Filter coffee calories
A tumbler of filter coffee, 50 ml of decoction with 100 ml of whole milk and 2 teaspoons of sugar, has about 105 calories. Without sugar it's about 75, and with toned milk and 2 teaspoons about 90. Sugar matters most, about 16 calories a level teaspoon. Darshini coffee, sweeter and sometimes bigger, runs about 105 to 145.
Filter coffee is a strong decoction, dripped slowly through a brass or steel filter from ground coffee and chicory, mixed with hot milk and sugar, and frothed by pouring between a tumbler and davara. It's the morning drink across Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala.
The decoction itself has almost no calories. The milk and the sugar are the whole number.
Typical values for a home kitchen, for the portion named next to each number. Other sites often show bigger numbers because they count a bigger serving or a restaurant recipe. Your own katori, roti and oil change the number; Slate adjusts for them.
How many calories are in filter coffee?
| Portion | Cals | Protein | Carbs | Fat |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 tumbler, no sugar about 150 g | 75 | 3 g | 5 g | 4 g |
| 1 tumbler, 1 tsp sugar about 150 g | 90 | 3 g | 9 g | 4 g |
| 1 tumbler, 2 tsp sugar about 150 g | 105 | 3 g | 13 g | 4 g |
| 1 tumbler, toned milk, 2 tsp sugar | 90 | 3 g | 13 g | 3 g |
How does home filter coffee compare with outside?
Filter coffee in a darshini or Udupi hotel is usually sweeter than home coffee, and sometimes a little bigger, made with full-cream milk.
No lab has measured it, so the range below allows up to a teaspoon more sugar and a serving up to 1.2 times as big.
| Version | Cals | Fat |
|---|---|---|
| Home | 105 | 4 g |
| Darshini or Udupi hotel | 105 to 145 | 4 to 5 g |
What changes the calories in filter coffee?
- Sugar is the main variable: each level teaspoon adds about 16 calories.
- Toned milk instead of whole milk saves about 15 calories a tumbler; buffalo milk adds about 35.
- More decoction and less milk lowers it; the decoction itself is close to zero.
- Chicory in the coffee powder adds nothing measurable to the cup.
How were these numbers worked out?
A tumbler of filter coffee on Slate is 50 ml of decoction and 100 ml of whole cow's milk, the milk in ICMR-NIN's own coffee, which NIN counts at 110 calories with 2 teaspoons of sugar. Milk is valued from IFCT 2017; the decoction from USDA's brewed coffee, about a calorie per 100 ml; sugar from USDA at 4.2 g per level teaspoon; the toned-milk row from Amul Taaza's label at 3% fat, as on the chai page. There is no cooking yield: the tumbler is the decoction and milk together, about 150 g, so a tumbler with no sugar is 75 calories and with 2 teaspoons 105, and the milk is nearly all of the number. NIN's 110 calories agrees with the 2 teaspoon tumbler within 4%. No hotel filter coffee has been analysed, so the darshini range is the same tumbler up to 1.2 times as big with up to a teaspoon more sugar. Every dish on Slate is worked out the same way: how Slate counts calories.
| Ingredient | Raw | Values from |
|---|---|---|
| Coffee, brewed | 50 g | USDA FDC 171890 |
| Milk, whole, cow | 100 g | IFCT 2017 L002 |
Sources
- ICMR-NIN, Indian Food Composition Tables 2017. Cow milk (L002), buffalo milk (L001); values read from github.com/nodef/ifct2017
- USDA FoodData Central, Beverages, coffee, brewed (171890). Decoction
- USDA FoodData Central, Sugars, granulated (169655). 1 tsp = 4.2 g
- ICMR-NIN, Dietary Guidelines for Indians: A Manual (2011). Annexure 8: coffee 110 kcal per cup (2 tsp sugar, 100 ml milk)
- Amul Taaza toned milk label (Dudhsagar Dairy). 58 kcal and 3 g fat per 100 ml
Questions people ask
How many calories are in filter coffee?
About 105 for a tumbler with whole milk and 2 teaspoons of sugar, and about 75 without sugar.
How many calories are in filter coffee with toned milk?
About 90 with toned milk and 2 teaspoons of sugar.
Which has more calories, filter coffee or chai?
Filter coffee, usually, because it has more milk. A cup of masala chai with 2 teaspoons of sugar is about 60.
How many calories are in black filter coffee?
About 1 calorie in 50 ml of decoction. Sugar adds about 16 per teaspoon.