Coffee is always a good idea, they say… until you read the calories.
What if I told you one cup of black coffee (8 fl oz or 237 g) has only ONE calorie. Yes ONE, UNO, 1!
Hidden calories are in the add-on ingredients. Not the coffee itself. According to Mayo Clinic, 1 tablespoon of half-and-half has 20 calories, 1 tablespoon of sugar consists of 49 calories, 1 tablespoon of heavy whipping cream will add another 52 calories and even fat-free milk has 5 calories.
The truth is, most of us don’t just drink a cup (8 fl oz) of coffee, we drink way more than that. And if you add the extra sugar, cream, and milk… what would happen to that one calorie drink?
When you wake up in the morning, instead of enjoying your coffee, do you sometimes have an overwhelming desire to stop drinking because you’re afraid of adding another load of sugar to your diet?
If so, you’re not alone. A whopping 65% of Americans drink their coffee with sugar and cream.
For example, a 16 fl oz Starbucks Latte Macchiatto has 220 calories. The calories come from the 17 g of sugar, whole milk, and foamed milk. A 16 fl oz Starbucks Americano (without milk or sugar) has 5 calories.
Research shows that convenience and price are the main factors influencing consumers’ decisions on buying a particular type of coffee. Euromonitor reported that the top five coffee brands are Keurig, Folgers, Starbucks, Maxwell House, and Dunkin’ Donuts.
Back to the question: How many calories are in your coffee?
One shot (1 fl oz) of espresso is 3 calories. And if you go for 2 shots it will only be 6 calories. These are little cups induced with lots of caffeine.
For those who can’t have lots of caffeine but still like to have coffee, there’s decaf coffee. The good news is decaf has 0 calories.
One cup of brewed coffee (drip, French press) has 2 calories. If you drink 16 oz (2 cups) you will consume 4 calories.
The Green Mountain Keurig K-cup coffee has only 2 calories in 6 fl oz (179 g or a little under 1 cup).
These are examples of black coffee.
What if you prefer coffee with sugar, cream, or milk? Here are the calories you are looking at in your cup:
1 Grande (16 fl oz) Starbucks with whole milk = 140 calories
1 shot (1 fl oz) Caffe macchiato with whole milk = 15 calories
1 shot (1 fl oz) Caffe macchiato with non-fat or soy milk = 10 calories
1 cup (8 fl oz) of latte = 67 calories
1 cup (8 fl oz) of Caffe Americano has 5 calories, according to Peets, so if you use the Mayo Clinic calories quoted earlier here is how many calories your 16 oz Caffe Americano with 2 tablespoons of sugar, 2 tablespoons of half-and-half has:
16 fl oz Caffe Americano (10 calories)+ 2 tablespoons of sugar (49 + 49 calories) + 2 tablespoons of half-and-half (20 + 20 calories)
= 148 calories
Some of us like adding coffee creamer to our coffee. The results are as follows for a 16 oz cup of Caffe Americano:
Add 2 tablespoons of creme brulee flavored coffee creamer = 80 calories
Add 2 tablespoons of original Irish Cream flavored coffee creamer = 90 calories
Add 2 tablespoons of hazelnut flavored coffee creamer = 80 calories
Verdict:
If you want to avoid adding calories to your diet, stop adding stuff in your coffee.
Here are 3 useful tips to help you like black coffee:
- Buy freshly roasted coffee from one of the coffee roasters in your hometown or buy online.
- Grind your coffee right before you brew.
- Try different brewing methods (AeroPress, Chemex, French press etc) and choose one that you like.
- There’s no harm in adding a touch of milk to your coffee.
Enjoy your coffee! Let us know what you think about this article. Your comments will help us produce better content for you. Thank you!
