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Ever guzzled down your favorite beverage or wolfed down your cherished snack at Starbucks and got hit by an immediate pang of regret or guilt worrying about the number of calories you might have consumed? Or went to Starbucks on your cheat day and still worried about the calorie intake and diet1?
Today we, through this article, will cover you all with the intricacies of Starbucks nutrition facts– calories, protein, fat, carbs, sugar, and caffeine content in your favorite Starbucks beverages and snacks.
History Of Starbucks
Before starting with the Starbucks nutrition facts about all the mouth-watering delicacies served at Starbucks, let us have a quick look at the interesting history of Starbucks stores.
Starbucks was brought to existence by Jerry Baldwin, Gordon Bowker, and Zev Siegl, who were huge fans of tea and coffee. The trio opened their first store in 1971 in Seattle, near the pike place market. Interestingly the name Starbucks was derived from the name of the first mate, Starbuck, in the classic novel Moby dick2.
Soon came the golden era of Starbucks, also called the Howard Schultz era, the era in which Starbucks observed its first phase of expansion.
Cruising Through The Starbucks Menu
The size options for the drinks offered at the Starbucks store might get a tad confusing for someone trying them out for the first time. Do not worry; we have got you all covered on the serving sizes offered at various Starbucks outlets worldwide.
Cruise through the menu and Starbucks nutrition facts. Starbucks offers various kinds of serving sizes, which are as follows:
Starbucks Drink Sizes
- Short (8 oz)
- Tall (12 oz)
- Grande (16 oz)
- Venti (20 oz)
- Venti Iced (24 oz)
- Trenta (31 oz) (This size is not offered at every Starbucks cafe)
Reducing Calories In Drinks
One of the easiest ways to curb those extra calories, fat, and sugar is ordering a small drink. Another strategy that we can apply to reduce unwanted fat, sugar, and calories from our favorite beverage is by asking for healthier milk alternatives like 1% skim milk or non-dairy-based milk like almond, coconut milk, and soy milk.
Another plausible way to reduce the calorie value is by opting for a sugar-free variant of the drink. You can also order an unsweetened beverage alternative and grab a single-serve packet of sweetener, either natural or artificial, thus controlling the extent of sweetness and the number of calories you would be consuming.
Deciding The Best And Worst Amongst Starbucks Drinks
If you are visiting Starbucks, you must know beforehand about the best and worst drinks that you find up the Starbucks menu so that you don’t regret gulping down tons of calories. We have sorted below the best and worst drinks at Starbucks with Starbucks nutrition facts to check out and order wisely if you are health conscious.
Beverages
Best known for its drink options, Starbucks coffee, and espresso beverages are the popular items sold at any Starbucks cafe. They truly serve drinks for every mood and a variety of different combinations to satisfy everyone’s heart.
Starbucks Brewed Coffee Drinks
Starbucks’ menu offers both cold and hot coffee options along with seasonal and selected special varieties in addition to their staple variants. The standard brews offered in the Starbucks menu are Clover drip brew, cold brew, nitro cold brew, and classed drip-brew.
Simple brewed Starbucks coffee or de-creamed espresso without any milk or sugar generally has calories ranging from 4.5 to 5.3 calories per serving.
However, if black coffee doesn’t conjure up the image of an ideal coffee drink for you, you can splash in the milk of your liking and even add a sweetener that suits you, both of which are available at the self serve bars.
Most Nutritious Option With Starbucks Nutrition Facts
Starbucks black brewed coffee, whether regular, decaf hot, or iced freshly brewed, houses less than five calories, 0g total fat, 0g saturated fat, 0g carbohydrate, 0g protein, 0g sugar, and 5–10 mg sodium. Thus, ordering a simple black coffee will be light on your purse and help you save calories.
Least Nutritious Option (Mandatory Whipped Cream)
The cold brew coffee with whipped cream and cold foam has the highest calorie count compared to other coffee drinks at Starbucks, comprising 230 calories, 14g total fat, 9g saturated fat, 23g carbohydrate, 2g protein, 24g sugar, and 330 mg sodium if you choose grande.
Starbucks Espresso Drinks
The options offered by Starbucks in the espresso drinks section are vast and vary from Americanos to flat whites and from lattes to cappuccinos. Drinks made with espresso capture the limelight of the Starbucks menu and are amongst the most customizable liquid refreshment purveyed by the Starbucks cafe.
Espresso can be used in multiple ways. You can either keep it simple with a straight shot or two, or you can use it as a base for some other frothed milk drink.
The calorie, fat, and sugar content of popular espresso drinks (like mochas, lattes, and cappuccinos) can be reduced by asking for the skimmed milk versions that the Starbucks cafe offers in their menus. These drinks are made with skim milk or a plant-based milk alternative, sugar-free flavored syrups, and don’t have higher calorie extras like whipped cream, thus providing an essential curb on the calories.
Most Nutritious Espresso With Starbucks Nutrition Facts
As was in the case of Starbucks coffee drinks, a single shot of espresso (ordered black) offers the best nutrition enumeration in terms of calories, fat, and sugar with 5 calories, 0g total fat, 1g carbohydrate, 0g protein, 0g sugar, and 0mg sodium.
If you still crave something that satisfies the urges of your tastebuds and olfactory nerves, you can go for Caffe macchiato at just 15 calories.
Blended Drinks At Starbucks
Starbucks Frappuccino flavors vary by location and season. The most popular and consistently available flavors are the famous flavored Frappuccino with whipped cream topping. Still, frappuccino prepared with whole milk, syrup, and whipped cream is high in calories, fat, and sugar. In larger sizes (Grande and Venti), most of the Starbucks Frappuccino are over 500 calories.
However, if you are really in the mood to have a flavorful cold drink, you can add shots of flavoring in your regular coffee and espresso, thus taking care of the calories.
Most Nutritious Blended Drink Option With Starbucks Nutrition Facts
The espresso Frappuccino has the least calories, but it still tops the calories and sugar compared to other flavored drink options. If choosing a grande, you’d consume 210 calories, 2.5g total fat, 3g protein, and 42g sugar.
On the other hand, choosing a tall (12 oz) will reduce the calories to 140 and the total sugar count to 28g.
Least Nutritious Blended Drink Option With Starbucks Nutrition Facts
Starbucks mocha cookie crumble frappuccino is amongst the least nutritious Starbucks drinks, with a grande (16 oz) providing 470 calories, 23g fat, 15g saturated fat, 63g carbohydrate, 6g protein, 57g sugar, and 260mg sodium and a venti(24 oz) providing 590 calories, 26g total fat, and 76g sugar.
Non-Coffee Hot Drinks At Starbucks
Got an aversion towards coffee? Worry not; Starbucks got the perfect non-coffee hot beverages in stock for you. These include hot chocolate, hot cider, and steamed whole milk or skimmed milk.
Overall, these hot drink options contain excess amounts of sugar, and if you want to curb the number of calories you are consuming, you must enjoy these in a controlled manner and the smallest possible serving of short(8 oz).
These hot beverages can even be topped with sprinkles or whipped cream. However, doing so increases the calories consumed per serving drastically. A healthier alternative for the toppings is spices like cinnamon or nutmeg, enhancing the drink’s taste without compromising the calorie curb. One may even opt for roasted cocoa powder as a topping that enhances the flavor and keeps the calorie consumed per serving in check.
Most Nutritious Option With Starbucks Nutrition Facts
The good old steamed milk is by far the best option in hot beverages offered by Starbucks.
If you go for the grande(16oz), you’d be getting 200 calories, 8g total fat, 4g saturated fat, 19g carbohydrates, 13g protein, 19g sugar, 190mg sodium. In contrast, if you go for the short(8 oz), it will be 100 calories, 4g total fat, and 95mg sodium.
The best thing about getting yourself steamed milk is: you can make many healthy modifications, the first being opting for nonfat milk instead of whole milk or plant-based milk like soy milk, almond milk, and coconut milk. Furthermore, you can choose not to use any sweetener, and along with this, you can add a topping like cocoa or cinnamon, or nutmeg that would not add to the calories significantly.
Least Nutritious Option With Starbucks Nutrition Facts
Starbucks peppermint white hot chocolate is louche liquid victual topped with sweetened cream or cream cheese and dark chocolate curls. A grande (16 oz) has 19g total fat, 15g saturated fat, 75g carbohydrates, 15g protein, 74g sugar, and 260g sodium and contains 520 calories in one serving.
A short (8 oz), on the other hand, is still a high-calorie, sugary treat, containing 11g total fat, 38g carbohydrate, 7g protein, 38g sugar, and 130mg sodium and providing a whopping 280 calories, which are by far unreasonable for an 8 oz beverage.
Non-Coffee Cold Drinks At Starbucks
Though famous for its quite many options of coffees, Starbucks also provides many non-coffee cold beverages that include packaged juices, bottled water, sparkling water, milk, and others.
Most Nutritious Option With Starbucks Nutrition Facts
The most nutritious and calorie-conscious drink is plain old water. But, if you want a little more flavor, you can go for flavored sparkling water, which is available in grab-and-go refrigerator cases.
The most nutritious option served by Starbucks from behind the bar is a berry hibiscus Starbucks refresher with a grande (16 oz) offering 70 calories, 0g total fat, 17g carbohydrate, 1g protein, 14g sugar, and 15 mg sodium.
Least Nutritious Option With Starbucks Nutrition Facts
The blended strawberry lemonade is, without doubt, the most unhealthy and extensively sugary cold drink served at Starbucks. A grande(16 oz) sets you up with a consumption of 190 calories, 0g total fat, 46g carbohydrate, 0g protein, 45g sugar, and 200mg sodium.
Tea Drinks At Starbucks
Starbucks menu offers impressive options for hot and iced teas. They have classic black teas like Earl Grey, green or herbal tea, chai tea, and citrus fruit flavors. You can also opt for a tea brew of your liking.
When taken without whole milk or sugar, most brewed hot teas don’t have any significant protein, calories, fat, or sugar. Starbucks has a wide variety of flavored and unflavored black and herbal blends brewed hot or poured over ice.
Chai and tea lattes are made with whole milk, with more calories and fat than black tea. If you have them with nonfat milk, almond milk, or soy milk, you can save calories and enjoy a tasty, healthy drink.
Most Nutritious Option With Starbucks Nutrition Facts
If you don’t add any extras (like sweetener or creamer), all brewed hot tea options will offer lots of flavor with no calories. A grande or venti hot tea houses no calories, total fat, carbohydrate, protein, sugar, or sodium.
You also have their Royal English Breakfast tea, chai tea, green tea, white tea, and herbal tea blends as options. However, while going in for chai tea, choose the nonfat milk variant or plant-based milk variant.
Least Nutritious Option With Starbucks Nutrition Facts
One of the most popular tea drinks, the chai latte, is the grand culprit in calories per serving. A grande (16 oz) will provide 240 calories, 4.5g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 45g carbohydrate, 8g protein, 42g sugar, and 115 mg sodium.
Deciding The Best And Worst Amongst Starbucks Food
The Starbucks menu also has a variety of food choices for breakfast and lunch that are grab-and-go and packaged snacks. Most Starbucks locations list the nutrition information for each item on their menu or display screen of the store or drive-through. Check the labels on any packaged products like popcorn, granola bars, and strawberry parfait to get a complete idea of the nutritional information of the concerned food item.
Hot Breakfast At Starbucks
If you’re down for some breakfast at Starbucks when you visit for coffee, the Starbucks menu covering hot breakfast items has these delicious breakfast options like oatmeal, egg sandwiches, bagels, and other interesting choices.
Most Nutritious Option With Starbucks Nutrition Facts
Starbucks’ “egg white and roasted red pepper sous vide egg bites” offers a high protein on-the-go breakfast or snack. A single serving has two egg bites that provide 170 calories, 8g total fat, 5g saturated fat, 11g carbohydrate, 12g protein, 3g sugar, and 470mg sodium.
Classic oatmeal, which combines rolled and steel-cut oats with dried fruit, nuts, and brown sugar, is a great option, especially for breakfast, and comes in at 160 calories a serving. It is higher in carbs but it’s lower in sodium and fat. Oatmeal, however, doesn’t provide as much protein as egg bites.
If you leave out the sugar and dried fruit toppings, the oatmeal you eat is lower in sugar and fat. Oatmeal is also a great source of fiber, which helps your tummy stay satisfied for longer and helps you avoid the urge to eat hour after hour.
Least Nutritious Option With Starbucks Nutrition Facts
The double “smoked bacon, cheddar, and egg sandwich” is high in calories and fat. A single serving can load you up with 510 calories, 28g total fat, 13g saturated fat, 42g carbohydrate, 22g protein, 8g sugar, and 940mg sodium. If you do not have the means to burn off these extra calories, you can choose to stay away from this bulky meal.
Sandwiches And Wraps At Starbucks
If you stop for coffee later within the day, you would be in the mood for something more along with lunch than breakfast. Starbucks doesn’t take orders to cook these edibles; rather, it offers a selection of pre-made grab-and-go snacks, sandwiches, and wraps, most of which fall around the range of 450–500 calories per sandwich or wrap.
Sandwiches at Starbucks are packaged rather than “made after order,” thus preventing them from falling under the scrutiny of customization. However, you can customize them yourself by removing certain additions like bacon or an extra slice of bread yourself and thus reducing the calorie, fat, sodium, and carbohydrate content of the concerned sandwich or wrap.
An unorthodox way of saving up on the calories is by sharing half of the sandwich or wrap with your co-worker or saving half for later. However, the second option would mean you would be consuming the calories and fat yourself but not all at once.
Most Nutritious Option With Starbucks Nutrition Facts
The “tomato and mozzarella” sandwich offers 350 calories, 13g total fat, 5g saturated fat, 42g carbohydrate, 15g protein, 2g sugar, and 580mg sodium. this is the lowest calories any sandwich offers at Starbucks.
Least Nutritious Option With Starbucks Nutrition Facts
The “chicken and double-smoked bacon” sandwich loads a lot of calories, fat, and sodium into a 201g serving, with 620 calories, 26g total fat, 8g saturated fat, 65g carbohydrate, 31g protein, 11g sugar, and 1,460mg sodium. You can, however, remove the bacon yourself and make the sandwich healthier.
Protein Boxes At Starbucks
The Starbucks menu also offers a wide variety of curated protein boxes which, as the name suggests, provide a high amount of protein per serving but are also high in calories. A single protein box can provide calories anywhere in the range of 400 to 690 calories per serving.
Most Nutritious Option With Starbucks Nutrition Facts
The prosnax gala apple, cheddar cheese, and pretzels snacks tray comprise about 110 calories, 5g total fat (6% DV), 3g saturated fat, 13g carbohydrate, 4g protein, 5g sugar, and 180mg sodium.
Least Nutritious Option With Starbucks Nutrition Facts
The chicken wrap box stuffed with a grilled chicken wrap and filled sliced apples and cucumbers on the side comes in at 690 calories, 31g total fat, 10g saturated fat, 77g carbohydrate, 30g protein, 22g sugar, and 1,000mg sodium.
Bakery At Starbucks
The Starbucks selection of bakery items hosts the classics like muffins, cookies, and brownies and puts a rotation of special treats like cake pops, scones, and doughnuts into the limelight.
Most Nutritious Option With Starbucks Nutrition Facts
The petite vanilla bean scone (33g) offers 120 calories, 4.5g total fat, 2g saturated fat, 18g carbohydrate, 2g protein, 8 g sugar, and 95mg sodium.
Among the most popular bakery items on the menu, cake pops are among the lowest-calorie sweet treats, but we have to keep in mind that scones and cake pops come in bite-size servings and therefore are low in calories.
Least Nutritious Option With Starbucks Nutrition Facts
Starbucks’ glazed doughnut provides 480 calories, 27g total fat, 13g saturated fat, 56g carbohydrate, 5g protein, 30g sugar, and 410 mg sodium.
Packaged Snacks At Starbucks
Many Starbucks stores keep packaged snack foods that typically include cookies, mints, popcorn, and chips. Some Starbucks at specific locations also offers a variety of snacks, sweets, and other packaged products from different brands with ingredient information.
Most Nutritious Options With Starbucks Nutrition Facts
Salty: Packaged kettle corn at Starbucks houses 130 calories, 5g fat, 0g saturated fat, 21g carbohydrate, 2g protein, 7g sugar, and 130mg sodium.
Sweet: Starbucks’ dark chocolate Grahams houses 140 calories, 8g total fat, 4.5g saturated fat, 18g carbohydrate, 4g protein, 11g sugar, and 30 mg sodium.
Least Nutritious Options With Starbucks Nutrition Facts
Salty: Tortilla chips at Starbucks provide 310 calories, 19g fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 32g carbohydrate, 3g of protein, 0g sugar, and 320mg sodium.
Sweet: Salted almond chocolate bites at Starbucks houses 300 calories, 22g total fat, 7g saturated fat, 24g carbohydrate, 7g protein, 19g sugar, and 200mg sodium.
7 Lesser-Known Starbucks Nutrition Facts
1. Shaken iced green tea is one of the most nutritious drinks at Starbucks that will load you up with no calories at all.
2. The cold brew coffee with whipped cream and cold foam has the highest calorie count of all the coffee drinks at Starbucks, and it can load you up with almost 230 calories.
3. The blended strawberry lemonade is, without doubt, the most unhealthy cold drink served at Starbucks, housing 190 calories.
4. Salted caramel and dark chocolate nut bar has only 5g of sugar, leaving you with no regrets.
5. Chai latte from the Starbucks drinks menu will provide 240 calories per serving, so probably you would like to skip this item from Starbucks.
6. Chicken and double-smoked bacon sandwich house a lot of calories- almost 620 calories.
7. Tortilla chips and salted almond chocolate bites might leave you with regrets as they house 310g and 300g of calories, respectively.
Starbucks offers a variety of food and drinks, some are high in calories, and some are low, and you are the one to choose how you will like your drink or food. Hope our Starbucks nutrition guide and nutrition facts will help you out during your next visit to Starbucks and order wisely.
- Kekwick, A., and G. L. S. Pawan. “Calorie intake in relation to body-weight changes in the obese.” Lancet 271 (1956): 155-161. ↩︎
- Melville, Herman. “Moby-dick.” Medicine and Literature, Volume Two. CRC Press, 2018. 73-88. ↩︎
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