What is the calorie content of coffee?

The morning of many modern people begins with a cup of coffee. Some on the run swallow strong espresso, while others savor a cappuccino with cinnamon.Some are trying to reduce the amount of consumed drink, being afraid of getting fat, while others are losing weight on a fashionable coffee diet. How many calories contains coffee, and whether it is possible to get better from it - this is the question that worries many coffee people.

Coffee is one of the most popular drinks, but its birthplace is unknown. It is assumed that this is Africa, or rather, Ethiopia. It was here that the first cultivated coffee trees grew - after, according to legend, one of the shepherds noticed the tonic and invigorating effect of their grains on goats who tried coffee.

Initially, coffee was consumed in a completely different form - the green flesh was simply chewed, they took with them on a long journey, wanderings. A little later, the fruits began to collect, dry and brew with boiling water. Along with the pulp used leaves of the coffee tree, from which they prepared infusions. At the same time, the grains were not eaten, but simply spat out where necessary. This explains the widespread distribution of coffee plantations, especially along the route of trade caravans.

Having conquered the African continent, coffee began to spread in the East, where they first tried to brew, not the pulp, but the actual coffee grains. The result of the experiment was successful, and since then under the coffee began to understand the drink, made exclusively from coffee beans. It was in the East that the jazz first appeared, as well as the tradition before drinking a drink to drink pure water - to wash the receptors of the tongue for a better understanding of taste. Here they began to make coffee with spices (cinnamon, ginger, cloves) for the first time, and they also mixed the drink with milk.

In the East, a large number of coffee plantations appeared, and the grain, under penalty of execution, was forbidden to be exported to other countries. However, daredevils who wanted to enrich themselves risked and smuggled grain into the country. That is how they ended up in India. Planted in fertile soil, the grains sprouted, and within a few years, India claimed the title of the “coffee capital” of the world. What is interesting, the rulers, who quickly realized how much money can be earned, being monopolists of the drink, as well as in the East, imposed a ban on the export of coffee.

However, the procession of the drink on the planet could no longer be stopped. He gained massive popularity, which caused anxiety among religious authorities. Very soon, the Orthodox churches of Ethiopia banned the drink, and the Muslim religion called the drink devilish - many people paid for its tasting with languages ​​and even life.

Appearing in Turkey in the 15th century, literally 100 years later, coffee was banned here, although the initiative did not come from religious figures, but from government officials. The fact is that in the coffeehouses for a cup of flavored drink, talks about politics and democracy were dangerous for the authorities. Restaurants, one after another, went underground, and coffee connoisseurs risked their lives by drinking.

Coffee influenced not only the social life of society, but also culture. When the persecution of it stopped, institutions began to appear where coffee was brewed in public. Here not only friends began to meet, but also business partners. In this form, coffee moved to Europe and America.

Europe met with the drink only in the XVII century. At first, coffee gained popularity among Italians - in the country one after another coffee shops were opened, the owners of which in the shortest possible time became rich. Businessmen of London followed the example of Italian businessmen - with their light hands, the drink gained popularity here too. A little later, coffee became famous in France, and it was here that sweet variations of a drink with cream appeared. In Russia, the drink became known during the time of Peter the Great. On the territory of our country, the drink came from Turkey, as evidenced by the name of the cezva, “Turk”, which we have taken root in, that is, a vessel for brewing Turkish coffee.

Despite the fact that coffee appeared in Europe later, it was here, or rather, in Italy, the technology of its cooking was brought to perfection. In the 19th century, an Italian businessman invented espresso. To be fair, they first invented a coffee machine, and then a coffee drink, which could be prepared in it. One of the most common drinks based on coffee beans, espresso, owes its appearance to the greed of the Italian businessman. Wanting to reduce the time of working breaks, he came up with a unit that makes coffee in 30 seconds. Another 1.5-2 minutes is required to drink on the go a tiny but invigorating portion of espresso.

In wartime, when American soldiers appeared in Italy, American was "born". The fact is that the Americans did not like the espresso taste that was full of bitter taste, so they asked the Italian barista to make coffee at home, “American-style”. Without thinking, they simply diluted the freshly brewed espresso with hot water. The new drink, for obvious reasons, was named American.

The most popular coffee received in America, becoming the traditional morning drink. Initially, it was even given to children, and in order to reduce the strength and impact of the drink on the children's body, the drink was diluted with milk. This is how cappuccino appeared, followed by other types of coffee with milk and cream.

From the point of view of chemical composition, it is necessary to distinguish raw (green) coffee beans, a natural product that has undergone roasting, and a soluble variant, since the components of the composition undergo significant changes in the course of various manipulations with raw materials.

Green coffee beans contain a lot of water, fiber (in combination with sugars) and essential oils. These components account for 75% of the composition. The rest is proteins, alkaloids, caffeine, organic acids.

In the process of roasting, up to 65% of water from the volume contained in green grains is evaporated. Cellulose breaks down into acids and amino acids, as well as a small amount of alcohol. Sugar under the influence of heat undergoes a process similar to the process of caramelization of granulated sugar on the fire. It is he who causes the dark brown hue of the grains after roasting. Fats also change - they break down into acids. Organic acids undergo smaller changes - their amount decreases. One of the alkaloids begins to release nicotinic acid after heat treatment.

The amount of caffeine in raw and roasted grains is the same, but due to evaporation of moisture, its concentration in roasted grains increases. Hence the quite explicable opinion that the more grains are roasted, the stronger, more saturated the drink turns out.

In the process of heat treatment, most components break up into several components, and also form new compounds. Volatile compounds, essential oils are almost completely removed.

Natural ground coffee contains caffeine (a natural stimulant), chlorogenic acid (improves digestion, helps the intestines to digest heavy food), minerals, lipids, sugars and polysaccharides, tannins, essential oils, alkaloids. It contains nicotinic acid (improves capillary permeability), vitamins B3 (affects the nervous system), D (improves the ability of the intestinal walls to absorb nutrients), A (necessary for the growth and functioning of all organs), E (immunostimulant, antioxidant), and also minerals - potassium, magnesium, calcium.

Completely different composition of instant coffee. According to the existing requirements, natural grain is not more than 15-20% of the composition, but in practice this amount may be even lower. Low-grade products may contain chicory, cereals and herbs instead of coffee proper.

The composition of instant coffee are usually residues from ground or substandard, that is, those grains that can not be used as natural.

Raw materials for soluble product is sometimes boiled for 5-10 hours. At this time, the grains lose all their beneficial properties. Then the raw material is subjected to low - or high-temperature effects, sublimated particles or powder are formed. As a rule, after such procedures coffee contains only caffeine and a small amount of organic acids. It is a little reminiscent of that smoking drink of beautiful color that can be seen in television advertising. For this reason, dyes, flavors, flavor enhancers and other "chemistry" are added to the composition.

Contrary to popular belief, natural black coffee cannot be called a high-calorie product. Its nutritional value is 201 kilocalories (kcal) per 100 grams (g) of the product.

The calorie content of the grains depends on the degree of roasting. Raw they contain fats, essential oils and enzymes, but because their caloric content is 310 kcal per 100 grams. During the frying process, the number of components described is significantly reduced (completely eliminated), which leads to a decrease in nutritional value. Thus, it can be concluded that the grains of strong roasting contain less calories than the analogue of medium roast, although this difference is minimal and almost insignificant.

Boiled black coffee without additives contains about 2-3 kcal per cup of 250 ml. The nutritional value of the custard drink with sweetener (1 teaspoon of sugar - 24 kcal, a small cube of refined sugar - 20 kcal) is at least 22-28 kcal.

Instant coffee in its composition and taste is much inferior to the grain. Due to the peculiarities of the processing of grains, the amount of caffeine in it increases, but the energy value is rather low and on average is 94 kilocalories per 100 grams of dry powder. A tablespoon of raw materials contains about 35 kcal, tea - 12 kcal.

The nutritional value of the product depends on the characteristics of its production, and therefore varies slightly among different manufacturers and types of powder within the same brand.

Instant coffee, as you know, is freeze-dried, granulated and powdered. These types differ in production features — the raw materials for the first are subjected to freezing, the other two are subjected to high temperatures. The level of caffeine in sublimated and powdered variants is almost the same, but in the sublimated product there are still more beneficial components. Granular is actually the same powder, but the particles in it are collected in small "piles" - granules.

The most dangerous, in terms of caloric content, are single-use 3-in-1 sachets of coffee. They contain not only coffee powder, but also sugar with cream. An important point: the amount of sweetener in this product ranges from 50 to 90%, and this is at least 38 kcal. In order that the cream in the dry product does not deteriorate, instead of animals they put vegetable - more high-calorie. The nutritional value of the latter is 450 kcal per 100 grams of dry product. Given that in a bag of "3 in 1" cream about 7 grams, you can establish that their caloric content is about 30 kcal.

On average, the nutritional value of such a product is about 70 kcal per cup, while the bulk of the calories fall in cream and sugar. Coffee in this case is an illiquid powder that cannot be sold as a “full-fledged” instant. Most likely, this is coffee dust or raw materials, which have violated the storage technology or billet. To save money, careless manufacturers often add chicory or chemical additives to the powder.

Most people prefer coffee with additives - cream, milk, sugar, and so on. You can accurately calculate the nutritional value of the drink by adding the caloric content of each ingredient and taking into account the volume of servings.

The most popular additive is sugar. Calorie sugar is 398 kcal per 100 grams of dry product. A teaspoon without a hill holds about 24-25 kcal. However, if you generously scoop up the sweetener with a slide, then the caloricity "jump" to 40-42 kcal. As a rule, most people add 2 teaspoons of sugar to the cup, increasing the caloric content of coffee by an average of 50-80 kcal.

Many people mistakenly believe that drinking coffee with honey is more beneficial and less caloric than with sugar, but the beekeeping product contains 329 kcal per 100 grams, or 25-26 kcal per teaspoon. In fact, its nutritional value is similar to the same indicator of sugar. At the same time, when honey is added to hot coffee, almost all of its healing properties are leveled, which means that it becomes an ordinary (and very high-calorie) sweetener.

Another no less popular additive is milk. If we talk about pasteurized store product, then on average its caloric content is 55 kcal per 100 ml (2.5% fat). On average, 50 ml (27 kcal) or 25 ml (14-15 kcal) are added to the cup. If you need only a little "whiten" coffee, retaining its strength, enough 1-2 tablespoons of milk, which is 11-22 kcal.

Most beverages such as cappuccino, latte, or mokkachino, suggest the use of milk with a fat content of at least 3.2%, since only such a product can be turned into an airy but strong foam. Milk with a specified percentage of fat content has a nutritional value of 62 kcal per 100 ml.

Baked milk also has an increased nutritional value, which is produced by prolonged heating of the pasteurized product. As a result, its energy value is 67 kcal per 100 g of product.

For those who follow the figure, but can not refuse to add milk to coffee, you can recommend a low-fat product. These include all types of milk, which is less than 0.5%, while the amount of calcium in it is the same as in the more fatty counterpart. The nutritional value of a defatted product is 36 kcal per 100 ml, or 16 kcal per 50 ml, or 7 kcal per 1 tablespoon.

If ordinary milk was not at hand, many add dry milk. It is obtained by drying the usual pasteurized cow's milk, so some of the useful components are destroyed, and the caloric content increases. The latter is 469 kcal per 100 grams of dry product. A teaspoon contains about 40-42 kcal. It turns out that powdered milk is not the best coffee supplement for those who suffer from excess weight.

In the head of most modern people, there is a stereotype that animal products are fatter compared to vegetable analogues, but in the case of coconut milk, the opposite is true. This product is prepared by squeezing minced coconut pulp. Despite the fact that coconut milk looks like white water, its caloric content reaches 152 kcal per 100 ml.

Another vegetable milk is soy. Prepare it from a variety of legumes - soy. Caloric content of such a product per 100 ml is 54 kcal. Adding soy milk usually eliminates the addition of sweetener to the beverage, since it in itself has a sweetish aftertaste.

Cream helps to make coffee even more gentle and soft to the taste, however, they increase caloric content quite significantly. Small bags of cream of 10 grams are very popular - just for one cup of coffee. They are available with a fat content of 10% (12 kcal) and 20% (22 kcal). If we talk about a bag of dry cream of the same volume, the caloric content grows to 45 kcal. In the circle of espresso or americano with cream 10% contains about 16 kcal, if you use a dry product - 49-50 kcal.

In coffee drinks, where the cream forms a beautiful "cap", usually put a more nutritious product with a fat content of 30%. Only 1 tablespoon of such cream will increase the nutritional value of the drink by 60 kcal.

Replace cream and sugar, as it seems at first glance, allows condensed milk. The nutritional value of the product is 300 kcal per 100 g of the product, in a teaspoon - 36 kcal, and in the dining room - 75 kcal. If you dissolve a tablespoon of condensed milk in an espresso cup, you get 79-80 kcal. To achieve the same taste, you can add 10 mg of cream with a small fat content and a teaspoon of sugar; as a result, the same volume of the drink will contain only 30 kcal. Even if you put 2 teaspoons of sugar (caloric content is already 54 kcal), it will still be less than with the addition of condensed milk.

Most of them are prepared on the basis of espresso - strong black coffee, which is prepared exclusively in the coffee machine. Considering that 7-10 mg of coffee beans are taken per serving in 40 ml, the caloric content of the serving is 3-4 kcal. Usually, espresso is drunk without sugar and milk, but if you add these ingredients (a teaspoon of sugar and a canteen - medium-fat milk), then the nutritional value will increase to 35-37 kcal (depending on the fat content of milk).

Many people do not like too concentrated espresso, because they prefer the American. The latter is prepared by classical technology by mixing 1 part espresso and 3 parts water. Despite the fact that the portion is increased to 180-250 ml, its caloric content (as well as its caffeine content) remains the same.

Much more nutritious are drinks based on espresso, sugar and milk or cream. These include cappuccino. It includes strong natural coffee, warmed milk and foamed milk. Only medium and high fat milk (2.5 or 3.2%) is suitable for the formation of foam. Caloric content of the latter largely determines the energy value of cappuccino. The product with a fat content of 2.5% has 54 kcal per 100 ml, with a fat content of 3.2% - 59 kcal. Thus, there is a minimum of 120 kcal per 100 ml of cappuccino, however, a 180 ml glass (standard portion) contains 210 kcal.

Latte has the same nutritional value. It is made from 2 parts of espresso, heated and foamed milk. To get a “cap” on the surface of the drink allows you to whip milk with a fat content of at least 2.5-3.2%. On average, the caloric content of the drink is 180-220 kcal per standard portion of 220 ml. Latte "cap" differs from cappuccino foam in greater density. It keeps chocolate chips, cocoa, toppings and even small marshmallows well on the surface, so the “top” of the drink is traditionally decorated with these sweets. As a result, the caloric content of the drink increases to 300-450 kcal, depending on the additive.

Mokachchino also has a high caloric content, which is largely due to the presence of hot chocolate in its composition. The classic recipe involves adding chocolate, espresso, milk and whipped cream in equal quantities. As a result, the caloric content of the drink is 250-280 kcal per 100 ml. Given that Mokachchino is served in high glasses with a volume of 180-200 ml, the caloric content of a serving is 500 kcal.

Similar caloric content (about 400-500 kcal) has frapuccino. The recipe was first made known through the Starbucks coffeehouse, which owns the right to an exclusive recipe. The drink consists of 100 ml of milk, coffee, a teaspoon of sugar and ice cubes, which are whipped in a shaker or blender.

Another high-calorie drink - coffee glase. Usually it is served in the warm season, as it contains ice cream and ice cubes, and it is very refreshing. The classic formulation involves the use of 20 mg of coffee beans, 300 ml of water and 60 grams of ice cream. As a result, the caloric content of 350-400 ml per serving is from 120 to 200 kcal.Often, the drink is decorated with chocolate chips, topping, citrus peel, which can increase its nutritional value up to 300 kcal.

Calorie content of various supplements and drinks based on coffee is useful to know for all who monitor their health and body shape. In some cases, a coffee drink in its caloric content can be compared with breakfast or a dense snack, make up half the calorie content of lunch. At the same time, due to the content of fast carbohydrates in the blood, insulin “jumps” occur, which provokes the need for a new portion of sweet already after a short period of time, and also stimulates the appetite.

In terms of benefits and lower calorie content, natural ground coffee is preferable to instant coffee. If we talk about the latter, then sublimated is better than other varieties and, moreover, the option "3 in 1". The latter can hardly be called coffee in the true sense of the word.

About the calorie content of coffee, see the following video.