Your Daily Coffee Got Nearly 40% More Caloric

Key Takeaways

• Americans’ average coffee intake stayed near 13 ounces a day between 2003 and 2018, but calories from coffee rose from 43 to 60 per day—an increase of nearly 40%.

• The shift was driven less by drinking more coffee than by what people added to it.

• By 2018, non-dairy creamer was the largest contributor to added coffee calories, averaging 18.5 calories per day—more than sugar or syrup at 16 calories and dairy milk at 11.

• Non-dairy creamer use more than doubled over the study period, while reported sugar and dairy-milk additions did not change significantly.

• This observational analysis identifies trends in reported intake; it cannot establish that any individual coffee addition causes health outcomes.

The Ingredient Matters

Coffee itself was not the source of the increase. The analysis of dietary reports from about 30,000 U.S. adults suggests the calorie change came from additions—particularly the growing use of non-dairy creamer.

Dairy milk remained the most common add-in by weight, but non-dairy creamer became the biggest source of added calories. Its greater energy density, including from saturated fat in some products, may help explain that gap.

A Useful Nutrition Check

“Non-dairy” does not automatically indicate a lighter choice. Nutrition can vary widely among creamers, milks, syrups, and ready-to-drink coffee products, so the useful habit is checking serving size, calories, saturated fat, and added sugar on the label.

That does not mean coffee must be plain. It means small daily add-ins can become meaningful over time, especially when the amount poured exceeds the serving size listed on the package.

What the Study Can’t Tell Us

The study used two 24-hour dietary recalls, which depend on participants accurately remembering what they consumed and may not fully capture usual patterns. It also did not test whether changing a person’s coffee routine improves health.

Still, it provides a simple nutrition insight: when considering the role of coffee in a daily diet, look beyond the cup itself and account for what goes into it.

References:

Yongyi Pan, Bingjie Zhou, Fang Fang Zhang. Trends in the Consumption of Coffee and Coffee Additions Among U.S. Adults Aged 20 Years, The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003–2018. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2026; 156908 DOI: 10.1016/j.jand.2026.156908