How many calories are in coffee?
A 240 ml (8 fl oz) mug of black coffee is about 2 kcal. Coffee itself is not a calorie question; milk, sugar, syrup and cream are. Between the plainest and the largest version of the same drink sits more than a meal.
Per portion
| Portion | Calories | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Black filter coffee, 240 ml | ~2 kcal | 0.3 g | 0 g | 0 g |
| Double espresso, 60 ml | ~5 kcal | 0.2 g | 0 g | 0 g |
| Instant coffee + 30 ml semi-skimmed + 1 tsp sugar | ~33 kcal | 1 g | 5.5 g | 0.5 g |
| Cappuccino, 240 ml, semi-skimmed | ~70 kcal | 4.5 g | 6 g | 2.5 g |
| Flat white, 180 ml, whole milk | ~95 kcal | 4.5 g | 6 g | 5 g |
| Latte, 350 ml, semi-skimmed | ~140 kcal | 9.5 g | 13 g | 5 g |
| Latte, 350 ml, whole milk | ~185 kcal | 9.5 g | 13 g | 10 g |
| Large flavoured latte, 470 ml, whole milk, syrup and cream | 400–450 kcal | 11–13 g | 40–50 g | 16–22 g |
What changes the number
Milk type, per 100 ml: skimmed about 35 kcal, semi-skimmed 48, whole 64, standard oat 45, barista oat 55–65, unsweetened soya 35–45, unsweetened almond 15–25. A 350 ml latte holds roughly 280 ml of milk, so the same drink is about 100 kcal with skimmed and 185 with whole.
Size, which moves more than milk type does. These drinks are 85–90% milk, so going from a flat white to a large latte triples the milk and the calories. A small whole-milk drink beats a large skimmed one.
Syrup, about 20–25 kcal per 10 ml pump; chains default to three in a medium and four or five in a large. Sugar-free versions are 0–5 kcal. Chocolate and caramel sauces are denser than syrups, 50–80 kcal a pump.
Whipped cream, 60–110 kcal depending on the swirl. Single cream is about 30 kcal a tablespoon, double cream about 65. Powdered creamers are 25–45 kcal a sachet, mostly glucose syrup and vegetable fat.
Butter coffee, with a tablespoon each of butter and MCT oil, is around 225 kcal: the energy of a small meal with none of the protein.
What does not change it: decaf, roast, grind, filter versus cafetière versus cold brew. Bottled iced coffee does: 120–280 kcal a bottle, and the panel is often printed per 100 ml rather than per bottle, which is the standard trap on any food label.
Where it fits in a deficit
Black coffee is free, and caffeine does nudge energy expenditure and blunt appetite briefly — a small effect tolerance erodes, and nothing to build a deficit on, exactly as with green tea.
Milk drinks are not waste, though. A 350 ml latte carries 9–10 g of protein, so a flat white or cappuccino with semi-skimmed can count towards a protein target in a way a sweetened iced drink cannot. A tea with a splash of milk is cheaper — the arithmetic is on the tea page.
The one thing to be clear about: a 420 kcal drink leaves you as hungry at lunch as a 2 kcal one.
Three coffees, one meal
| Drink | Calories | Roughly equal to |
|---|---|---|
| Black coffee, 240 ml | ~2 kcal | nothing |
| Flat white, 180 ml, whole milk | ~95 kcal | a large apple |
| Large flavoured latte with cream, 470 ml | ~420 kcal | a full lunch |
The gap between those rows is the reason this page exists. One large sweetened drink a day is about 2,900 kcal a week — more than a day and a half of eating for most people, and more than a typical deliberate calorie deficit of 400–600 kcal a day can absorb.
Two a day is 840 kcal, which is not a drink habit any more. The drink can stay if it is the part of the day you look forward to. It just has to be inside the number rather than beside it.
Figures are typical values and vary by variety, size and preparation. General information, not medical advice.