How Many Calories in Coffee with Semi Skimmed Milk?

Coffee and Health

We guess you already know that coffee doesn’t contain many calories. It’s no secret – black coffee is 98.75 percent water, after all.

Not keen on black coffee? Prefer your joe with a dash of milk? Then you might want to know more about its calorie content. Cool beans! We have all the information you need…

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What is a calorie?

What is this thing we see on every food packet and menu? That everyone starts counting and tracking and app-ing each January? What is a calorie?

‘Calorie’ is short for kilocalorie and is a unit of energy. Specifically, it’s the amount of energy it would take to heat 1kg of water by 1°C. Scientists and nutritionists (and foodies) also define it as the amount of energy our bodies use from the stuff we eat and drinks.

We need calories to move, stay warm, grow, think, digest food… just to be. Women need around 2,000 calories a day, men need about 2,500 and African elephants need 70,000. Which isn’t relevant at all, but still pretty interesting!

Calories in coffee

Okay, back to the calories in skimmed milk coffee.

Served black, coffee is practically calorie-free. An average mug contains just two calories and no fat (but oodles of health benefits!).

Different kinds of coffee drinks have different calorie contents, mainly because they differ in coffee concentration. A super punchy espresso has about three calories, while a smooth Americano has five.

So, other than the fact that it’s mainly H20, why does coffee contain so few calories? Tasty things usually rack them up faster than we can say triple chocolate donut…

To find the answer, we’ve gotta head back to the bean. Your arabica coffee bean is a seed whose main role is to make a new plant sprout. This is one very IMPORTANT JOB, but not one that requires much energy. Literally all the bean has to do is push a sprout a few inches above the soil. Then it can put its tiny feet up.

The bean doesn’t need much energy, so it only stores a teeny amount. This means it doesn’t transfer much to us (in the form of calories) when we brew. So, there you have it, one very low calorie coffee bean!

Coffee and Metabolism

Trainers? Protein shake? Coffee? Caffeine gets the thumbs up from gym-goers. Even Sir Mo Farah is a fan.

As well as boosting endurance and aiding concentration, coffee can speed up weight loss. Just take a look at a pack of weight loss pills – we bet there will be some caffeine in there.

Coffee accelerates weight loss because it speeds up the body’s metabolism. You use more energy and burn more calories, and less energy is stored as fat. The result? You guessed it – weight loss.

All this is backed up by science. One 2020 study by Harvard University found that coffee lovers drinking four coffees a day saw a four percent decrease in body fat. This study also points in the same direction.

Calories in coffee with semi skimmed milk

Calories in skimmed milk coffee

Start adding extras, and the calories begin to climb.

Everyone’s ‘splash’ of milk is different, but experts reckon 30ml is average. 100ml of semi skimmed milk gives us 50 calories, meaning a 30ml dash has 15. Add this to black coffee, and you’ve got a grand total of 17 calories.
Fancy whole milk? That’s got 66 calories per 100ml, so 20 per jolly dash and 22 in the finished coffee.

Add more milk, add more calories. But does milky coffee make you smile? Then go for it – there’s more to life than numbers. 😊

Calories in Different Coffee Drinks

Milky coffee isn’t just milky coffee, right? Coffee shop menus are brimming with milk-and-coffee combos. And we love ‘em, every single one.

Assuming you’re using semi skimmed milk (remember that many coffee shops use whole milk instead), here are the average calories in different espresso-based drinks:

• Cappuccino 80-160 calories
• Latte 120-200 calories
• Flat White around 90 calories
• Iced Latte 100 calories

Having fun times with flavoured coffees? Scrummy! Just bear in mind that coffee syrups add about 50 calories to your brew.

How to make coffee less bitter without milk

Coffee tastes bitter = add milk

It’s the only answer, right? Nope! There’s a good handful of other ways you can reduce coffee bitterness!

Brew Speciality

First things first: make sure you are brewing speciality coffee. Poor-quality instant coffee has a bad habit of being REALLY REALLY bitter. It’s all down to the beans big-name roasters use. Low-grade robusta beans are far harsher in flavour than naturally sweet arabica. They’re often strip-picked, too, which gives you a not-very-tasty jumble of ripe beans and bitter unripe ones.

Choose speciality coffee from indie roasters like Two Chimps, and you know you’re brewing top-notch, hand-picked arabica beans. And that you’re gonna get a mug bouncing with flavour!

Try a coarser grind size

Coffee still a tad bitter? Grinding at home? Try a coarser grind size. A grind that’s too fine for your favourite device will result in over-extraction and off-putting bitterness.

Add cinnamon

It’s not just for buns! Cinammon adds sweetness, plus tons of healthy antioxidants and brain-boosting compounds. And, volia – coffee that’s not cin-ful at all!

Reduce your brew time

This one’s pretty similar to the grind size bit. Brew for too long and bitterness is on the way – over-extraction is to blame again.

Great stuff! Now you know how many calories in coffee with semi skimmed milk!

Want to know the absolute healthiest way to brew? Click here!