If you see me before my morning Starbucks then beware! Try to talk to me before that delicious caffeine has entered my system and grunts, moans, eye blinks, and blank stares are all that you are going to get back. Once I have that drink though, and that first sip of my Café Mocha or iced coffee enters my system, it is all smiles, “good mornings” and cheery door holding.
As much I would like to deny it, unfortunately there is a downside to the intense need to have coffee every morning--not only are these drinks expensive, but the calorie count of some of them is ridiculously high! Because coffee is so important to me, and I’m sure to you too, I went through the nutrition menu at Starbucks and found the 6 most calorie filled drink that you probably should not order.
Now, for these results I only looked at drinks in sizes for tall and grande. I mean, if caffeine is the goal in the morning, getting a short or even a kid sized drink is really not even worth the consideration. What will that do? Keep your eyes open for five minutes until you get to work and then you have to go back and get another one? I don’t buy it. On the other side of that, if you order a venti, then desperation for caffeine outweighs the calories it contains. That is okay though, I’ve been there, no shame! Here are the six worst drinks for you at Starbucks (calorie wise)!
1. White Chocolate Mocha
Of all the drinks on the menu, the White Chocolate Mocha is definitely the worst. A tall of this deliciously tempting drink has at least 270 calories in it and that is if you forego the whipped cream and ask for nonfat or soy-milk. Want it in a grande? Now you are looking at the very least 350 calories. If you don’t swap the milk out and you decide you want whipped cream the already 400 calorie drink skyrockets to 510 calories!
2. Green Tea Latte
The Green Tea Latte is the second contender for most calories in a single Starbucks drink. Luckily, if you like your latte with soy-milk, go ahead and just order the grande because for this drink, both the grande and the tall have 310 calories. For the drink made with the other milk types, going up a size adds quite a few calories (20 for the nonfat but almost 100 for the 2 percent). But hey, in my opinion, the 350 calories in the grande is more than worth it.
3. Blended Java Chip Frappuccino
While the first two drinks on the list were hot drinks, this one tops the list of calorie filled cold drinks. In a tall, the Blended Java Chip Frappuccino is not super actually super bad calorie wise, only about 220 no matter what kind of milk you choose to indulge in. The grande though? Be prepared for at least 300 calories and more with whole milk! I did not really care for this drink myself, and now that I know the calorie count our relationship it pretty much over!
4. Smoothies
The Starbucks smoothies take on spot number four with their decadent calories, but that is most likely because they are only available in a grande size (or rather nutritional information is available for- I’ve never tried to order a smaller one in stores). Every smoothie flavor no matter what the milk choice is between 260 and 300 calories but the orange mango banana smoothie has the overall lowest numbers!
5. Green Tea Frappuccino
Order a grande Green Tea Frappuccino without asking for a milk substitution and you are looking at a delicious 320 calorie blended drink. Nonfat and soy-milk in grande is a little better, 280 and 290 calories respectively, but the good news is no matter what you order as a tall is under 250 calories and will help you not feel quite as bad about your morning (mid-morning, afternoon, evening, or whenever) drink.
6. Hot Chocolate
The best of the worst drinks on this list is a hot chocolate, which is my favorite because add a little peppermint or some nutmeg or cinnamon and it changes everything, like a blank and chocolaty canvas. A tall hot chocolate, not great in calories but not terrible- 2 percent gets you about 230 calories, soy-milk 200, and nonfat 190. Get that size up though, and get ready to add another 50 calories to every cup.
This list is completely just food for thought and for reference. There is an older saying something like “Eat your calories, don’t drink them,” but I call BS because I love my coffee and will never sacrifice my delicious caffeine because of a few extra calories! So what I do a couple extra squats next time I go to the gym, it is all worth it in the end! Happy coffee drinking!
