What 25 g of Sugar Looks Like: Teaspoons in Desi Drinks
25 g of sugar is about 6 level teaspoons, and a single 330 ml can of cola already holds more than that. WHO advises keeping free sugars under 10% of daily energy and ideally under 5%, which is roughly 25 g a day. Here’s what that looks like in chai, sharbat, lassi, jalebi and gulab jamun, and how to count it yourself from a label.
In brief
- 1 level teaspoon of sugar: about 4 g, about 16 kcal.
- WHO limit: under 10% of energy (about 50 g on a 2,000 kcal day), ideally under 5% (about 25 g, or 6 teaspoons).
- Counts as free sugar: sugar, gur, shakkar, honey, syrups, and juice, even fresh juice.
- Doesn’t count: sugar inside whole fruit and plain milk or dahi.
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What “free sugar” means, in plain words
Free sugar is any sugar that’s been added to food, plus the sugar in honey, syrups and fruit juice. The spoon of cheeni in your chai is free sugar. So is the gur in gur wale chawal and the honey in lemon water. Honey and gur aren’t a loophole; your body handles them much like white sugar, as our look at juice, cola and Rooh Afza explains for drinks.
Sugar that’s still locked inside a whole mango or a glass of plain milk isn’t counted. The fruit’s fibre and the milk’s protein change how it behaves, and nobody overeats plain milk.
The 25 g of sugar in teaspoons: desi drinks and sweets
Figures below are ranges. Brands and home recipes vary a lot, so the label or your own spoon is always the final word. Teaspoon counts use 4 g per level teaspoon.
| Item | Normal serving | Free sugar | Teaspoons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doodh patti | 1 cup, 2 tsp sugar | 8 g | 2 |
| Cola | 1 can, 330 ml | 33 to 37 g | 8 to 9 |
| Packaged fruit drink | 250 ml | 25 to 30 g | 6 to 7.5 |
| Fresh orange juice | 250 ml glass | 20 to 25 g | 5 to 6 |
| Rose sharbat | 1 glass, 2 tbsp syrup | 20 to 24 g | 5 to 6 |
| Sweet lassi | 300 ml, 3 tsp sugar | 12 g | 3 |
| Gulab jamun | 1 piece with syrup | 12 to 20 g | 3 to 5 |
| Jalebi | 50 g (2 to 3 small coils) | 20 to 24 g | 5 to 6 |
| Cream biscuits | 2 biscuits | 6 to 8 g | 1.5 to 2 |
| Ketchup | 1 tbsp | 4 g | 1 |
The lassi row counts only the added sugar. Milk and dahi carry their own natural milk sugar, which doesn’t count toward the limit.
One can of cola is 8 to 9 teaspoons. That’s more than the ideal limit for the whole day.
How one ordinary day adds up
Most of us don’t eat a jalebi and drink a cola every day. The real total sneaks in through chai.
| Day | What’s in it | Free sugar | Teaspoons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Usual day | 3 cups chai at 2 tsp (24 g) + 50 g jalebi (20 to 24 g) | 44 to 48 g | 11 to 12 |
| Lighter day | 3 cups chai at 1 tsp (12 g) + 1 gulab jamun (12 to 20 g) | 24 to 32 g | 6 to 8 |
| Target day | 3 cups chai at half a tsp (6 g) + 2 cream biscuits (6 to 8 g) + 1 tbsp ketchup (4 g) | 16 to 18 g | 4 to 4.5 |
The usual day sits under the 50 g ceiling but nearly double the ideal. Cutting chai sugar alone moves it most of the way. The 7 day less sugar in chai reset walks through doing that without hating your chai.
How to count sugar from a label in teaspoons
- Find “Carbohydrate, of which sugars” on the nutrition panel.
- Check whether the column is per 100 g/100 ml or per serving. A 500 ml bottle is often two servings.
- Work out your amount. Example: 11 g sugars per 100 ml in a 330 ml can is 11 × 3.3 = about 36 g.
- Divide by 4 to get teaspoons: 36 ÷ 4 = 9 teaspoons.
- Use the UK “high or low” guide: more than 22.5 g total sugars per 100 g is high; 5 g or less is low.
- Read the ingredients too. Sugar hides as glucose, dextrose, sucrose, corn syrup, invert syrup, fruit juice concentrate, honey and gur. The earlier it appears, the more there is.
One catch: the label’s “sugars” line includes natural milk sugar. A plain dahi may show 4 to 5 g per 100 g with no added sugar at all. A flavoured one showing 12 g has roughly 7 to 8 g added. More label tricks are in how to read a snack label in under a minute.
See it with your own spoon
Take a level teaspoon, a glass and a packet of sugar. Spoon in the number of teaspoons your usual cola or sharbat holds (8 or 9 for a can). Seeing the small pile in the glass makes the number real in a way the label never does.
Sugar, diabetes and blood pressure
Free sugar isn’t banned for anyone, including people with diabetes. But drinks raise blood sugar fastest, because there’s nothing to slow them down. If you have diabetes, sugary drinks are the first thing worth swapping, with whole fruit in small portions (about 100 to 150 g with a meal) instead of juice.
For reference, a fasting glucose of 126 mg/dL or above, or an HbA1c of 6.5% or above, is used to diagnose diabetes. A clinic blood pressure of 140/90 or above counts as high. Cutting sugary drinks helps with weight, which can help both, but it’s not a replacement for anything your doctor has prescribed.
You take insulin or a sulfonylurea: don’t cut food sharply on your own, and keep a quick sugar source (glucose tablets or juice) for a low. That’s the one time a sugary drink is the right answer. Never stop or change a diabetes or BP medicine because you’ve cut sugar; ask your doctor first. Children under 2 shouldn’t have added sugar at all, and honey is never given under 1 year. Extreme thirst, passing urine very often and weight loss you can’t explain are reasons to get your sugar checked.
For more swaps like this, see Desi Weight Loss.
Questions about 25 g of sugar and teaspoons
How many teaspoons is 25 g of sugar?
About 6 level teaspoons, since one level teaspoon holds roughly 4 g. A heaped teaspoon holds more, often 6 to 8 g.
How much sugar should I have in a day?
WHO advises keeping free sugars under 10% of your energy, about 50 g on a 2,000 kcal day. Staying under 5%, about 25 g, is better still.
How many teaspoons of sugar are in a can of cola?
Usually 8 to 9 level teaspoons in a 330 ml can. Check the label, as recipes differ by brand and country.
Is gur or honey better than white sugar?
Not in any way that matters for the limit. Both count as free sugar and carry much the same energy per teaspoon.
Does fresh juice count as free sugar?
Yes. Once fruit is juiced, its sugar counts toward the limit. A 250 ml glass of fresh orange juice holds about 20 to 25 g.
Does sugar in fruit and milk count?
Not when it’s in whole fruit or plain milk and dahi. Those aren’t free sugars under the WHO definition.
How much sugar is in one cup of chai?
Whatever you add: each level teaspoon is about 4 g. Two teaspoons in three cups a day is 24 g, nearly the whole ideal limit.
Can people with diabetes have any sugar?
Small planned amounts can fit, but drinks are the worst way to have it. Your doctor or dietitian can set a plan that fits your medicines.
What does “of which sugars” mean on a label?
It’s the total sugar inside the carbohydrate figure. It includes natural milk and fruit sugars, so read the ingredients to see what’s added.
How much sugar is in a gulab jamun?
Roughly 12 to 20 g per piece with its syrup, or 3 to 5 teaspoons. Draining the syrup cuts a fair share.
Is sugar free cola a good swap?
It removes the sugar and calories, so it’s better than regular cola for most adults. Water, lemon water without sugar and plain lassi are better still.