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Teh Tarik, Sweet Drinks and Sugar Awareness

In short

Sweet drinks are one of the biggest hidden sources of sugar in the Malaysian diet. Two or three teh tariks a day can quietly outweigh your dessert. You do not have to give them up entirely, switching most to kosong versions is often the single easiest change for fat loss.

Written & reviewed by M. Thurairaj & team, Registered Physiotherapist & Certified Trainers
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Malaysians drink their sugar as much as they eat it. A teh tarik here, a sirap bandung there, a canned drink with lunch, and a kopi with condensed milk in the afternoon, none of it feels like much, but together it can add more sugar to your day than any meal. Because it is liquid and habitual, most people genuinely do not notice how much is going in.

This is good news, because it means one of the easiest wins in the whole Malaysian diet is hiding in your drinks. You do not have to quit teh tarik or give up the mamak ritual. Just shifting most of your daily drinks to the kosong versions removes a surprising amount of sugar without touching a single thing on your plate, and it often unsticks stalled fat loss.

How much sugar is really in your day

A single sweet teh tarik or bandung carries several teaspoons of sugar, and most people have two or three drinks like it daily without a second thought. Stack that up across a week and you are drinking a large, invisible amount of sugar. It is not the occasional treat that hurts, it is the daily default nobody notices.

Simple swaps that keep the ritual

  • Teh o kosong or kopi kosong instead of the sweet default
  • Ask for kurang manis if kosong is a step too far at first
  • Keep the full-sugar version as an occasional treat
  • Plain water or sparkling water with meals most of the time

Why liquid sugar is sneaky

Sugary drinks do not fill you up the way food does, so the calories slip in without reducing how much you eat afterwards. That makes them uniquely easy to over-consume. Cutting them is one of the few changes that lowers your intake without leaving you hungrier, which is exactly why it works so well for fat loss.

Making the change stick

  1. Count how many sweet drinks you actually have in a day
  2. Switch the easiest one to kosong this week
  3. Move to kurang manis on the rest as your taste adjusts
  4. Keep one sweet drink as a genuine treat, not a default
  5. Notice how your taste for sweetness drops within weeks

Frequently Asked Questions

Is teh tarik really bad for me?+

Not in itself, the issue is quantity and sugar. Two or three sweet ones a day add up fast. Switch most to teh o kosong and keep the sweet version as a treat, and it stops being a problem.

Will cutting sweet drinks alone help me lose weight?+

For many people, yes, surprisingly so. Liquid sugar adds significant calories without filling you up. Removing most of it lowers your intake without extra hunger, which often restarts stalled fat loss on its own.

Kosong tastes terrible to me. Any tips?+

Start with kurang manis rather than full kosong, and give it a few weeks. Your taste for sweetness genuinely drops over time, and drinks that once seemed bland become normal, then the sweet ones start to feel like too much.

Do I have to give up sweet drinks completely?+

No. The goal is to change the default, not ban the drink. Have your favourite sweet teh tarik as an occasional treat and make kosong or kurang manis the everyday choice. That balance is easy to keep long term.

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