June 2008
Coffee confections
Think "coffee" means no calories? Not if it comes bottled or canned in a sweet drink. The four chilled frappu-cappu-spresso
products that we tested have 100 to 180 calories per serving and 17 to 31 grams of sugars. (For comparison, Frosted Flakes
cereal has 11 grams per serving.)
A variance in serving sizes can make nutrition sleuthing hard. According to the Code of Federal Regulations, any beverage can or bottle that contains 67 to 200 percent of 8 fluid ounces, the "standard reference amount," is a serving. But that means a 12-ounce can of the Caribou Coffee drink (one serving) has 100 calories and a half-gram of fat, and a 6.5-ounce can of Starbucks Doubleshot drink (also one serving) has 140 calories and 6 grams of fat. Caffeine levels range from 60 milligrams in an 8-ounce serving of the Bolthouse Farms drink to 159 milligrams in that 12-ounce Caribou. (A 12-ounce mug of black coffee can have anywhere from about 60 to 280 milligrams.)
When it comes to taste, Starbucks Doubleshot leads the pack. Our trained tasters termed it the only excellent drink, with a balance of strong, sweet coffee and rich dairy flavors. Starbucks Frappuccino Mocha, Bolthouse Farms, and Caribou drinks are all very good but taste quite different from one another (see the Ratings). Bolthouse Farms is unusual in that it's sold in half- or 1-liter bottles (hence a cheaper price per serving) and needs to be refrigerated.
CR's take. Choose Starbucks Doubleshot, but stop at one. (There's also a Lite version we didn't test, with 5 grams of sugars, not 17.) Of the other very good options, Caribou has the fewest calories and lowest fat per serving; Bolthouse Farms has the least caffeine.
A variance in serving sizes can make nutrition sleuthing hard. According to the Code of Federal Regulations, any beverage can or bottle that contains 67 to 200 percent of 8 fluid ounces, the "standard reference amount," is a serving. But that means a 12-ounce can of the Caribou Coffee drink (one serving) has 100 calories and a half-gram of fat, and a 6.5-ounce can of Starbucks Doubleshot drink (also one serving) has 140 calories and 6 grams of fat. Caffeine levels range from 60 milligrams in an 8-ounce serving of the Bolthouse Farms drink to 159 milligrams in that 12-ounce Caribou. (A 12-ounce mug of black coffee can have anywhere from about 60 to 280 milligrams.)
When it comes to taste, Starbucks Doubleshot leads the pack. Our trained tasters termed it the only excellent drink, with a balance of strong, sweet coffee and rich dairy flavors. Starbucks Frappuccino Mocha, Bolthouse Farms, and Caribou drinks are all very good but taste quite different from one another (see the Ratings). Bolthouse Farms is unusual in that it's sold in half- or 1-liter bottles (hence a cheaper price per serving) and needs to be refrigerated.
CR's take. Choose Starbucks Doubleshot, but stop at one. (There's also a Lite version we didn't test, with 5 grams of sugars, not 17.) Of the other very good options, Caribou has the fewest calories and lowest fat per serving; Bolthouse Farms has the least caffeine.
