How Many Calories in Coffee?

Many people can't get started in the morning without a cup of coffee. Coffee shops cater to the demand, but unless you're ordering a plain cup of black coffee, you're likely adding significant calories to your daily total.

The Calories in One Cup of Coffee?

One cup of plain, brewed or percolated coffee contains 2 calories. A cup holds 8 oz. of liquid. According to the Diet Blog, coffee contains a very small amount of protein and oils, which account for the calories. The method for making powdered instant coffee by evaporating the liquid at high temperatures results in a higher caffeine content. One cup of instant coffee has 4 calories.

Adding milk products, sugar or nondairy creamer to coffee, as many people do, ups the calorie count. Plain, powdered nondairy creamer has 33 calories per heaping teaspoon, sugar holds 48 calories in each spoon and even fat-free milk will add 5 calories to a cup of coffee.

While there are risks to over-consumption of coffee, MayoClinic.com points out that coffee's benefits are greater for most people. Coffee is high in antioxidants and can help prevent type 2 diabetes, liver cancer and Parkinson's disease.

Calories in Espresso Beans

Coffee is a tasty, hot beverage made from roasted seeds produced by the coffee tree. The Mayo Clinic website says that coffee may protect against Parkinson's disease, diabetes and liver cancer. As a morning treat or a break from work, this beverage is full of flavor and can be very low in calories.

There are two main types of coffee beans that are used to produce the beverage we drink. These are Coffea Arabica, better known as Arabica beans and Coffea Canephora, also known as Robusta beans. Arabica is sensitive and must be grown in the tropics 6,000 ft. above sea level. It is considered the best quality bean because it produces a more flavorful coffee. The Robusta bean has double the caffeine content and can grow outside of the tropics. Typical Italian espresso blends are dark-roasted Robusta beans.

Espresso is made by sending very high-pressured hot water through the ground coffee beans. Nearly 98 percent of the liquid produced is water, and thus both types of coffee beans produce a very low-calorie beverage. A restaurant-style espresso has less than 1 calorie per oz. or 5 calories for an 8-oz. cup.

Many people in the United States do not drink straight espresso. Typically it is mixed with milk to make a café latte or cappuccino. Depending on the type of milk used, and the amount needed to make the beverage, 200 or more calories can be added to the cup. For lower calorie options choose nonfat milk, which only adds 86 calories for 8 oz.

Calories in an Iced Coffee

Iced coffee won't add much to your daily calorie count -- unless you add ingredients to your cold cup of joe. The ingredients you use to "dress up" your coffee can make a big difference in the number of calories you consume, warn the experts at the Mayo Clinic.

Drink coffee on ice without cream or sugar, and you're only consuming a couple of calories at best. Add a tablespoon of half-and-half, and you also add 20 calories. Save calories by using fat-free milk, which adds just five calories per tablespoon to your beverage.

Many coffee drinks feature sugar and whipping cream. Sugar will add 49 calories for each tablespoon you drop into your drink. Whipping cream adds 52 calories per tablespoon.

Some coffee drinks have hundreds of calories and really should be classified as desserts, according to the Mayo Clinic. For example, a 16-oz. iced peppermint white chocolate mocha made with whole milk and no whipped cream may have 420 calories.

Calories in Chocolate Coffee

Whether served steaming hot on a cold December morning, or over ice on a blazing August afternoon, chocolate coffee is the perfect treat. Fortunately, if you choose wisely, chocolate coffee can be part of your calorie-conscious meal plan.

Several types of chocolate coffee are available, and calorie counts vary by type. One popular brand of chocolate-flavored coffee, available from a popular doughnut stand, contains 20 calories per 8 fl. oz. serving. However, blended coffee beverages can have a much higher calorie count. A small mocha from a popular coffee chain has 200 calories in a 12 fluid oz. serving.

Chocolate-flavored coffee can help you get your chocolate fix without eating chocolate, which could help you keep cravings under control. Coffee is also high in disease-fighting antioxidants. Make your coffee with milk, and you will also be getting protein, which helps keep you satisfied and keep hunger under control.

Though it isn't as bad for you as was once believed, coffee doesn't have as many nutrients as other beverages. If you like your coffee on ice, you can make a nourishing chocolate coffee smoothie out of a cup of fat-free milk, 1 tsp. of instant coffee powder, 2 tsp. of cocoa powder, and sweetener to taste.

Calories in Caramel Coffee

Coffee comes in an array of different flavors, from French vanilla to cinnamon to caramel. Many large coffee chains offer caramel coffee, and the calories in this type of drink depend on where you get your coffee from.

Starbucks: Starbucks offers a few caramel coffee drinks, including Caramel Brulee Latte and Caramel Macchiato, which have 300 and 240 calories, respectively, in the 16 oz. Grande size.

Dunkin' Donuts: A small caramel coffee at Dunkin' Donuts has 10 calories in a 10-oz. serving. The same size Caramel Apple latte has 230 calories, while a 10-oz. Caramel Swirl latte has 220 calories.

Iced Coffee: Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts and McDonald's, as well as many other coffee outlets, offer caramel iced coffee. A 16-oz. iced Caramel Macchiato with nonfat milk from Starbucks has 190 calories. A 16-oz. nonfat milk iced Caramel Swirl latte from Dunkin' Donuts has 180 calories, while a McDonald's 16-oz. iced caramel coffee has 130 calories.