Calories in a Cup of Coffee

Are you concerned about all of the calories you get from your daily coffee drink? Have you stuck to your weight loss plan and then fouled everything up by choosing the wrong daily coffee drink?

When people refer to a "cup" of coffee, they're typically referring to an 8 oz to 12 oz mug of coffee. The actual definition of a coffee "cup" is an after-dinner cup, which is 4 fl. oz. (fluid ounces.)

This leads to a lot of confusion, so for clarity we're going to use the official measure of a 4 fl. oz. brewed cup of coffee. Each fluid ounce is 30 ml of liquid, which is different from a weight ounce of 28 grams. That means a 4 fl. oz. "cup" of coffee is 120 ml of liquid.

You'll use our slider to simply multiply up by the number of ounces you're drinking.

Coffee Drinks

While exact caffeine numbers vary depending on single origin and type of coffee bean, we'll use an average of 12 calories per brewed fluid ounce to approximate caffeine numbers. Note that most health regulations recommend under 400 mg of caffeine per day.

Click the "Servings: 1 cup" to use the slider to scale up the number of fluid ounces (in increments of 4 oz)

The most common way to drink coffee is with milk. Here, we assume you use 3 oz of coffee per 1 oz of milk. You'll notice right away that for the same size cup of coffee, you've drastically increased your calories and actually reduced the amount of caffeine due to replacing some of the coffee with dairy.

Some of us prefer coffee with a little cream, which bumps up the fat content and therefore calorie count. Using the same ratio of 3 oz coffee per 1 oz cream (half and half)

Cup Sizes by Brand

Mcdonalds

• Small: 12 oz
• Medium: 16 oz
• Large: 21 oz

Tim Hortons

• Small: 10 oz
• Medium: 14 oz
• Large: 20 oz
• XL: 24 oz

Starbucks

• Short: 8 oz
• Tall: 12 oz
• Grande: 16 oz
• Venti: 20 oz
• Trenta: 31 oz

Dunkin Donuts

• Small: 10 oz
• Medium: 14 oz
• Large: 20 oz
• XL: 24 oz

Other Considerations

Here's some information about calories in coffee and coffee drinks that will help you plan better and achieve your goals.

Add-in calories

Of course the number of calories in a coffee beverage depends upon the type of coffee drink, and also what and how much you add to your drink including milks, creams, sugar, etc., and since coffee is naturally a somewhat bitter beverage most people do sweeten it up somehow or another.

To start with a simple cup of brewed coffee with nothing added has approximately two calories and no fat. If you add a tablespoon of half-and half that's 20 calories, a tablespoon of sugar is 49 calories, and heavy whipping cream is 52 calories. Just 5 calories will be added if you use fat-free milk.

Want a smooth tasting coffee without needing to add anything? Use a low acid coffee and try doing a cold brew rather than making it hot - without the kick of acidity that milk and sugar try to cover up, you may find that you don't need it.

Calories in Coffee Shop Drinks

Remember if you are at a coffee shop you can always ask them for the nutrition information on your beverages. It's really easy to overdo it thinking you are just treating yourself, but when you consider that most people have at least one coffee beverage every day, the calories can add up quickly.

If you like to visit a particular coffee shop chain then you can also check the nutrition information online and plan ahead. This way you can avoid some pleasant looking coffee drink that unbeknownst to you has hundreds of calories.

Current Government regulations in the United States and Canada actually require that locations post up calories along with their drinks and foods, making it easy to tell which drinks are the highest calorie. What is left up to the individual cafes and retailers however, is the breakdown of the calories. Knowing which calories come from fat and which come from sugar can help you make an informed decision.

Calories in Black Coffee

Not all coffee drinks are high in calories so if you are circumspect you can enjoy tasty beverages without an overdose of calories. You can basically consider plain brewed coffee a zero calorie drink, for all practical purposes. The very small number of calories that may be present come from the coffee beans' mono-unsaturated oils and a minuscule amount of protein.

The calories come from a tiny amount of protein and some mono-unsaturated oils.

If you enjoy instant coffee and use one rounded teaspoon of instant coffee powder, then it will contain about four calories. A shot of espresso will have about one calorie.

Calories in Starbucks Coffee Drinks

Okay now let's step into Starbucks and sample a few of their renowned coffee beverages and see how many calories they contain. First is 16-ounce Caffe Latte with 220 calories and the 16-ounce Caffe Mocha without whip cream, which has 290 calories, or with whip cream which has 360 calories.

If you prefer a Starbucks Cappuccino then a 16-ounce beverage will net you 140 calories. If you decide to get fancy and order a 16-ounce Vanilla Frappuccino with whip cream it will be 430 calories while a Peppermint White Chocolate Mocha with whip cream, then get ready for 560 calories.

McDonalds Coffee Drink Calories and Dunkin' Donuts

A 16-ounce Cappuccino at McDonalds has 130 calories while their Latte has 180 calories. A McDonald's Mocha has 330 calories.

At Dunkin's Donuts you can enjoy a 10-ounce Cappuccino with 80 calories or a 10-ounce Latte with 120 calories. If you want to get fancy with a 10-ounce Mocha Swirl Latte you will be ingesting 230 calories.

Making Your Coffee Just How You Like It - A Calorie Count

Don't forget that adding a tablespoon of cream will tack on about 52 calories, half-and-half 20 calories, whole milk 9 calories, fat-free milk 5 calories and a tablespoon of sugar will cost you 48 calories.

If you add McDonald's Coffee Cream it will be 20 calories while plain nondairy creamer powder is about 22 calories. A flavored non-dairy creamer powder will contain about 45 calories.

It's possible to enjoy fine coffee drinks and not take in an over-abundance of calories. Choose a smaller size drink with less milk, choose non-fat milk, and avoid the flavored syrups. If you are a brewed coffee lover then hold off on the sugar and cream.

Learn about coffee plants, coffee cherry, coffee beans and the world's finest coffees including Organic Coffee, Bird Friendly Coffee, Shade-Grown Coffee, and Fair Trade Coffee.

Alcoholic Coffee Drink Calories

Alcoholic coffee drinks will usually contain a higher calorie count than non alcoholic drinks - alcohol clocks in at 7 calories per gram, and coffee drinks are frequently loaded with sugar to balance the acidity of coffee or bitterness of alcohol. Popular coffee liqueurs such as Baileys and Kahlua are used in numerous drinks, both of which contain high sugar content.

Coffee drinks made with a pure spirit like Vodka and Rum will have fewer calories from sugar, but the calories from alcohol are unavoidable.

rich past of the revered bean in the World's Best History of Coffee.