Coffee Bean and Tea Leafs

The Holidays must be upon us, because the Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte is back! All the hype got me wondering (as I’m prone to do), about the number of calories in a Pumpkin Spice Latte — and in all the other chains’ seasonal concoctions, too. So, here’s the Eating Rules guide to seasonal coffeehouse treats. I’m including Starbucks, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf, and Peet’s Coffee. (Want to know about another chain? Let me know in the comments and I’ll do a followup.)

All of the drinks at these shops are made to order, so they can be customized to a certain degree. A few easy choices can mean the difference between a reasonable, 200 calorie treat and a 500+ calorie sugar and fat overload. Once you pass those first 250 or so calories, there’s a point of diminishing returns — those extra 250 just aren’t worth as much. My advice on the three least painful ways to curb those calories?

• Get a smaller size.
• Choose fat-free milk (or soy milk).
• Skip the whipped cream.

For comparison’s sake I’m going to assume you’re ignoring my first suggestion, and will show nutrition information for a 16 ounce (“medium” or “grande”) serving from each company. I gave green check marks to those drinks under 300 calories and 40 grams of sugar (had to meet both criteria), and red X marks to anything over 400 calories.

Starbucks

Starbucks definitely leads the genre with their uber-popular pumpkin spice latte, but they have a handful of other seasonal offerings, too. The Gingerbread Latte is the best option, while the Eggnog Latte is hands-down the worst. The Pumpkin Spice Latte lands in the middle.

Pumpkin Spice Latte
Fat-Free Milk, No Whipped Cream
260 calories, no fat, 210mg sodium, 48g sugars, 14g protein

Pumpkin Spice Latte
Whole Milk and Whipped Cream
410 calories, 10g sat fat, 17g total fat, 210mg sodium, 48g sugars

Toffee Mocha
Fat-Free Milk, No Whipped Cream
310 calories, 1g fat, 260mg sodium, 55g sugars

Toffee Mocha
Whole Milk, No Whipped Cream
380 calories, 6g sat fat, 11g total fat, 250mg sodium, 53g sugars

Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate
Fat-Free Milk, No Whipped Cream
400 calories, 6g sat fat, 11g total fat, 300mg sodium, 63g sugars

Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate
Whole Milk and Whipped Cream
480 cal, 12g sat fat, 20g total fat, 290mg sodium, 62g sugars

Gingerbread Latte
Fat-Free Milk, No Whipped Cream
200 calories, no fat, 140mg sodium, 36g sugars, 11g protein

Gingerbread Latte
Whole Milk and Whipped Cream
350 calories, 10g sat fat, 17g total fat, 140mg sodium, 36g sugars

Eggnog Latte
Fat-Free Milk, No Whipped Cream
450 calories, 11g sat fat, 18g total fat, 230mg sodium, 49g sugars

Eggnog Latte
Whole Milk and Whipped Cream
550 calories, 17.5g sat fat, 29g total fat, 230mg sodium, 47g sugars

Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino® Light Blended Beverage
No Whipped Cream
150 calories, 0.5g total fat, 240mg sodium, 22g sugars
This coled drink gets an honorable mention (though I’m not sure if they also use artificial sweeteners, which you may want to avoid.)

Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino® Blended Beverage
Whole Milk and Whipped Cream
430 calories, 9g sat fat, 14g total fat, 270mg sodium, 69g sugars
Think of this as a milkshake, with all the fat, sugar, and calories that go with it.

Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf

Coffee Bean kindly emailed me the nutritional information for their seasonal drinks (it’s not on their website), using non-fat milk and no whipped cream.

You can get each one with a “No Sugar Added Powder” (instead of the regular flavor powder). Take note, though: The No Sugar Added powder drinks still have a lot of added sugar!

Pumpkin Latte
350 cal, 3.5g fat, 56g sugars

Pumpkin Latte, No Sugar Added
270 cal, no fat, 40g sugars

Peppermint Vanilla Latte
370 cal, 4g fat, 60g sugars

Peppermint Vanilla Latte, No Sugar Added
300 calories, 0.5g fat, 44g sugars

Peppermint Mocha Latte
370 cal, 3g fat, 59g sugars

Peppermint Mocha Latte, No Sugar Added
300 cal, 0.5g fat, 44g sugars

Gingerbread Cookie Latte
370 calories, 3.5g fat, 59g sugars

Gingerbread Cookie Latte, No Sugar Added
290 calories, no fat, 43g sugars

Red Velvet Hot Chocolate
460 calories, 13g fat, 55g sugars

Tea Latte with Vanilla Powder
280 calories, 7g fat, 44g sugars

Tea Latte with Vanilla Powder, No Sugar Added
120 calories, no fat, 11g sugars

Holiday Flavor Ice Blended Drinks
Gingerbread Cookie, Red Velvet, Pumpkin, Peppermint Vanilla, and Peppermint Mocha
460-480 calories, 8-17g fat, 55-81g sugars

Holiday Flavor Ice Blended Drinks, No Sugar Added
Gingerbread Cookie, Pumpkin, Peppermint Vanilla, and Peppermint Mocha
220-240 calories, 0-0.5g fat, 31-35g sugars

Pumpkin Spice Coffee & Holiday Blend Coffee
These are nutritionally about the same as any other brewed coffee — so it’s about 5 calories per serving (before adding milk or sugar, of course). A great way to get the holiday flavor without the holiday calories!

Peet’s Coffee

Peet’s kindly emailed me the nutritional information for their seasonal drinks (it’s not on their website), using non-fat milk and no whipped cream.

Pumpkin Spice Caffe Latte
Fat-Free Milk
222 calories, no fat, 202mg sodium, 40g sugars

Pumpkin Spice Caffe Latte
Whole Milk
327 calories, 8g sat fat, 12g total fat, 188mg sodium, 43g sugars

Peppermint Caffe Mocha
Fat-Free Milk
286 calories, 1g fat, 203mg sodium, 52g sugars

Peppermint Caffe Mocha
Whole Milk
384 calories, 7g sat fat, 12g total fat, 196mg sodium, 51g sugars

Gingerbread Caffe Latte
Fat-Free Milk
234 calories, no fat, 195mg sodium, 44g sugars

Gingerbread Caffe Latte