Herbal Tea, explained
Herbal Tea is an instant powder of green and black tea extracts that you stir into hot or cold water. Tea drinkers use it for a quick, low-calorie cup or a jug of iced tea.
From Herbalife, tap to play
What Herbal Tea is
Half a teaspoon, which is 1.7g, makes one drink in 200 to 240ml of water. The powder dissolves straight away, so there is no bag to brew or leaves to strain.
The blend is green tea extract, orange pekoe black tea extract, caffeine powder, hibiscus flower powder and cardamom seed extract. Each serving has 87.5mg of caffeine and 6 kcal.
We sell it in Original, Lemon and Mango Dragon Fruit. The 51g tub makes 30 drinks and the 102g tub makes 60.
High Protein Iced Coffee is the other caffeinated drink in the range. It has 80mg of caffeine but also 15g of protein and 80 kcal a glass, so it does a different job.
What's in it, ingredient by ingredient
Green tea leaf extract
17.7% of the powder, about 0.3g per servingGreen tea comes from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. To make green tea, the leaves are steamed, pan fried and dried, but not fermented.
Herbalife says its green tea is water extracted, much like brewing a cup. At 17.7% of a 1.7g serving, each drink holds about 0.3g of the extract.
Why it's in Herbal Tea: Herbalife says the green tea is water extracted to give the same range of compounds you would expect from traditionally brewed green tea.
Green tea naturally contains caffeine, which is part of the 87.5mg total.
Orange pekoe black tea extract
4.7% of the powder, about 0.08g per servingBlack tea comes from the same Camellia sinensis plant as green tea. The difference is processing, because black tea leaves are fermented and green tea leaves are not.
Herbalife calls this a traditional orange pekoe black tea. It makes up 4.7% of the powder, about 0.08g in each serving.
Why it's in Herbal Tea: Herbalife includes it as the black tea in the blend, alongside the green tea.
Tea is the biggest single source of caffeine for UK adults. In EFSA's survey data it supplied 57% of their caffeine.
Caffeine
87.5mg per serving in totalCaffeine is a natural compound found in tea leaves, coffee beans, cacao and guarana. Chemists class it as a methylxanthine.
In this drink some caffeine comes from the tea extracts and the rest is added as caffeine powder. Herbalife gives only the total, not the split.
87.5mg is a little more than the Food Standards Agency's 75mg for a mug of tea. It is less than a mug of coffee, which the FSA puts at 100 to 140mg.
Why it's in Herbal Tea: Herbalife states the caffeine as 87.5mg per serving, so you can count it alongside your other tea and coffee.
EFSA says healthy adults can have up to 400mg of caffeine a day from all sources, and up to 200mg in one go. Two servings come to 175mg.
Maltodextrin
The first ingredient by weightMaltodextrin is a carbohydrate powder. Ingredients are listed by weight, so there is more maltodextrin than anything else in the tub.
A serving is so small that it still holds only 1g of carbohydrate, of which 0.1g is sugars.
Why it's in Herbal Tea: It is the base powder that the tea extracts are mixed into.
Steviol glycosides (Lemon and Mango Dragon Fruit only)
Steviol glycosides are sweet compounds taken from the leaves of the stevia plant. On labels they can also appear as E960.
Original has no sweetener at all.
Why it's in Herbal Tea: Herbalife sweetens the Lemon and Mango Dragon Fruit flavours with this naturally sourced sweetener from stevia leaves.
All sweeteners sold in Great Britain go through a safety assessment before they can be used.
Hibiscus flower powder and cardamom seed extract complete the herbal blend, and natural flavourings give each flavour its taste. Lemon also contains citric acid as a flavour enhancer.
Reading the label
Per 1.7g serving (half a teaspoon), Original flavour
- Energy: 6 kcal (25 kJ). About 0.3% of the 2,000 kcal adult reference intake.
- Carbohydrate: 1g. Mostly from the maltodextrin base.
- Sugars: 0.1g. There is only a trace of sugar.
- Fat and protein: 0g. There is no fat or protein to speak of.
- Salt: 0g. There is no salt to speak of in a serving.
- Caffeine: 87.5mg. A little more than a mug of tea. This figure comes from Herbalife's product information, not the nutrition panel.
The panel describes the powder only. Water adds nothing, so the figures are the same hot or iced.
The per 100g column looks large, at 354 kcal, because it describes 100g of dry powder. A serving is only 1.7g.
Original 51g
Lemon 51g
Original 102g
Mango Dragon Fruit 102gHow to use it
Half a teaspoon per cup
Gently shake the tub, then mix half a teaspoon (1.7g) into 200 to 240ml of hot or cold water.
Or make a jug
Herbalife suggests 2.5 teaspoons in a litre of water. For a hot jug, infuse boiled water with berries first. For iced tea, infuse the water overnight with pomegranate and orange slices, then add ice.
Herbalife's label suggests one or two glasses a day. Two glasses come to 175mg of caffeine.
Herbalife's jug recipe uses 2.5 teaspoons in a litre of water, which is five servings. Poured as five 200ml glasses, each glass has the same 87.5mg of caffeine as a single cup. The label suggests one or two glasses a day, so a jug is made to share. One person drinking the whole jug would get about 440mg, more than EFSA's 400mg daily figure for adults from all sources.
Because it contains caffeine, a morning or afternoon cup suits most people better than one near bedtime. EFSA notes that 100mg close to bedtime can affect sleep in some adults.
Good to know
Who it suits
- Herbalife states that every flavour is suitable for vegetarians and vegans, and is gluten-free.
- Original has no artificial colours, sweeteners or flavours. Lemon has no artificial colours or flavours, and Mango Dragon Fruit has no artificial colours.
- At 6 kcal a serving, it adds almost nothing to your day.
Check first
- It contains caffeine, despite the word herbal in the name.
- If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, EFSA's figure is 200mg of caffeine a day from all sources, and one serving is 87.5mg. Check with your midwife or GP.
- It is not made for children. EFSA's guide for children is 3mg of caffeine per kg of body weight a day, so a 30kg child's figure would be 90mg, and one serving is 87.5mg.
- The FSA says caffeine can affect people with heart disease, high blood pressure or a mental health condition more strongly.
Questions people ask
Is it caffeine-free because it is herbal?
No. It is made from real tea extracts plus added caffeine powder, and each serving has 87.5mg. That is slightly more than a mug of tea.
How does it compare with my normal cuppa?
The FSA puts a mug of tea at about 75mg of caffeine, so one serving is a little stronger.
How many cups can I have a day?
Herbalife's label suggests one or two glasses a day, which is up to 175mg of caffeine. Count any other tea, coffee or cola on top of that.
Can I make it hot and cold?
Yes. Half a teaspoon mixes into 200 to 240ml of hot or cold water. For a jug, use 2.5 teaspoons in a litre.
Which flavour has no sweetener?
Original. Lemon and Mango Dragon Fruit are sweetened with steviol glycosides from the stevia plant.
How long does a tub last?
The 51g tub holds 30 servings and the 102g tub holds 60. At one cup a day, that is about one month or two months.
Where these facts come from
- label_178K: herbalife.com/assets/regional-reusable-assets/emea/images/nutritional-
- factsheet_178K: Herbalife product information and label
- factsheet_180K: Herbalife product information and label
- factsheet_331K: Herbalife product information and label
- factsheet_012K: Herbalife product information and label
- calc_jug: Herbalife product information and label
- fsa_caffeine: gov.uk/government/publications/food-supplements-containing-caffeine/fo
- efsa_caffeine_2015: efsa.europa.eu/sites/default/files/corporate_publications/files/efsaex
- ods_caffeine: ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/ExerciseAndAthleticPerformance-HealthProfess
- nccih_green_tea: nccih.nih.gov/health/green-tea
- nhs_sweeteners: nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/food-types/are-sweeteners-safe/
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**It is recommended not to exceed a daily intake of 400mg of caffeine from all sources (200mg for pregnant or breast-feeding women). A single dose of 200mg caffeine should not be exceeded. Enjoy as part of a varied, balanced diet and a healthy, active lifestyle. Herbalife images and video are the property of Herbalife. Speak to your GP before changing your diet if you have a medical condition, take medication or are pregnant.
