Panda Express Gold Peak Premium Unsweetened Tea

Gold Peak Premium Unsweetened Tea is the best value drink at Panda Express by a distance: 0 calories, 0 g of sugar, at the same price as every other fountain option. It is brewed black tea with nothing added, and it is the drink to order if you are tracking anything at all.

Unsweetened tea tastes of tea rather than sugar, which is either the appeal or the objection. Brewed properly it carries tannin and a clean bitterness that cuts through fried food better than a soda does, and it works particularly well against the heavier glazed entrees where sweetness is already covered by the plate.

Set against the sweetened version at 410 calories, this saves more calories than any single food swap on the menu. It also beats every diet soda on flavor if you actually like tea, and it carries caffeine at typical iced tea levels for anyone who wants that.

It suits every order here, particularly the treat meals where the food is doing the indulging. Pair it with Orange Chicken at 510 calories or Beijing Beef at 470 calories and the meal stays honest. Sweeten it yourself at the station if you want a middle ground. The full tea lineup is on the drinks menu.