In terms of sugar, a 12-ounce can of Coke = 16 Hershey Kisses. Think that’s bad? The majority of your favorite coffee drinks are far sweeter. What’s more comforting than a warm cup of coffee or tea? It’s what you drink first thing in the morning, is how you recharge when in a post-lunch daze and is the perfect drink for non-boozy catch-ups or meetings. It all sounds so innocent. But no two beverages have started conflicts quite like tea and coffee; both have caused tons of chaos and bloodshed over the years. Coffee, after all, was put on trial in Mecca and tea was a main driver behind the opium wars. And to this day, they’re still stirring up trouble. On a positive note, numerous studies have linked both coffee and tea to increased metabolic rate, smaller waistlines, and weight loss. But like many of the world’s great wonders, somebody looking to make a fast buck will come up with a way to mess everything up by “improving” them. Places like Starbucks and McDonald’s serve up high-concept, calorie-laden concoctions that have none of the amazing weight loss qualities that the originals have. In fact, health advocacy group Action on Sugar recently tested 131 drinks at popular chains in the UK (many of which are also popular in America) only to discover that 35 percent of the hot, flavored drinks contained the same amount or more sugar than what you’d find in a can of Coca-Cola (12 oz, 39 grams), one of the most vilified beverages on the planet. It’s a bit ironic that so many people who scoff cola don’t even give a second thought to what’s in their coffee cups. So, how can you avoid sipping your way to a wider waistline every time you want to catch a buzz? Answer: By knowing which coffee drinks have been turned into health-busters—and staying far, far away. But we’ve made it extra easy for you by already doing your homework and identifying the worst of the lot. 1- Dunkin’ Donuts Frozen FrenchVanilla Swirl Coffee CoolattaWith Skim Milk Small, 16 fl oz: 300 calories, 70 g sugar Sugar Equivalent: 1.8 cans of Coke Dunkin’ Donuts offers more than 15,000 ways to customize a coffee, and this drink is among the sugariest. Packing as much of the sweet stuff as 15 Oreos or nearly two cans of Coke, we’re all but forced to give this frozen, creamy beverage our stamp of disapproval. 2- Dunkin’ Donuts Vanilla Chai Medium, 14 fl oz 330 calories, 46 g sugar Sugar Equivalent: 1.17 cans of Coke Following skim milk, sugar is listed as the second ingredient on this drink’s nutrition label, so we can’t say we were surprised to learn of its excessive sugar content. We know what you’re thinking: “But chai is healthy, right?” In its purest form, yes. The blend of herbs and spices found in traditional a chai tea bag have been shown to slow aging and fight everything from inflammation to stress and weight gain. However, Dunkin’s Franken-beverage only uses a tiny bit of the stuff typically found in a chai tea bag. 3- Tim Hortons Mocha Iced Cap With Cream 12 oz: 410 calories, 47 g sugar Sugar Equivalent: 1.2 cans of Coke Over the past few years, Canada’s favorite coffee and donut dealer has rapidly expanded across the US, and overall, that’s not such a bad thing for health-conscious caffeine heads. Beyond the respectable line of soups and sandwiches Horton’s serves up a solid mix of tea and coffee. However, we’re giving them demerits for this venomous blended frozen coffee beverage. Anything that’s spiked with a half-gram of heart-harming trans fat and as much sugar as 8 Chips Ahoy cookies is a definite “Not That!” 4- Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha With Nonfat Milk, No Whip Tall, 12 fl oz: 270 calories, 45 g sugar Sugar Equivalent: 1.2 cans of Coke Even if you hold the whipped cream and go with nonfat milk, there is no saving this overly sweet espresso drink. Recently a Starbucks spokesperson went on record saying that the company has plans to reduce the sugar in its "indulgent drinks" by 25 percent by the end of 2020. While that’s well and good, in the meantime, we suggest staying far away from this blood sugar-spiking beverage. 5- Starbucks Caffè Vanilla Frappuccino With Nonfat Milk & Whipped Cream Tall, 12 fl oz: 280 calories, 48 g sugar Sugar Equivalent: 1.2 cans of Coke It’s a little-known fact that Frappuccino means “fattening” in Italian. Totally kidding, but maybe it should. Nearly all of Starbucks’ blended coffee and milk beverages are swimming with globs of fat and more sugar than anyone should ingest in a single day. (Which is 45 grams a day for women and 50 grams for men, according to the USDA’s most recent dietary guidelines.) Do your waistline a favor and cool down with a skinnier iced beverage from the ‘bux. Might we suggest a Tall 2% Iced Caffè Latte or a Tall Nonfat, Unsweetened Iced Coffee with two pumps Caramel Syrup? The former has 9 grams of sugar while the latter carries 10 grams. 6- Panera Frozen Caramel Medium, 16 fl oz: 570 calories, 66 g sugar Sugar Equivalent: 1.7 cans of Coke Panera, home to an ever-growing stock of soups, salads and drinks, benefits from a beaming health halo—a perceived virtuousness that doesn’t necessarily play out in the hard realities of their nutritional stats. And this definitely holds true when it comes to its’ coffee beverages. Carrying more calories than 142 Jelly Bellys and as much sugar as nearly two cans of Coke, don’t just walk, run away from this belly fattening monster of a drink. 7- Panera ChaiTea Latte Medium, 16 fl oz: 240 calories 40 g sugar Sugar Equivalent: 1.02 cans of Coke Though it’s a touch better than Dunkin’s take on the classic brew, this is yet another example of a chai tea gone wrong. Instead of this beverage, opt for one of Panera’s 0-calorie “Republic of Tea” brews to stay on the path toward flat belly success! 8 - Au Bon Pain Frozen Caramel Latte 16 fl oz: 600 calories, 91 g sugar Sugar Equivalent: 2.3 cans of Coke Au Bon Pain is the unofficial land of 600-calorie muffins and 800-calorie sandwiches, so we can’t say we were surprised to learn that they serve a coffee beverage that’s among the very worst on this list. Aside from its jaw-dropping sugar count, this drink serves up 65 percent of the day’s saturated fat and globs of caramel color, a possible carcinogenic brown dye found in things like cola and candy. 9- Mcdonald’s Mccafé Mocha 12 oz: 340 calories, 42 g sugar Sugar Equivalent: 1.1 cans of Coke Made from espresso, steamed milk, chocolate syrup and topped with whipped cream and a chocolate drizzle, this McMocha is far but ab friendly. There are far better ways to start your day with Ronald. Of all the items on the Mcdonald’s breakfast menu, we’re most keen on the Egg McMuffin and the Fruit and Maple Oatmeal. Pair either of those with a black coffee and you can’t go wrong. 10- Mcdonald’s MccaféFrappé Chocolate Chip 12 oz: 520 calories, 66 g sugar Sugar Equivalent: 1.7 cans of Coke Fun fact: The only type of coffee you’ll find in this beverage is coffee extract, a flavor enhancer made by distilling coffee beans. Translation: This drink is more likely to give you a sugar buzz than a caffeine high. 11 - Cold Stone Mocha Frappé “Like It” size, 12 fl oz: 460 calories, 62 g sugar Sugar Equivalent: 1.6 cans of Coke It’s not exactly shocking that a chain that serves 800 calorie ice cream sundaes also has a fudge-infused coffee drink with 62 grams of the sweet stuff and an entire day’s worth of fat. Just scanning those stats is enough to make our arteries stiffen and our blood sugar levels shudder in fear. 12- Caribou Coffee HotBerry White Mocha Small, 12 oz: 450 calories, 44 g sugar Sugar Equivalent: 1.1 cans of Coke This severely over-sugared concoction is made with chocolate, whipped cream, chocolate chips, steamed milk and “espresso and vanilla flavor”—whatever that means. If you thought you were doing your belly a favor by opting for coffee oversoda, in this case, you’ve got things all wrong. 13- Jamba Juice Matcha Green Tea Blast Smoothie 16 fl oz: 300 calories, 57 g sugar Sugar Equivalent: 1.5 cans of Coke Pure matcha is filled with epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG), a compound that aids weight loss by simultaneously boosting the breakdown of fat and blocking the formation of new fat cells. But don’t be fooled, this matcha green tea smoothie is far from flat belly-friendly. It contains more soymilk, fro-yo, and ice than matcha powder, which explains its high sugar count. 14- Baskin-Robins TurtleCappuccino Blast 12 fl oz: 370 calories, 50 g sugar Sugar Equivalent: 1.3 cans of Coke Baskin-Robins has a long tradition of carrying some of the worst frozen fare in the country. Sure, it shed its atrocious line of Premium Shakes, but it’s going to take a lot more menu tweaking to earn our respect. This coffee drink, for example, is a nutritional nightmare, listing not 1, not 2, but 15 form of sugar on the drink’s nutritional panel. Stay far away if your goal is to shrink your love handles. 15- Einstein Brothers Frozen Vanilla Latte 16 fl oz: 310 calories, 52 g sugar Sugar Equivalent: 1.3 cans of Coke Sure, it may cool you off on a hot summer day, but if your goal is to stay bikini-ready year-round, keep your paws off this sugary sip. Instead, stay lean with the help of these 50 Best Detox Waters for Fat Burning and Weight Loss. 16- Einstein Brothers FrozenCaramel Macchiato 16 fl oz: 420 calories, 71 g sugar Sugar Equivalent: 1.8 cans of Coke Imagine dropping 14 mini Milky Ways into a warm saucepan, pouring the liquefied chocolate into a cup and chugging it. A little sweet? Well, that’s what you get in terms of sugar when you order this 16-ounce monstrosity. 17- Coffee Bean Hazelnut Latte 12 fl oz: 320 calories, 41 g sugar Sugar Equivalent: 1.1 cans of Coke Any flavored latte is bound to be filled with sugar, and this one is no exception. If you really can’t part with your favorite flavored sips, at least ask your barista to use fewer pumps. It cuts back on the sugar content in a big way—without taking away from the overall taste 18- Coffee Bean Matcha Latte 12 fl oz: 290 calories, 41 g sugar Sugar Equivalent: 1.1 cans of Coke Thanks to the use of some shady proprietary matcha powder, the Coffee Bean manages to sneak 41 grams of sugar into this latte. Even if they used a full cup of milk—a source of naturally occurring sugars—to make this drink, 28 of those 41 grams would be coming from added sources of the sweet stuff. Eek! 19- Coffee Bean Caramel Ice Blended 12 fl oz: 370 calories, 60 g sugar Sugar Equivalent: 1.5 cans of Coke In your mind “blended” should be synonymous with words like “sugary” and “caloric,” and this drink is a prime example as to why. When you sweeten you own drinks as home, how many times do you dip the teaspoon into the jar? Two or three? Imagine shoveling in 15 teaspoons, because that’s what happened with this drink. Next time you’re craving something cool and thick, whip up one of these delicious weight loss smoothies instead. 20- Seattle’s Best Frozen Birthday Cake Latte Small, 12 fl oz: 370 calories, 44 g sugar Sugar Equivalent: 1.1 cans of Coke For a drink named after a giant pastry, its stats could be far worse. Still, we can’t deny the facts: Not only does Seattle’s confetti-topped latte have more sugar than a can of Coke, but it also packs as much fat as two scoops of Oreo ice cream! Though picking up this drink may seem like an easy way to party like it’s your birthday, every day, you’re more apt to remain forever young if you avoid making this your go-to. And no, that’s not just a (hilarious) punchline: Sugar has been shown to damage collagen and elastin, the compounds that keep your skin tight and plump. Source
