How Many Calories in Coffee? There’s Good News and Bad!
For some the answer to this question is good news however, for those that like their coffee with more than just coffee, the answer is not so good. We take a look at how many calories in coffee from plain black Americano and Espresso through to the calorific milky, chocolate based coffees.
Zero Calories in Plain Black Coffee
1 mug of black coffee contains 0 calories. That’s right, our daily cup of black coffee is not bad for our health and it won’t make us put on any weight. Winning!
However (yep there’s always a slight catch), If you add things to your coffee then the calories will start to rack up. Many people have their coffee with just milk, some with sugar and some with syrups – toffee, caramel and chocolate in the case of mocha etc.
Sugar
One teaspoon of sugar contains 32 calories – that means a single cup of black coffee with one sugar contains approx 32 calories (this will depend on the size of your teaspoon full of sugar).
Milk
Skimmed milk, semi-skimmed milk, full fat milk, cream, oat milk, almond milk, soy milk – there are so many options.
- Skimmed milk – 15 calories
- Skimmed milk and one sugar – 45 calories
- Semi-skimmed milk – 20 calories
- Semi-skimmed milk and one sugar – 51 calories
- Whole milk – 28 calories
- Whole milk and sugar – 60 calories
As you can see the more you add, the more your calories rack up. Then there is the amount of milk you add:
Latte contains more milk and therefore more calories – a 16 ounce latte contains approximately 190 calories. Cappuccino is not as milky as a latte but an 8oz cappuccino can contain around 80 calories. Of course, these are approximate numbers – it depends on the type of milk you have in your drink, how much you fill the mug/glass and whether or not you drink the whole drink.
Flavoured Coffee
Syrup pumps – 1 pump = 45 calories, 2 pumps = 90 calories
A mocha with milk and chocolate powder can be the most calorific of all the coffees at over 200 calories in total. That’s a lot of empty calories for a drink. If you’re a fan of a coffee and cake, if your drink of choice is a mocha you can be ingesting approximately a third of your recommended daily allowance of calories in one sitting.
So, if you’re happy with an Americano and a dash of milk or a macchiato with just a little foamed milk, you’re not going to be too concerned with the calorie count. The more you add to your drink, the more calories you will ingest.
Coffee for Energy
If coffee is part of your pre-workout routine, the energy you get from your coffee won’t come from the calories as there are none in a black coffee. It will come from the caffeine in the drink. It’s the caffeine that gives you that additional boost when you are working out. If you are taking your coffee with milk and sugar then you will get a calorie boost however, you need to ensure that adding anything to your coffee is not going to upset your stomach during your workout. We always recommend using coffee, and any other pre-race food/drink, in your training runs to ensure that it doesn’t disagree with you.
