How Many Calories do Coffee Drinks Contain?
Calorie Counts in Some Gourmet Coffees are the Same as Having a Meal
Aug 4, 2009
Coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world and for many people coffee breaks are part of the daily routine. However, few people consider what coffee contributes to their calorific intake. It can be as little as 2 Calories to well over 500 Calories, which means it is the equivalent to eating a double cheeseburger with fries.
An 8 ounce cup of plain brewed coffee or expresso coffee contains no fat and only 2 Calories. The calories come from a small amount of protein and some mono-unsaturated oils from the coffee beans. It is what is added to the coffee that increases the fat, sugar and calorie count, plus the fact that most people go for a medium of large serving rather than the small 8 ounce size.
Where do Calories in Coffee Come From?
Coffee is bitter due to the caffeine it contains and it is frequently sweetened by adding milk, sugar and syrups. These additives are where the calories come from. Each teaspoon of sugar adds about 15 calories (50 calories for a tablespoon), and about 15 millilitres of whipping cream adds more than 50 calories plus 5 grams of fat to a cup of coffee.
Cappuccino and latte coffee both contain large amounts of milk. The most common milk choices are full cream, skim or soy. The following shows the Calorie and fat content per 100ml.
- Full cream milk contains about 66 Calories and 3.9g of fat
- Skim milk contains about 34 Calories and 0.1g of fat
- Soy milk contains about 35 Calories and 2g of fat
Many flavoured coffee and gourmet coffees contain coffee syrups in caramel, vanilla, hazelnut, chocolate or other flavours. Each pump of syrup adds about 20 Calories or a tablespoon is around 50 Calories. Some drinks contain as many as 4 tablespoons (200 Calories). Sugar-free syrups are available and these add no calories or fat to a drink.
Coffee Calorie Counts
A small straight black coffee has the lowest calorie count, with just 2.
- Small macchiato = 8 calories
- Small skim flat white = 70 calories
- Soy flat white = 80 calories
- Small full cream flat white = 130 calories,
- Large full cream caramel latte = 310 calories
- Large hot crème brulee latte from Gloria Jeans = 428 calories
- Large (700-ml) dark berry mocha frappuccino from Starbucks = 561 calories
- Large double chocolate chip frappuccino from Starbucks = 580 calories
The larger the size the more milk and the more calories it will contain.
Minimising the Calories in Coffee
There are several options for reducing calorie intake from coffee drinks.
- Reduce the serving size. Moving from a medium to small size saves around 50 Calories for a coffee with full cream milk and about 27 Calories for a skim milk coffee. At one coffee a day this saves 350 calories a week which is equivalent to jogging for 45 minutes.
- Choose skim milk instead of full cream. This practically cuts the calorie count from milk in half. The larger the serving size the more calories saved and it will add to a lot over a year.
- Avoid sugar. A small spoon of sugar twice a day soon adds to your weekly calorie count. If you have a sweet tooth try gradually reducing the amount of sugar. Use artificial sweeteners, and try to get out of the habit of adding sugar to coffee drinks.
- Develop a taste for black coffee. If you are used to milk and sugar this can take a while, but it can save you thousands of calories a year.
Only Have Syrup Based Coffees as a Special Treat
Gourmet coffee drinks should be treated like a dessert in terms of calories consumed. Adding 200 calories a day to a diet through specialty coffees is equivalent to adding around 21 extra pounds to your body weight over one year. By understanding where the calories in coffee come from and adjusting coffee preferences you can avoid these extra calories.
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