Your Coffee May Contain a Meal’s Worth of Calories
A recent study from the consumer group Which? showed that people may be drinking a meal’s worth of calories in their morning cup of coffee. The whole milk, cream, and chocolate that coffee shops pour into each cup can add up. Several of the drinks tested by Which? were nearly 400 calories a piece.
One particular mocha made with whole milk added up to 396 calories. The same mocha with skim milk but topped with whipped cream contained 326. A cappuccino with skim milk and no whip was a much better option at fewer than 30 calories.
Of course, these numbers vary from chain to chain. One chain’s black coffee, which is supposed to contain zero calories, actually contained 17.
The coffee shop snacks are no less of a culprit. With just a cup of coffee one might be consuming one-fifth to one-fourth of their daily calorie limit. With coffee and a snack, they’d be pushing half of their daily recommended number.
In the UK that number for women is around 2,000 calories, and men can tack on 500 extra.
A slice of cake at one coffee shop contained over 600 calories. Even the snacks that seem healthier still add up. A “fruity flapjack” contained 423 calories, and a cheese and pickle sandwich topped 500.
The report plainly stated, “You might be surprised to know that some coffee shop sandwiches contain more calories, fat and salt than a McDonald’s Big Mac."
Even though most chains provide nutritional information on their websites, Which? would like to see the information displayed prominently in their shops so that customers know just how much they are consuming in a single cup.
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