Most people know that black coffee has about zero calories. Add a few ice cubes to cool it off and you're not adding any more. A little milk to lighten it up, a few teaspoons of sugar to sweeten it, and you're only talking about 50 calories--no big deal, right?
But, do you have any idea what's in the iced coffee drinks you pick up at the popular coffee chain, local coffee bars, or even the new fast-food coffee drink competitor? A lot!
For example, there are over 300 calories in the fast-food version of a medium iced mocha, and almost 600 in a name-brand frappuccino! In the hot drinks you can expect to consume about 300 calories in a serving of latte.
Where are these calories coming from, and is there any way you can still enjoy your coffee drink without sabotaging your dietary calorie balance?
Relax! Any of these places will make your coffee drink special-to-order, so you can reduce the calories by hundreds!
1. Milk
First, take the milk that's used, whether it's heated or foamed. For every eight ounces of whole milk in your beverage there are about 9 grams of fat--close to 80 calories just from the fat! Non-fat milk (formerly called skim) has virtually zero fat grams, so you can save 80 calories. And remember, that's for eight ounces--many of these drinks are using 12 ounces of milk, saving you up to 120 calories.
2. Syrup
Now, look at the syrup that flavors your coffee--maybe hazelnut, vanilla, caramel, or chocolate. Many coffee bars put three or four squirts of sugary syrup in. How can you reduce the calories? They usually offer sugar-free varieties of any flavor. Personally I like the regular flavor, but can do without the extreme sweetness, so I'll ask them to cut the amount of syrup in half. Either way, you can save up to 80 calories by reducing the sugar in the flavored syrup.
3. Cream
Finally, most coffee drinks--whether hot or cold--are topped with a rather large dollop of whipped cream. This could easily be adding more than 50 calories, depending on how generous the barrista! So, ask for less or do without, and save some more calories.
You've now found three ways to reduce the calories in your coffee drink: less fat in the milk, less sugar from the syrup (by using sugar-free or reducing the amount), and less (or no) whipped cream.
Use your judgement and run a few trials to see what works for you and your taste. A coffee drink needn't have more calories than a glass of skim milk (90 calories) with a little sweetener; and think of all the calcium and riboflavin you can get from that another serving of a dairy product in your diet.
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Or you could have a smaller size of the drink you want. Or you could think about these coffees as a treat, which is what they should be. The solution to dealing with high calorie items is not always just cutting the calories in them, but sometimes cutting the number times you indulge.
ReplyThis is not news to me. I have worked at Starbucks and have made these high calorie fatty drinks for people. My nutrition professor said if you love lattes get them in a small size with non fat milk. This is around 100 cals with almost 9g of protein plus about 12g of carbs (the lactose). It's what I drink to beat my 3pm slump. You can even get it half calf so you can get to sleep at a decent time. Every once and a while as a treat, in moderation, you can get one or two pumps of a flavored syrup.
ReplyI just find any syrups nasty. I can't even eat pancakes anymore with maple syrup.
ReplyIve avoided these drinks simply because the thought of paying that much for coffee blows my mind. Plus i find cream disgusting.
ReplyWhatever happened to "i'll take it black, no sugar no cream"? There's nothing like tasting the coffee flavor without any additives!
ReplyUgh...I get so sick of these articles about the calories counts of coffee drinks. First, they assume you're going to be shocked at how horrible the calorie count is. Then they assume that you're ordering the largest size with the whip cream. The reality is, I couldn't choke down a venti mocha chip frappuccino if I tried.
I don't visit Starbucks much anymore because it's just too expensive, but when I do (and when I did regularly), I get an iced coffee made with cream, and during Christmas time, an occasional TALL size pumpkin spice latte or frappuccino with light whip cream, each of which have less than 300 calories, a far cry from the 600 calories the article mentions. Sure, there are exceptions, but most of us know the meaning of moderation, and enjoy fancy drinks as a treat, and not a dietary staple.
ReplyI think the point of the article is that most people don't drink these high-calorie coffees as an occasional treat, but a staple.
ReplyThis is good, but we did quite a detailed investigation of this here: How Many Calories in Coffee".
Replywhy would i want to pay more for more calories?
i always get regular black coffee and add a splash (no more than 2 oz) of skim milk and a couple packets of splenda or sweet n low. many times i skip the milk altogether.
ReplyMy wife got a coffee at Starbucks for the first time in a while, and we checked the calorie content... it was 560!!!! And that was the grande size. That is like a meal replacement. Scary stuff. Not to mention we handed over a 5 spot and only got a few coins back. I'm so over the coffee chains.
Replynice
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