What’s In Your Starbucks? A Calorie Breakdown Of Your Favorite Drinks

By Chelsea Donohue

Surviving the day without your morning cup of coffee often seems like a bad, bad dream (and for me, your afternoon iced coffee as well). Luckily, coffee shops like Starbucks exist to be our safe havens in the college world where it sometimes seems like there is a higher power following us around saying, “You have three papers this week,” and “Haha, you thought you were getting some sleep tonight.”

Coffee seems like the perfect solution to silencing the irritating voice that won’t seem to hush, even when you’ve slammed your college planner shut. If you don’t drink too much, coffee can even be a healthy alternative to some other forms of caffeine supplements. There have even been studies that have shown that people who drink coffee tend to have a generally happy outlook on life (if you haven’t noticed, I’m a big fan of the stuff, but I’ll stop with this coffee PSA).

But, in order to make sure that you’re drinking coffee in the way that will be healthiest for your body, you should learn what’s in the stuff. Starbucks, the very popular coffee hotspot for collegiettes, has some of the best coffee drinks around. I’m pretty sure love for the Caramel Frappucino is universal. But do you really know what you’re drinking? Sure, the coffee drinks, especially the seasonal ones (peppermint mocha, anyone?) may be ridiculously delicious, but its important to know their nutritional facts.

So we’ve compiled a little how-to guide for nutrition at Starbucks. This health blueprint of the coffee chain we all know and love is not meant to freak you out; we’re just trying to help our fellow collegiettes make healthy choices and finish that paper with the coffee they love in hand!

Note: The size the nutrition facts correspond to is the Starbucks Grande Size (16 oz). Also, the Starbucks Nutrition Website makes a disclaimer that the nutritional facts are for the standardized recipes and that they may vary, due to a difference in the way handcrafted drinks may be made.

Iced Coffee:

Calories: 90/ Total Fat: 0g/ Sugars: 20g

Hot Chocolate:

Calories: 290/ Total Fat: 9g/ Sugars: 41g

With Whipped Cream: Calories: 370/ Total Fat: 16g/ Sugars: 43g

White Hot Chocolate:

Calories: 420/ Total Fat: 12g/ Sugars: 61g

With Whipped Cream: Calories: 490/ Total Fat: 19g/ Sugars: 62g

Caffè Latte (With 2% milk):

Calories: 190/ Total Fat: 7g/ Sugars: 17g

Caffè Mocha:

Calories: 260/ Total Fat: 8g/ Sugars: 34g

Cappuccino:

Calories: 120/ Total Fat: 4g/ Sugars: 10g

Caramel Macchiato:

Hot: Calories: 240/ Total Fat: 7g/ Sugars: 32g

Iced: Calories: 230/ Total Fat: 3.5g/ Sugars: 31g

Cinnamon Dolce Latte:

Calories: 260/ Total Fat: 6g/ Sugars: 38g

For more drink and food nutrition facts, visit the Starbucks Nutrition webpage.

Of course, adding syrups to your coffee increases their calorie and sugar counts. There may also be some ingredients in those syrups that you may not want to consume too much of. The caramel and chocolate syrups sold in the Starbucks store contain High Fructose Cornsyrup and many of the syrups contain preservatives.

Starbucks also may be using some harmful chemicals in their baked goods. The croissants contain the chemical Azodiocarbonamide, which is banned in Australia and Europe but is allowed as a food additive in the U.S.

The moral of the story here? Eat and drink your fav Starbucks foods and drinks in moderation. I know we’ve been hearing the phrase “eat in moderation” since the third grade, but its true. Especially in college, when your health is so important, eating right can help you feel better altogether. So keep hitting up your local Starbucks, but think about what you’re ordering!

[Lead image via]