Panda Express Black Tea

Black Tea at Panda Express is the near zero calorie brewed option: 10 calories with 0 g of sugar, $2.20 for a small. It is one of a small group of drinks here that adds essentially nothing to a meal total.

Brewed black tea, served cold, with the clean astringency that makes iced tea a genuine palate cleanser rather than just a cold liquid. Against the heavily sauced dishes that dominate this menu, that astringency does real work, resetting between bites in a way carbonation cannot.

At 10 calories it sits alongside unsweetened tea and the diet sodas at the free end of the fountain, and against Sweet Tea at 410 calories the saving is the largest available from any single swap in the store. Caffeine is present at normal iced tea levels.

It suits anyone who wants flavor without sugar, and it pairs with the whole menu, particularly the sweeter entrees. Try it with Honey Sesame Chicken Breast at 340 calories or SweetFire Chicken Breast at 360 calories, where the tea offsets the glaze. The tea range including green options is on the Panda Express drinks menu.