Calories in Drinks – Coffee, Juice, Soda, Milk Alternatives and More
Water, black coffee, plain tea and diet sodas are close to zero calories. A can of regular soda is about 140 to 155, a cup of juice about 110, and a large milky coffee can be 200 or more. Drinks are the easiest calories to forget.
Drinks are the calories people forget most often. They do not feel like food, they are rarely planned, and they are much less filling than the same calories eaten. A daily large latte and a glass of juice can add 300 calories that never appear in a log.
Calories in common drinks
| Drink | Serving | Calories (approx.) |
|---|---|---|
| Water, sparkling water | Any | 0 |
| Black coffee | 8 oz (240 ml) | 2 |
| Tea, unsweetened | 8 oz | 2 |
| Diet soda | 12 oz can | 0–5 |
| Cola, regular | 12 oz can (355 ml) | 140–155 |
| Orange juice | 1 cup (240 ml) | 112 |
| Apple juice | 1 cup | 114 |
| Coconut water | 1 cup | about 45 |
| Sports drink | 20 oz bottle | about 140 |
| Energy drink, regular | 8.4 oz can | about 110 |
| Latte, 2% milk | 16 oz | about 190 |
| Cappuccino, 2% milk | 12 oz | about 100–140 |
| Hot chocolate with milk | 1 cup | about 190–220 |
| Fruit smoothie, café | 16 oz | 200–400, by recipe |
Milk and plant milks
| Milk | 1 cup (240 ml) | Protein |
|---|---|---|
| Whole milk | 149 | 7.7 g |
| 2% milk | 122 | 8.1 g |
| Skim milk | 83 | 8.3 g |
| Soy milk, unsweetened | about 80 | 7 g |
| Oat milk, original | about 120 | 3 g |
| Almond milk, unsweetened | 30–40 | 1 g |
Plant milks vary a lot by brand, especially between sweetened and unsweetened versions. Check the label.
Coffee drinks, built up
Coffee shop drinks are easiest to count by their parts:
| Part | Calories (approx.) |
|---|---|
| Espresso shot | 1–3 |
| Milk, per 100 ml (whole / 2% / skim) | 61 / 50 / 34 |
| Flavoured syrup, per pump | about 20 |
| Whipped cream topping | 50–100 |
| Sugar, 1 teaspoon | 16 |
A 16 oz latte holds roughly 350 to 400 ml of milk once the espresso is in. That is where almost all the calories are. Switching from whole to skim in a daily large latte saves around 90 calories a day.
Juice and smoothies
Juice keeps most of a fruit’s sugar and loses most of its fiber; a cup of orange juice has nearly twice the calories of an orange and is far less filling. Smoothies keep the fiber but are easy to make large: a café smoothie with fruit, juice, yogurt and sweetener can be a meal’s worth of calories. Count homemade smoothies by their ingredients.
Alcohol
Alcoholic drinks have their own calories from alcohol (about 7 per gram) plus any sugar from mixers, wine or beer. A standard glass of wine is about 120 to 130 calories and a regular beer about 150. Count each drink as its own entry.
Easy ways to drink fewer calories
- Make water or sparkling water the default with meals.
- Order the small size of milky coffees, or switch to a lower-fat milk.
- Ask for fewer pumps of syrup, or none.
- Eat fruit instead of drinking juice.
- Choose diet or zero-sugar soft drinks if you drink soda.
Related
See the snacks chart for the other hidden calories, and the dairy chart for milk and yogurt.
Other calorie charts
- How many calories are in a latte?
- A 16 oz latte made with 2% milk is about 190 calories; with whole milk it is closer to 220, and with skim about 130. Flavoured syrups add roughly 20 calories per pump.
- Do drinks count in a calorie count?
- Yes. Calories from drinks count exactly like calories from food, and they are less filling, so they are easy to overlook. Milky coffees, juices, smoothies, sodas and alcohol are the main ones to log.
- Which plant milk has the fewest calories?
- Unsweetened almond milk is usually the lowest, at about 30 to 40 calories a cup. Unsweetened soy milk is about 80 with more protein, and oat milk around 120 for many original versions.