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McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small): calories and sugar by portion, age and sex

Boone’s analysis puts McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) at 4% of an adult’s daily calories, 1% of the daily sodium limit for a child aged 4 to 8 and 4.2 teaspoons of added sugar.

How many calories are in a McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small)? It contains 70 calories, 0g of fat (0g saturated), 17g of added sugar and 10mg of sodium, one of the lighter items on the menu.

Build a full meal with our nutrition calculator

Use the Boone meal calculator to build a full meal rather than view this item on its own. Add fries, a drink, dips and a dessert, then choose your age and sex, and switch between US and UK guidance, for a more accurate view of how a Sweet Tea (Extra Small) fits into a day.

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Nutrition information

Nutrition information: McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small)

Calories70
Total fat0g
of which saturated0g
Trans fat0g
Carbohydrate18g
Total sugars17g
Includes added sugars17g
Fibre0g
Protein0.5g
Sodium10mg

Nutrition figures are McDonald’s USA published data, per item as sold and before any optional sauces or extras. Boone converts them to the portion and age comparisons on this page.

McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) contains 70 calories, which is 4% of the 2,000-calorie Daily Value used on US food labels. It provides 0g of total fat, of which 0g is saturated, 17g of total sugars (17g added), 10mg of sodium, 0.5g of protein and 0g of fibre.

McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) is assembled from 2 separately manufactured components, combined at the point of sale. Across the whole item the ingredient list names corn syrups and invert sugar. None of these add nutritional value. They exist to make the item survive industrial production, storage and transport.

McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) is over the US per-meal added sugar limit

McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) contains 17g of added sugar, 1.7 times the 10g per-meal limit in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The same guidelines recommend no added sugar at all for children aged 10 and under.

FDA Daily Values (2,000-calorie diet)

Calories2,000
Total fat78g
Saturated fat20g
Carbohydrate275g
Added sugars50g
Fibre28g
Sodium2,300mg
Protein50g

Added sugar vs total sugar

Where the sugar comes from: McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small)

Effectively all 17g counts as added sugar, or about 4.2 teaspoons against the 10g per-meal limit.

Added sugars come from

  • medium invert sugar in the medium invert sugar

Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030: no more than 10g of added sugar per meal from age 11 and none for children aged 10 and under. FDA Daily Value: 50g a day. Sources are read from the published ingredient list for each component.

Ultra-processed food: what is really in it

Processing and additives: McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small)

McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) is assembled from 2 separately manufactured components, combined and served at the point of sale. Reading the ingredient list closely, it contains corn syrups and invert sugar. These are not there to add nutritional value. They make industrial production and distribution possible.

Corn syrups and invert sugar

Sweeten and control texture more cheaply than sugar alone. Found in the medium invert sugar.

Boone classifies McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) as NOVA group 4, ultra-processed, based on the additives named above. NOVA groups foods by how far they are from their whole-food form, not by how nutritious they are. A group 4 food is not automatically unhealthy, and a group 1 food is not automatically healthy. Read from the published ingredient list, September 2026.

McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) contains at least 3 distinct ingredients: 2 raw and 1 manufactured. Ordered as a full meal with a dip and a dessert that reaches 55, of which 29 are manufactured. Raw means something you could buy and cook with at home; manufactured means a substance that only exists as an output of industrial processing.

Ingredient count by order: McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small)

What you orderRawManufacturedTotal% manufactured
McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) on its own21333%
McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) + medium fries751242%
McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) + fries + a dip16143047%
McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) + fries + dip + a medium Coca-Cola17163348%
McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) + fries + dip + drink + an OREO McFlurry26295553%

The 1 manufactured ingredients

medium invert sugar.

The 2 raw ingredients

orange pekoe and pekoe cut black tea, water.

What those ingredients are, by type

Water1
Fruit, vegetables and nuts1
Sugars and syrups1

Boone counts every distinct named ingredient on McDonald’s published component lists, including sub-ingredients, and removes duplicates, so salt appearing in four components counts once. Additive class names are dropped and the named substance kept, so “leavening (baking soda)” counts baking soda once. Ice and water added at the counter are not counted. Raw covers whole foods and basic kitchen staples such as flour, sugar, salt and oil. Manufactured covers substances that only exist as an output of industrial processing. Every figure here is a minimum. The build uses a Sweet ’n Sour sauce.

Ingredients

McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) is assembled from 2 separately manufactured components.

Ingredients by component: McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small)

Brewed tea

Water, Orange Pekoe And Pekoe Cut Black Tea.

Ice

Ice.

Medium invert sugar

Medium Invert Sugar, Water.

Ingredients taken from the McDonald’s USA product pages, retrieved September 2026, with obvious spelling errors corrected. Recipes change - always check in restaurant before ordering if you have an allergy.

Allergens at a glance

McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) does not declare any of the nine major US allergens.

Allergen information: McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small)

AllergenStatus
MilkNot declared
EggsNot declared
FishNot declared
Crustacean shellfishNot declared
Tree nutsNot declared
PeanutsNot declared
WheatNot declared
SoybeansNot declared
SesameNot declared

Contains caffeine, but McDonald’s USA does not publish a figure. Contains = declared by McDonald’s USA. May contain = McDonald’s states the allergen may be present. McDonald’s prepares food in shared kitchens, so no item can be guaranteed allergen free. UK rules also require barley, oats, mustard, celery and sulphites to be declared; these are shown where the ingredient list names them. Retrieved September 2026.

Frequently asked questions

How many calories are in a McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small)?+

Boone calculates that McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) contains 70 calories, which is 4% of the 2,000-calorie Daily Value and 5% of the daily needs of a moderately active child aged 4 to 8.

How much added sugar is in a McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small)?+

Boone calculates that McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) contains 17g of added sugar, about 4.2 teaspoons, which is 34% of the 50g FDA Daily Value.

Is McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) within US sugar guidance for children?+

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025–2030 recommend no added sugar for children aged 10 and under and no more than 10g per meal from age 11. With 17g of added sugar, McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) is over both.

How much sodium is in a McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small)?+

McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) contains 10mg of sodium. Boone calculates that as 1% of the daily limit for a child aged 4 to 8 and 0% of the 2,300mg adult limit.

Is McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) ultra-processed?+

Boone classifies McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) as NOVA group 4. Reading the published ingredient list, it is assembled from 2 separately manufactured components and contains corn syrups and invert sugar. NOVA group 4 describes how far a food is from its whole-food form, not how nutritious it is.

Is McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) suitable for children?+

Boone’s analysis flags that its 17g of added sugar is above the Dietary Guidelines advice of no added sugar for children aged 10 and under; it contains caffeine. That does not make it off limits, but it does mean a Sweet Tea (Extra Small) uses up a large share of a young child’s day in one item.

Does McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small) contain caffeine?+

Yes. It is made with tea, but McDonald’s USA does not publish a caffeine figure for McDonald's US Sweet Tea (Extra Small).