Carb count for Thai Iced Tea?

[delilah]

I am a complete and total addict for Thai Iced Tea. In the past, I'd boil up some thai tea, then add sweetened condensed milk to it. Well, I've managed to modify my recipe to the following:

Approx 12 oz of brewed tea (I make a big pot of it, then put it in the refrigerator)
1-2 oz of half and half or cream
3 packets of Splenda.
Stir it all together

Anyway, I've figured out that the Splenda adds about 1.5g of carb, the half and half 1-2g, and the tea... Well, that's where I'm having problems. The package of loose tea (you can get it at most asian stores) says "Total Carbohydrate - 2g," listing Dietary Fiber as "less than 1g" and Sugar as 1g. It lists a serving size of 1 Tbsp. I'm assuming that these counts are for brewed tea and not eating the stuff out of the bag??

So when making a large pot (about 60oz), I tend to use 3 Tbsp. So if their labels are correct, I should be adding another 1.5g for every 12 oz of tea, right?

Does anyone know for certain, since I'm just guessing here? Does caffeine have an active carb count as well (since it can act like a carb)? Thai tea is high in caffeine as far as teas go.

Thanks!

[Karen]

Asian labelling can be notoriously off in the nutrition counts.

One cup - 8 oz. - of brewed tea has 0.71 grams of total carbohydrates. Caffeine does not have an active carb count although it may raise insulin levels.

If you want to lower the carb count for the whole Thai tea experience, use heavy whipping cream - 0.41 grams per tablespoon - and a natural sweetener you may want to look into is Stevia. It is liquid, and has a count of 0 carbs. It's available in natural foods stores.

Karen