Compare the calories and caffeine content of black coffee with milk!

In Taiwan, coffee shops most commonly use espresso machines to make coffee, which use high heat and high pressure to extract a small cup of espresso. Generally speaking, a single shot of espresso uses 7 to 10 grams of coffee powder, which can produce about 30 ml of coffee, while a double shot of espresso uses 14 to 16 grams of coffee powder, which can produce about 60 ml of coffee. But when we order coffee, the smallest cup is 8 ounces (about 240 ml), and the large cups are 16 ounces or larger. So, what is added to it? The answer is water or milk/milk foam.

American coffee is espresso diluted with water. Because it contains more coffee, the caffeine content is also relatively high. The commonly heard latte, cappuccino, mocha and caramel macchiato coffees are all coffees with milk added, but the proportions of coffee, milk and milk foam are different. Some coffees also contain chocolate or other ingredients. For example, latte only has milk, cappuccino has milk and milk foam, and mocha has milk and chocolate.

Calories and caffeine in common coffee

【Calorie】

Coffee powder itself has almost no calories, so if you are worried about calories, black coffee without milk and sugar would be a better choice. However, if creamer and sugar are added, the calories will increase (a bag of sugar is about 8 grams and has 32 calories; a creamer ball is about 10cc and has 26 calories). Because milk coffee contains fresh milk, and 240 ml of whole milk has 150 calories, the calories in milk coffee are much higher than those in black coffee. In particular, mocha coffee, which contains chocolate syrup and fresh cream in addition to milk, has 290 calories in a medium cup of hot mocha, which exceeds the calories in a bowl of rice.

The coffee preparation methods of each store may be different. For example, some lattes are just coffee and milk, while others also add milk foam. Some mochas may add fresh cream, while others may not. Even for the same macchiato, some may only add a tablespoon of milk foam, while others may add a lot of milk foam. Therefore, the exact calorie content of a cup of coffee depends on the recipe of each store. Generally speaking, the more milk, chocolate, sugar, or hazelnut/vanilla syrup you add, the higher the calories will be.

【Caffeine】

How much caffeine a cup of coffee contains will vary depending on the type of coffee beans, where the beans are produced, the degree of roasting of the beans, and the method and time of brewing the coffee. Generally speaking, American coffee contains more caffeine, so its caffeine content is also the highest; while for coffee of the same size (such as a medium cup), latte, cappuccino, and macchiato use similar amounts of coffee, so their caffeine content is also similar, about only half of that of American coffee. Because mocha contains chocolate and cocoa beans also contain caffeine, the caffeine content of mocha is slightly higher than other milky coffees.

In summary, for those who need to limit their caffeine intake, it is better to choose milky coffee such as latte and cappuccino rather than black coffee. Since different sizes of coffee may use different amounts of espresso, when ordering coffee, you may want to ask the waiter how many portions of espresso are used in the large, medium, and small cups, because coffee with fewer portions of espresso will have lower caffeine content.

This article comes from: Nutritionist Stella's Weight Loss & Nutrition Blog

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