memory.
The closest review pooled seven small trials of lemon balm on heart and blood sugar measures. It found a small drop in total cholesterol and systolic blood pressure and no change in blood sugar, insulin or other blood fats. Weight was not one of the results, and the reviewers judged many of the trials at high risk of bias.
So the honest answer is “no trial yet”, not “proven not to work”. A caffeine-free cup of lemon balm is a pleasant evening drink if you leave out the honey.
Capsules, drops and extracts of lemon balm are supplements, not tea. If you take medicines, ask your doctor or pharmacist before using them. For more trends that promise fast results, see our page on weight loss myths.
Tea for bloating and weight loss: why a flatter belly is not fat loss
A tea that eases bloating can make your belly feel flatter, but that is not weight loss. Bloating is gas and fluid in the gut, which comes and goes, while body fat changes slowly over weeks and months.
Peppermint has the best evidence for bloating, but as oil capsules rather than tea. A review of 12 trials with 835 people with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) found that peppermint oil capsules eased overall symptoms and belly pain better than a dummy capsule.
Those trials used capsules, in people with IBS, and did not measure weight. A cup of peppermint tea may feel soothing, yet it is not the same treatment. If bloating is frequent or painful, ask your doctor to look for a cause.
Teas sold for a “flat tummy” often contain senna or other herbs that empty the bowel or make you pass more urine. The scale drops for a day because you lose fluid, not fat; our guide explains the risks of laxative and slimming teas.
Day-to-day changes in fluid are covered on our water weight page. If your goal is a smaller waist over time, our guide to belly fat shows what really shrinks it.
Sugar, milk and honey: the calories that really count
What you add to tea matters far more for your weight than which tea you choose. Two spoons of sugar and a generous pour of whole milk can turn a 2 kcal cup into a small snack.
We calculated the cups below from the USDA food tables, using about 4.2 g for a level teaspoon of sugar and 7 g for a teaspoon of honey. Recipes differ a lot from home to home, so treat the numbers as a rough guide.
| Cup | What is in it | Approx. kcal per cup | At 4 cups a day | Lighter version |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Plain black, oolong or herbal tea | 250 ml tea, nothing added | About 2 to 3 | About 10 | Already as light as it gets |
| Tea with milk and sugar | Tea, 30 ml whole milk, 2 tsp sugar | About 55 | About 215 | 30 ml skimmed milk, no sugar: about 13 kcal |
| Doodh patti (tea brewed in milk) | 200 ml whole milk, 2 tsp sugar, a little water | About 160 | About 635 | Half milk, half water, 1 tsp sugar: about 80 kcal |
| Karak tea | Tea, 60 ml evaporated milk, 2 tsp sugar | About 115 | About 465 | 30 ml evaporated milk, 1 tsp sugar: about 60 kcal |
| Mint tea in a glass | 150 ml green or mint tea, 3 tsp sugar | About 50 | About 200 | 1 tsp sugar: about 18 kcal |
| Tea with condensed milk | Tea, 1 tbsp sweetened condensed milk (about 19 g) | About 60 | About 250 | 30 ml whole milk, no sugar: about 21 kcal |
| Tea with honey | 250 ml tea, 1 tsp honey | About 24 | About 95 | Half a teaspoon, then none |
Look at the right-hand column of the doodh patti row. Four cups a day made with whole milk come to roughly the energy of a full meal, and switching to half milk and half water with one spoon of sugar saves about 300 kcal a day.
Honey is not a lighter sweetener. Spoon for spoon it carries a little more energy than white sugar, so the same steps apply to both.
The sugar alone adds up quickly. Two teaspoons in each of four cups is 56 teaspoons a week, about 910 kcal from sugar only.
Cutting the sugar slowly
The easiest way to cut sugar in tea is a little at a time. Half a teaspoon less per cup, in four cups a day, already saves about 30 kcal a day, and your taste slowly gets used to the change.
Our no sugar diet page explains how taste adapts and where else sugar hides. For milk, our guide to dairy for weight loss compares whole, skimmed and plant drinks.
Bottled iced teas are a separate story: many contain as much sugar as a soft drink. The drink swap table on our weight loss drinks page compares them with homemade versions.
Tea in your own culture: chai, karak, çay and mint tea with less sugar
You do not need to give up the tea of your culture to lose weight: you can keep the ritual and lower the sugar and milk step by step. Tea is part of welcome, rest and family in many homes, and it should stay that way.
In South Asia, chai and doodh patti are often brewed in whole milk with several spoons of sugar. Spice swaps and lighter chai recipes are on our Indian diet for weight loss page, so we keep this short: brew with more water, use less milk and reduce sugar slowly.
In the Gulf, karak is made with evaporated or condensed milk; in Morocco and across North Africa, atay or mint tea is poured from a height into small sweet glasses. In Türkiye and the Caucasus, çay in thin glasses comes with sugar cubes on the side, which makes it easy to use one cube instead of two.
When you are a guest
Saying no to sugar can feel rude when someone serves you tea. A friendly sentence often helps: “Just a little sugar for me, please, I am cutting down.”
Many hosts are happy to pour your glass first, before sugar goes into the pot. Accepting the tea and leaving the sweets on the plate is also polite in most homes.
Biscuits, sweets and tea
For many people, the tea is not the problem: the biscuits, dates, cakes and sweets that come with it are. Two or three biscuits with each cup can quietly double its calories.
Try a small bowl of fruit or a few nuts instead, or have tea on its own at one tea time a day. Our list of healthy snacks has filling ideas.
Tea at suhoor and iftar
During Ramadan, sweet tea often follows iftar and returns at suhoor, together with sweets. Lighter tea is one of the easiest changes to make in that month, and our guide to Ramadan weight loss covers the rest of the night.
If you live with diabetes or have raised blood sugar, sweet tea several times a day can push up your blood sugar. Your doctor or diabetes nurse can help you plan your drinks.
Tea with meals, sleep and safety
Tea is safe for most adults, but timing and a few health conditions matter. Iron, caffeine, pregnancy, medicines and reflux are the main points to check.
Tea and iron
Tea can block iron from your food when you drink it with a meal. In a classic study, black tea cut iron absorption from a bread meal by 79 to 94 %, peppermint tea by 84 % and chamomile tea by 47 %; adding milk made little difference.
If your iron is low, drink tea an hour or so before or after meals rather than with them. Our page on anaemia and weight loss explains how to get more iron from food.
Caffeine and sleep
Black, oolong and white tea contain caffeine, which can make it harder to fall asleep. Switch to a caffeine-free herbal tea from mid-afternoon if you sleep badly; our coffee page has the details on caffeine timing.
Pregnancy, medicines and stomach problems
- Pregnancy and breastfeeding: keep caffeine within the limits your midwife gives you, and ask before drinking herbal teas every day. See our page on obesity and pregnancy.
- Medicines: large amounts of some teas and herbal products can interact with medicines. Ask your pharmacist if you take regular medication.
- Reflux: if strong tea or peppermint seems to bring on heartburn, try a milder cup and tell your doctor.
- Laxative and water-pill teas: senna and other herbs in “flat tummy” teas can cause diarrhoea, dehydration and salt imbalance. Do not use them for weight loss.
A 4-week plan to make tea work for weight loss
Talk to your doctor first before you change what you eat and drink, especially if you live with diabetes or take medicines. This plan turns tea into a steady saving in four small steps, without banning anything.
| Week | Tea step | Sugar and milk | What it replaces | Check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Count your cups and spoons for three days | No change yet, just write it down | Nothing yet | Total teaspoons of sugar per day |
| 2 | Keep your usual teas | Half a teaspoon less sugar in every cup | Some of the sugar | Does the tea still taste fine after 4 to 5 days? |
| 3 | Add one plain or herbal tea a day | No sugar in the new cup | One soft drink or one evening snack | Which swap felt easiest? |
| 4 | Use a smaller cup or lighter milk | Skimmed or semi-skimmed milk, or half milk and half water | Part of the whole milk | A 10-minute walk after one meal each day |
Counting in week 1 is not about guilt. Most people are surprised by the number of spoons, and that number is your starting point.
If you want to keep going after four weeks, aim for one cup a day that is fully plain. The walk in week 4 is there because tea works best next to movement: our guide to walking for weight loss starts with a few minutes.
Free help to lose weight with good food and walking
At Obesity Foundation we help people lose weight and get healthier with good food, suitable exercise and walking. Lighter tea is a small change, and all our help to build on it is free.
- Your own eating plan, with your meals and your tea habits in portions that fit you. Ask for your free eating plan.
- Exercise videos at the Start, Build and Strong levels, to move more at your own pace. Get the free workout videos.
- A free video meeting (in English) to talk through your drinks, snacks and routine without judgement. Book a free video meeting.
- A Club account to note your cups, walks and progress at no cost. Join the Obesity Foundation Club.
Tomorrow, make your first cup with half a spoon less sugar. That is where better tea for weight loss begins.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best tea to drink for weight loss?
The best one is a tea you like enough to drink plain, instead of something sweeter. Black, oolong, ginger, hibiscus, peppermint and chamomile tea all have close to zero calories without sugar, and none has a large effect on weight by itself. The real saving comes from the soft drink, sweet milky tea or snack that the cup replaces.
Is lemon balm tea good for weight loss?
There is no proof that it is. We found no randomised trial of lemon balm for weight loss in people with overweight or obesity; the trials that exist looked at things like sleep, mood and cholesterol. A plain cup is a pleasant caffeine-free drink, but capsules and extracts are supplements, so ask your doctor or pharmacist first if you take medicines.
Is hibiscus (karkadeh) or ginger tea good for weight loss?
Both are fine drinks, but neither is a weight-loss tool. Pooled hibiscus trials found no real change in weight, and the ginger trials that showed about 1.5 kg mostly used supplements, with low certainty. Karkadeh is often served very sweet, so drink it with little or no sugar.
What tea helps with bloating, and is a flatter belly weight loss?
Peppermint has the best evidence for bloating, but the trials used peppermint oil capsules in people with IBS, not tea. Less bloating can make your belly look flatter, yet it is gas and fluid, not fat. Avoid “flat tummy” teas with laxatives, and see your doctor if bloating is frequent or painful.
How much sugar can I have in my tea and still lose weight?
There is no fixed number, because it depends on the rest of your day. Each level teaspoon adds about 16 kcal, so two spoons in four cups is about 130 kcal a day. Cutting half a spoon per cup at a time is an easy way to get closer to plain tea.
Which tea can I drink before bed?
Choose a caffeine-free herbal tea such as chamomile, peppermint, lemon balm, ginger or hibiscus, without sugar or honey. Black, oolong, green and white tea contain caffeine, which can make sleep harder. A warm cup after dinner can also be a simple signal that eating is done for the day.
Sources
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