Coffee House Beverages: The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

Do you swing by Dunkin’ drive-thru for coffee on your way into work? Or frequent Starbucks for an afternoon caffeine boost? If your answer was yes, you’re not alone. About 73 percent of Americans drink coffee daily and more than 50 percent buy coffee (or another beverage) from a coffee shop at least once a week, spending an average of $21.32 each week. Coffee shops are very enticing, rolling out festive, seasonal flavors, particularly during the holidays. But these drinks may be taking a toll on your wallet, and more importantly, your health.

Unless you like your coffee black, some of your favorite coffee drinks probably have more calories and saturated fat than you would expect. More importantly, many drinks – even those with a reasonable number of calories and grams of fat – are extremely high in sugar. Ideally, women should limit their daily sugar intake to 24 grams, the equivalent of 6 teaspoons or 100 calories. And men should have no more than 36 grams, which is 9 teaspoons or 150 calories. Excess sugar has been linked to obesity, heart disease, dental issues and joint pain. It also ages your skin.

Here’s a breakdown of common take-out beverage choices from three of the most popular coffee spots. Obviously, black coffee and tea are the healthiest options (after bottled water), but if you want to treat yourself without overindulging check out these options at Dunkin’, McCafé and Starbucks.

Dunkin’ 

Dunkin’ (formerly Dunkin’ Donuts) is one of the most popular coffee shops in the U.S. and has a diverse menu of beverages. Here are a few items.

Better Choices
Hot or Iced Cappuccino – has 120 calories, 3.5 grams of saturated fat and 9 grams of sugar for a medium cup.

Hot Latte with Milk – has 130 calories, .5 grams of saturated fat and 5 grams of sugar for a medium cup.

Berry Hibiscus Iced Tea – doesn’t have any calories, fat or sugar.

Less Healthy Choices
Frozen coffee – available in plain, caramel swirl, butter pecan swirl, French vanilla swirl and mocha swirl. For a medium cup, Calories range between 410 and 610, saturated fat is 2.5 grams and sugar is between 84 and 129 grams depending on flavor and cup size.

Flavored cold brew coffees – available in Cookie Batter, Peppermint Mocha and Toasted White Chocolate Coconut flavors. For a medium cup, calories range between 200 and 260, saturated fat is between 2 and 4.5 grams and sugar is between 37 and 49 grams, depending on flavor.

Signature Hot Lattes – available holiday cookie, peppermint mocha, pumpkin spice and toasted white chocolate flavors. For medium cup, calories range between 340 and 420, saturated fat is between 3.5 and 9 grams and sugar is between 45 and 56 grams depending on flavor.  

Flavored Hot Coffees – available in almond spice, nutty pumpkin, peppermint mocha, spiced cookie and white hazelnut bark flavors. For a medium cup, calories range between 130 and 260, saturated fat can be high as 5 grams if cream is added and sugars range between 30 and 41 grams depending on flavor.

Coolatta – available in blue raspberry, strawberry and vanilla bean flavors. For a medium, calories range between 350 and 590 and 83 and 125 grams of sugar depending on the flavor. The vanilla bean is the only flavor with saturated fat, which is 2.5 grams.

Hot Chocolate – available in peppermint mocha flavor. For a medium cup, calories are 500, saturated fat is 9 grams and sugar is 84 grams.

Don’t Be Fooled by: 
Frozen Chai Latte and Frozen Matcha Latte. Chai and matcha teas are usually healthy choices, as they’re high in antioxidants. However, Dunkin’s frozen chai latte and matcha lattes also are high in sugar with 40 grams and 82 grams respectively per medium cup.

McCafé Coffees

McCafé is a coffee-house style chain owned by McDonald’s. It’s one of the most popular places to grab and go coffee in the U.S. Here’s an overview of their coffee options.  

Better Choices
McCafé Latté (hot) – for a medium cup, it’s 190 calories, 5 grams of fat and 13 grams of sugar.

McCafé Cappuccino – for a medium cup, it’s 160 calories, 4.5 grams of fat and 11 grams of sugar.

McCafé Iced Latté –for a medium cup, it’s 120 calories, 3.5 grams of fat and 0 grams of sugar.

Less Healthy Choices
McCafé Flavored Cappuccino – available in French vanilla and caramel. A medium cup has 260 calories, 3.5 grams of saturated fat and between 34 and 39 grams of sugar depending on flavor.  

McCafé Flavored Iced Lattés – available in French vanilla, caramel and mocha. For a medium cup, calories range between 200 and 320 calories, between 3 and 7 grams of saturated fat and between 26 and 41 grams of sugar depending on flavor.

McCafé Flavored Lattés (hot) – available in French vanilla, caramel and mocha. For a medium cup, calories range between 320 and 370, saturated fat between 5 grams and 7 grams and sugar between 38 and 49 depending on flavor.

McFrappés – available in caramel and mocha flavors. For a medium cup, it’s 490 calories, 13 grams of saturated fat and between 60 and 62 grams of sugar depending on flavor.

McCafé Caramel Macchiato – a medium hot macchiato has 320 calories, 5 grams of saturated fat and 44 grams of sugar; while an iced macchiato has 240 calories, 3.5 grams of saturated fat and 35 grams of sugar.

Don’t be fooled by: 

McCafé Hot Chocolate. Hot chocolate is never a healthy choice, but a cup of homemade hot chocolate usually has less than 200 calories, 6 grams of total fat and 25 grams of sugar. However, a medium cup of McCafé Hot Chocolate has 440 calories, 8 grams of saturated fat, 55 grams of sugar.  

Starbucks Coffee 

Starbucks is the leading coffee shop chain in the United States. They have a wide array of menu items. Here are just a few. Keep in mind, a Grande is equal to a standard medium cup.

Healthier Choices

Classic Espresso Drinks (with 2 percent milk) – available in caffé latte, cappuccino and caffé Americano flavors. For a Grande cup, there’s between 15 and 190 calories, between 3.5 grams of saturated fat and between 0 and 17 grams of sugar depending on the flavor.

Skinny Latte (with non-fat milk) – has 120 calories, 0.2 grams of saturated fat and 16 grams of sugar.

Less Healthy Options
Shaken Iced Beverages (with classic syrup) – available in coffee, tea and tea with lemonade flavors. For a Grande cup, calories range between 80 and 130, 0 grams of fat and between 21 and 33 grams of sugar depending on the flavor.  

Frappuccino Blended Crème (with whole milk and without whipped cream) - available in strawberry crème, vanilla bean, double chocolatey chip and green tea flavors. For a Grande cup, calories range between 260 and 320 calories, between 2 and 6 grams of saturated fat and between 49 and 63 grams of sugar.

Frappuccino Blended Coffees (with whole milk) – available in coffee, mocha, caramel and java chip flavors. For a Grande cup, calories range between 120 and 220, between 0.1 and 3 grams of fat and between 50 and 62 grams of sugar depending on flavor. 

Signature Espresso Drinks (with 2 percent milk) – available in caramel macchiato, white chocolate mocha, hot chocolate, caramel apple spice flavors. For a Grande cup, calories range between 240 and 400, between 3.5 and 7 grams of fat and between 32 and 65 grams of sugar depending on the flavor.

Tazo Tea Drinks (with 2 percent milk) – available in green tea latte, full-leaf tea latte, full-leaf red tea latte flavors. For a Grande cup between 190 and 350 calories, between 2 and 4 grams of saturated fat and between 30 and 55 grams of sugar.

Frappuccino Light Blended Coffee (with non-fat milk) – available in coffee, mocha, caramel and java chip flavors. For a Grande cup, calories range between 120 and 220, between 0.1 and 3 grams of saturated fat and between 26 and 39 grams of sugar depending on the flavor.

Classic Espresso Drinks (with 2 percent milk) – available in caffè mocha and vanilla latte flavors. A Grande cup has between 250 and 260 calories, 3.5 and 4.5 grams of saturated fat and around 35 grams of sugar.

Don’t Be Fooled by 
Frappuccino Match Green Tea – In fact, a scoop of green matcha tea powder add on has just as many grams of sugar, i.e., 5, as an add on pump of mocha syrup.

How to Order Healthier Options 

Obviously, drinking coffee at home is usually healthier than ordering from a coffee shop. However, if you want a coffee fix while you’re out, here are a few tips to help keep your order at healthy as possible in any coffee shop.

Keep the size small. 
There are significant differences in calories, fat and sugar among the different cup sizes.

Choose healthier dairy. 
Skip the whipped cream and choose a milk that’s lower in saturated fat like 2 percent or non-fat. You also can opt for a plant-based milk such as almond, but make sure you ask how many grams of sugar are in the almond milk. You might be better off with a non-fat or 2 percent milk than sweetened almond milk.

Swap syrups with spices. 
Flavored coffees are often sweetened with syrup. You can help lower the sugar content of your coffee by requesting half the pumps of syrup. If you miss the syrup, ask for spices such as cinnamon and nutmeg to help flavor your coffee. You also can request combining a plain coffee with a flavored coffee.

Read the nutrition facts. 
Many coffee shops have their menus with nutrition available online or via a mobile app.

For more on coffee, read how drinking it may lower your risk of death >>