Stop The Coffee Insanity

You have already heard a bit from us about whether or not Starbucks is our friend, but during these winter months when so many of us drink hot liquid to warm up our insides, we need to delve deeper into this whole coffee craze. Actually, we want to talk about all of those coffee drinks that are actually not coffee. So many millions of people are drinking rich, creamy desserts for breakfast every day and don't realize why they are overweight, lethargic and desperately crave their second "coffee drink" at noon. Well, this is why - those gingerbread and pumpkin spice lattes, mochas and white chocolate mochas have just as many calories and as much sugar as a piece of chocolate cake! Wouldn't you rather have chocolate cake for breakfast?

By the way, we are not judging anyone who drinks these things. We used to be addicted to them, too. When they opened the first Starbucks in our hometown twelve years ago, we'd drive 40 minutes every weekend just to get a mocha latte with whipped cream and a chocolate chip bagel. It was a fun, delicious weekend treat. But now they're on every corner, and instead of having them for a special indulgence, too many people are drinking dessert every day for breakfast. And then the same people go out to dinner and feel guilty about ordering tiramisu. We think that's backwards and we want to stop the coffee insanity. It took us years to break ourselves of our creamy mocha and ice blended coffee addictions, but we did manage to do it, and we want to help you do the same. At the very least, here are a few good reasons to cut back.

1. Cost

We know that we're not here to give you financial advice, but we also know how much money you are spending on this crazy coffee addiction. If you order a medium sized "dessert latte" four times a week, you are spending about $1,000 a year on glorified caffeine. And if you add muffins and sandwiches to that, you're probably doubling it. Yikes. Try getting drip coffee a few days a week and you'll save yourself around $500 a year--and about 50,000 calories!

2. Calories

Cutting to the chase: a regular-sized mocha has 330 calories, 15 grams of fat (8 of which are saturated) and 33 grams of sugar - and that's without that delicious whipped cream! And all those other special holiday drinks, and the ones with caramel added, have even more. Just do the math - if you have one of these crazy coffee concoctions every day plus some sort of muffin thingy, your breakfast on the go is well over 600 calories. We think that 600 calories could be better spent elsewhere - like on pizza for lunch or an ice cream sundae at the end of a long day. Or you could go out and order French toast or fluffy pancakes with black coffee for the same amount calories. Our lives changed when we realized that we could actually eat a lot more decadent food if we stopped starting our day with an expensive dessert drink.

3. Energy

We have to pause for a moment and mention how very much we LOVE coffee. And we are still totally addicted - just not to the fatty kind. We drink good, old fashioned drip coffee or we get an Americano (which is pretty much the same thing, just a bit fresher, 25 cents more and way more fun). But when we made the switch, we realized that we had so much more energy. All of that cream and sugar really does slow you down. It'll give you a quick buzz, but that hard sugar crash is just not worth it. Just try this on a Monday morning-- order a drip coffee instead of a pumpkin spice latte, and use a bit of half and half and Splenda if you want it sweet. Just watch how much more energized you feel!

4. Sweeteners

We know it may seem like we are obsessed with Splenda. That's because we are. It says on the box, "Made from sugar, so it tastes like sugar," and they are not lying. This stuff is great! However, what are not great are the sugar-free syrups and flavors they have at these fancy coffee shops. Just because you order your vanilla latte "sugar free," that does not mean it is healthier. We spent a whole year drinking these, too, but then we realized that all of those fake sweeteners made us hungry and bloated and puffy, and that's because they are also filled with a ton of sodium. Yep, you are trading corn syrup for even faker chemicals and way too much salt. Again, just try plain old coffee, and if you really love these things, treat yourself to the "real thing" on the weekend, or on a Wednesday, or on your birthday. You'll save money, you'll save calories, and you'll feel so much better!

5. If All Else Fails... Get the Skinny

Okay, fine. If you absolutely can't stomach plain coffee, then go ahead and order your latte - just order it with non-fat milk or soy milk and leave out all of the flavors, syrups, and creams. Our friend Starbucks is now offering a "Skinny Latte" which only has 90 calories. (Thank you, Starbucks!) Try this one, and again, if you need it sweet, add a packet of Splenda. (Oh, and please don't yell at us too much about the chemicals in Splenda - we know it's not perfect, but it is better than aspartame.)

Comments

[Pandu]

Water, anyone?


"O son of Kunti [Arjuna], I am the taste of water, the light of the sun and the moon, the syllable om in the Vedic mantras; I am the sound in ether and ability in man." - Krishna, Bhagavad-gita 7.8

[fcsakes]

Cowboy coffee is the only *real* coffee - made with Fair Trade, shade-grown beans with NO flavoring and if you must use sugar, make it plain ordinary white sugar made from smashed up sugar beets or cane or whatever they use nowadays.

Nothing smells better getting made and nothing tastes better going down. Except maybe a little Kahlua in there....:)

[mandycat]

I believe one of the more popular Starbucks offerings has more calories than a Big Mac. With whipped cream added, it would represent about 25% of the number of calories most women need for weight maintenance.

Is there a connection between this article and the one elsewhere on this site discussing obesity in America?

[Ohg]

Well put. The McDonaldizing of coffee has changed the understanding of coffee. True gourmet coffee is to savored and enjoyed.....
http://thefiresidepost.com/2008/01/12/coffee-and-the-american-gourmet-experience/

[massimo1]

Just a word here to you about Splenda, which you love so much. It is NOT zero-calorie. In small amounts, like a packet, it contains under 1 gram of carbs (4.5 calories) from dextrose and maltodextrin, so the FDA, frankly, lets them lie and say zero calories. All almost well and good if a packet of Splenda is all you are going to consume. But let's say you actually cook with the stuff. You are no longer getting no calories, instead you are getting the calories you have been trying to avoid. In other words, I think the FDA and the maker of Splenda are in collusion and misleading you and the rest of the American consumers.

[TedB]

Something else to ponder the next time you are about to ingest Splenda®: Just because it tastes sweet and has been given a name that sounds like "sucrose," does that make it safe to sprinkle chlorinated hydrocarbons on your food?

[waitng]

To each his/her own. But the bare bones is that starbucks is a carbohydrate pusher. I love real coffee but anything else is a foo foo drink. The whole idea is being hooked on sugar and the sugar industry is quietly one of the biggest corporate monsters out there. All they want is your money and the one thing that people, young and old, fall for faster than anything is sweet stuff to eat and drink which should classify sugar(or all refined carbs) as an addictive substance. Just check out the check out line in the grocery store and notice how many cartons or cases and the big 2 liter jugs of soft drinks these guys and gals are taking home for the family carb moments. Have you ever noticed that some people just cannot drink water? It has to be a soft drink and it does not matter if it is regular or diet soft drinks. How popular are sweets at all holidays? The carb industry knows full well and not only that but inbetween the holidays. Helps to keep little junior and missy quiet for a little while also.
And to put it in the nutritional perspective, when any type of carbohydrate is consumed it causes the pancreas to start flooding the body with insulin and that is a dangerous thing to happen in these carb addicted days. Too much insulin going into the body to handle the blood sugar levels causes the whole process to become resistant to the control is should produce and this with no doubts causes the diabetes and obesity that is so rampant in a lot of the industrialize nations.
But don't take my word for it, look up and read about insulin and see what has been found out about this hormone. The carb industry knows and it is making money hand over fist over people's misery from being addicted to refined sugars & flours and starches.

[RoseMerry]

Splenda sucks. It does NOT taste like sugar and it has the two of the three elements as cyanide gas.

[lungfish]

I kicked my latte habit.... lost some weight...Used to haunt the Cafe Med in Berkely, and Au Coqelet and Cafe Strada...

Now I live on a coffee farm in Kona, Hawaii... its blooming as I write this. Coffee trees (big shrubby bushes really) that are heavy with white blooms on dark green branches and almost look snow covered. We get two to three harvests a year. We are upslope (Mauka) about 2200ft and the coffee has an incredible flavor.

We wait until the berries are bright red or "cherry" as its called, pick them early in the morning and run them through a husking machine to squeeze the beans out of the fruit -We have to do this right away or the beans ferment. Then we dry the beans on screened racks in a well-ventilated place. At this stage they are called "Parchment" as they have a skin on them.

I often get the green dry beans rub them between my hands to get the skins off and roast it in a small frying pan on the stove for a few minutes, stirring them constantly on a low flame. Medium roast is best for this area so I stop when they are dark but not oily.

Then I grind it, put it in a French (Freedom?)Press and add hot water , let it steep for 3min or so and... ta da! Best coffee ever.

Sometimes I use a little Silk Soy creamer and two teaspoons of suger although its is great black.

This is coffee the way its supposed to be.

Bean Heaven!

Aloha!!!

[johnmorgan]

What is wrong with the authors of this article? They badly need to simplify their lives. Stop eating crappy non-foods which are unhealthy for you, such as fake sugar.

Also, stop patronizing Starbuck's. Patronize a locally-owned coffeeshop, and drink ordinary coffee.

[gwpriester]

Black. And ground from Fair Trade (not to be confused with Free Trade) whole beans.

You don't need all that other stuff.

[El.Kabong]

FWIW, I quit a tall grande mocha a day habit for 6 weeks. I lost 20 pounds with moderate exercise (basketball 3x/week). Lured back by a frightening chocolate addiction, I found them again. Suffice it to say I'm relying on my jumpshot a lot more these days... ;-)

[SILVANUS]

1. Drip Coffee is rarely real coffee. I dont't know what it is.

2. Starbucks is no worse than any other capitalist franchise. At least they sell music, and some of the stores can even make a real macchiato.

3. Beats Meth.

[alfred]

Have you ever ordered a single shot at Starbucks? They don't know how to make a simple espresso. It's not even on their price list. Has to be the worse place to drink coffee.

[sime0n]

(Oh, and please don't yell at us too much about the chemicals in Splenda - we know it's not perfect, but it is better than aspartame.)

---

True that.. Check out this freaky Aspartame experiment:

http://www.myaspartameexperiment.com/

[THP]

Better than half and half, and much healthier than hydrogenated corn-syrup-solids Cremora, discover Silk Creamers (regular, vanilla or hazelnut).
Delicious. I hate soy milk, Silk milk, but love their creamers. Ask your store where it is or go to any health food store.

[Machineart]

I'm hoping that someone will also write an essay about Starbucks and the issue of Fair Trade coffee. Because it controls so much of the American coffee market, Starbucks is in a strong position to impact the fair trade issue in the impoverished countries most coffee comes from. Problem is, it costs Starbucks extra money to pay a living wage to coffee suppliers. When people started to remark on this and the issue started to gain traction, Starbucks indulged in some clever corporate maneuvering -- they introduced a coffee called FAIR TRADE, making it up to the consumer to choose a fair trade coffee rather than making it policy. Then they balked on even this small reform; FAIR TRADE became the mysteriously named CAFE ESTIMA -- a "fair trade" coffee that is often not even available at Starbucks stores (they sure seem to run out a lot). Point being: Starbucks presents itself as progressive and sure sucks up a lot of progressive consumer dollars. If progressives got active on this issue and forced Starbucks to change to a "fair trade" only purchasing model, the impact would be HUGE. Jodi and Cerina: How about an article on that?

[OttoMann]

Hear, hear! Who cares how much they pay their cashiers (whose job is, let's face it, no different than that of someone who works behind a deli counter) -- the question is, how much do they pay the growers? And we want not just Fair Trade, but shade grown, too.

[TVDinner666]

An americano is pretty much the same thing as drip coffee? It's more fun?

PHILISTINES! You're obviously drinking lousy drip if you think an americano is anything close to equivalent. *snort*