According to Statista, coffee is one of the most popular beverages in the world. From 2020-2021, there were over 166.63 million bags, each 60 kilograms a piece, consumed by coffee drinkers globally.
With this much of our favorite brown brew being consumed, it’s understandable that people want to know what's in their drink; specifically, how many calories are in coffee? In fact, this is a common question we get regularly from our favorite Angelino’s coffee lovers. And you know us - we love chatting about anything and everything related to coffee.
So, let’s get started with…
It might surprise you to hear that calories are a unit of measurement. So, what are calories measuring exactly? Energy! Specifically, calories are the measurement of how much heat is needed to raise the temperature by one degree Celsius of one gram of water.
When it comes to the human body, calories provide us with an efficient unit of measurement to track the number of calories we are intaking versus how many calories we are burning.
Unlike what some food packaging will have you believe, calories are our friend. Our bodies need a healthy and regular supply of caloric intake to fuel us and help keep us healthy. What’s important is finding a healthy balance of caloric intake that works with your individual needs, which is different for everyone.
When more calories are consumed than is burned for energy, the additional energy can be stored in fat cells and lead to unwanted weight gain. Individuals will then find that they have to adjust the balance of calories burned versus calories consumed to lose weight.
If you’re looking for assistance in balancing and tracking your caloric intake, many people turn to calorie and nutritional calculators. Here’s a great one to check out from the Mayo Clinic.
And now for the burning question - just how many calories can you expect to find in a serving of coffee?
As we all know, calorie counts differ significantly according to food groups, fat content, present sugars and carbs, and other factors. Regular coffee, with no sugar or additive of any kind, generally has about 2-3 calories per serving. Flavored coffees with no sweetener generally contain 3-4 calories per serving. This tiny calorie amount puts coffee in the low calorie group.
But here’s where it gets even better - technically, coffee contains a negative amount of calories. That’s right! Because coffee contains caffeine, it affects your metabolism and can potentially help your body burn more calories faster by boosting your metabolic rate! How cool is that?
If you’d like to learn more about coffee calories and coffee's relation to weight loss, you can check out this Harvard study here or this Healthline article here.
It’s important to note, however, that it’s not healthy or recommended to boost your caffeine intake to obtain weight loss results unless you consult with your doctor first.
