The calorie content of coffee has increased by 40% due to plant-based cream, according to scientists

The calorie content of the coffee consumed by Americans has increased by nearly 40% in recent years. At the same time, it is not sugar or regular milk that contributes the most additional calories to the beverage, but plant-based coffee creamers. These are the conclusions reached by American researchers, whose findings were published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. 

The research team analyzed data from eight consecutive cycles of the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) covering the years 2003–2018. 

Approximately 30,000 adults aged 20 and older participated in the study. All of them reported which foods and beverages they consumed over the course of a day.

The researchers divided coffee into two main categories: black coffee without additives and beverages with various additives. These included:

• plain milk;
• a mixture of milk and cream;
• heavy cream;
• plant-based milk;
• plant-based coffee creamers;
• sugar and syrups;
• sugar substitutes;
• alcohol;
• cocoa powder.

Some participants reported consuming ready-to-drink coffee beverages or powdered mixes. Therefore, the researchers had to estimate the amounts of individual ingredients in their composition. To do this, they used the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s database on foods and their nutritional value—the USDA Food and Nutrition Database for Dietary Studies.

The results showed that the total amount of coffee consumed—particularly black coffee—remained virtually unchanged from 2003 to 2018. However, the quantity and type of ingredients people added to their coffee did change.

In 2018, regular milk remained the most common additive. On average, study participants consumed 21.4 grams of milk per day with their coffee.

Plant-based coffee creamers were also popular—an average of 8.1 grams per day—as was sugar—4.4 grams.

At the same time, it was the consumption of plant-based coffee additives that increased the most significantly. While their average amount was 3.65 grams per day in 2003, this figure rose to 10.5 grams in 2018.

Plant-based cream accounted for the bulk of this increase: its consumption rose from 3.37 grams per day in 2003 to approximately 8 grams in 2018. Consumption of plant-based milk also increased—from 0.27 to 2.45 grams per day.

The amount of other coffee additives also rose slightly—by an average of 0.5 grams per day.

According to the study’s findings, the average number of calories participants obtained from coffee increased from 43 to 60 per day. This is nearly 40% more than at the start of the observation period.

Although regular milk remained the most common additive, by 2018, plant-based cream was the main source of calories in coffee.

The average contribution of various additives to the daily calorie content of coffee in 2018 was as follows:

• Plant-based cream — 18.5 calories per day.
• Sugar — 16 calories per day.
• Regular milk — 11 calories per day.

By comparison, in 2003, plant-based cream added an average of only 7.71 calories per day to the diet. Thus, over the study period, its role in the total calorie content of coffee increased significantly.

The study’s lead author, Yongi Pan, a graduate student at the Friedman School in Boston, explained that plant-based cream has become a significant source of extra calories in coffee.

“We found that plant-based creamers added to coffee now surpass both sugar and dairy products in their contribution to the total calorie content of coffee. Plant-based creamers can contain a lot of saturated fats, which have a high energy value.

This may explain why they have become a source of more calories,” explained Yong-gi Pan.

According to him, plant-based cream has been on the market for a long time, but it has only become particularly popular in recent years. This is because consumers are increasingly seeking plant-based alternatives to dairy products.

Thus, the study’s findings indicate that the calorie content of coffee depends not only on the amount of sugar but also on the composition and volume of the cream added to the beverage. Even plant-based alternatives to dairy products can significantly affect its energy value.

This was reported by ScienceDaily.

As a reminder, October 1 marks International Coffee Day—a celebration of one of the world’s most popular beverages, around which an entire culture has developed. This day was officially established in 2015, and the first celebration took place in Milan during Expo 2015. In 2026, the International Coffee Organization is dedicating a global campaign to the role of coffee in community development, supporting farmers, and finding solutions to modern challenges.

In Australia, following a ban on surcharges for credit card payments, 17% of cafes raised their coffee prices. Among the establishments that changed their prices, the average increase was 50 Australian cents, or more than 10%, according to data from the online tracker Small Flat White, which surveyed more than 1,500 cafes.