How Much Sugar Is In Your Starbucks Drink?

As far as sugary drinks go, Starbucks holds the monopoly. Not only do they offer syrupy sweet drinks that seem to mask the taste of the full-bodied espresso deep within it, but they also offer some of the biggest cup sizes in the fast food world.

Starbucks in the Unites States has had an open-book policy on their nutritional information for a while now. However, have you ever looked up your favorite coffee drink just to see how much sugar is really hiding in that foamy, rich cup of warmth? If the caffeine in there doesn’t give you a rush, you can count on one from the sugar.

What’s With The Starbucks High-Sugar Trend?

Does Starbucks do this to appease the notoriously sweet-forward American palate? Actually, no. The over-sugaring of Starbucks products is a worldwide phenomenon. A British campaign called Action on Sugar conducted a study this year. The group found that flavored drinks sold by chains like Starbucks may contain up to a whopping 25 teaspoons of sugar. To put that in context, 25 teaspoons of sugar is equal to three 12-ounce cans of Coke. That’s more than three times the maximum adult daily intake as recommended by the American Heart Association.

Although, the study was focused on drinks sold in the UK, they quickly learned that the amount of sugar in Starbucks drinks remained fairly standard whether they were sold in the UK, United States or another country.

The Fancy Drink Name Comes With A Sugary Price

The following drinks in different countries have a rather high sugar content:

• Canada: The Toffee Mocha Frappuccino contains 85 grams of sugar in an iced Venti-that’s in a drink where a good portion of the cup volume is taken up by ice. Thanks in part to the heaping dollop of whipped cream that comes automatically on top.
• Britain: The Hot Mulled Fruit, a drink made of hot mulled grape with chai, orange and cinnamon, weighs in at a belt-busting 99 grams of sugar for a Venti. That’s 25 teaspoons of sugar in each steamy, fruity serving.
• Brazil: The sweet flavors of a-sweetened condensed milk, cocoa powder and butter-are replicated in a concoction that comes up to 15 grams of sugar in each Venti cup.

Check the Starbucks Drinks pages or the Starbucks nutritional info  before you hit the drive thru again. There, you can look up the sugar content of every drink, in every size.

Ignorance Is Not Bliss

Two major health concerns associated with such high volumes of sugar are obesity and type 2 diabetes. In America two out of three adults is considered overweight or obese and one out of every third child is also obese or overweight. From a financial standpoint the country spends nearly $190 billion annually treating obesity-related health issues. Part of the reason America faces such high rates of obesity is due in part to people drinking sugary drinks like these Starbucks. These drinks are pretty much considered “liquid candy” and are a major contributor to the obesity epidemic.

Ignorance is not bliss when you are ordering that Starbucks drink, the information is there for you to read. Read it and make an informed decision when you are making that drink order next time.