Rethink Your Drink: I Only Had One Coffee…

In any coffee shop, there are many drink choices on the menu. From flavored lattes to Frappuccinos, coffee drinks go far beyond black coffee. In fact, there are currently 37 drink varieties offered at Starbucks!

In our previous posts, we covered the basics of coffee including an introduction to the active ingredient, caffeine, and the dangers of giving a coffee to kids (Rethink Your Drink: What is Caffeine? and Rethink Your Drink: Caffeine and Kids). In this post, we will cover what specialty drinks are, how they compare to black coffee, and if you should give them to kids. 

What is a specialty drink?

A specialty drink is a coffee or milk-based beverage with a variety of flavored add-ins. As with traditional coffee, they often contain sugar, cream, and milk. Additionally, they have flavor shots of mocha, chocolate, caramel, and vanilla to add flavor. 

Coffee-Based Specialty Drinks vs. Black Coffee

As seen in the image above, black coffee is lower in calories, sugar, and fat compared to most specialty drinks. Specialty drinks tend to be worse for your health because they contain high-calorie syrup and sugary flavor add-ins. 

Image taken from Is Starbucks Interfering With Your Weight Loss?

Specialty Drinks and Kids

Specialty drinks are appealing to kids because of their bright colors, decorative toppings, and fun names. One example, seen below, is the Unicorn Frappuccino. First introduced in 2017, this 16-ounce drink has 410 calories and 59 grams of added sugar. 

While attractive to kids, the Unicorn Frappuccino contains more than double the recommended amount of sugar per day. According to the American Health Association, children should only consume 25 grams of sugar per day compared to the 59 grams that are in this one drink. As with the Unicorn Frappuccino, most specialty drinks contain an unsafe or unhealthy amount of caffeine and sugar for children. 

Taken from Starbucks New Color and Flavor Changing Unicorn Frappuccino

Healthier Alternatives?

Luckily, coffee chains offer a variety of lower-calorie and sugar options. As mentioned above, black coffee is a good alternative for adults who still want to consume some caffeine, without all the added sugar and fat. 

For children, caffeine is not recommended. Parents should opt to buy milk, herbal tea, or other low sugar, caffeine-free options. 

What healthier alternatives to specialty drinks have you tried? Let us know in the comment section below!