Passing by a coffee shop and feeling the unique aroma released by the ground coffee beans, you may become addicted without even realizing it.

Commercially available coffee is divided into instant coffee, ready-to-drink coffee and freshly ground coffee. However, experienced coffee enthusiasts will choose freshly ground coffee because it is the "freshest".

To this end, Master Xiao compared 10 types of freshly ground lattes that are popular in offline stores.

Test Brand

Test indicators

Nutritional indicators : total sugar, caffeine

Safety indicator : acrylamide

According to international practice, first submit the comprehensive evaluation form

Costa, Luckin Coffee, and Starbucks have better refreshing effects

When you are drowsy, a cup of coffee can pull you out of the clutches of sleepiness and put you into an efficient working state.

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The main source of coffee's stimulating effect is caffeine, which is also found in plants such as tea trees, green cocoa trees, and Paraguay. It is also a natural insect repellent, and in low-altitude areas where pests are more numerous, coffee beans have a higher caffeine content.

Caffeine stimulates the central nervous system of the brain through the blood-brain barrier, increasing alertness and cognitive ability, so after drinking a cup of coffee, the brain works especially fast.

The caffeine content in coffee is related to the ratio of concentrated coffee liquid, but it is also affected by factors such as coffee bean variety, roasting degree, and brewing method.

All the freshly ground coffee tested by Xiao Daochang are lattes. In theory, the ratio of concentrated coffee liquid in the finished product should be relatively small.

The test results showed that the caffeine content of 10 freshly ground lattes ranged from 207 to 605 mg/kg, with a huge gap between brands. The caffeine content of FamilyMart was only 1/3 of that of Costa.

The caffeine content of Costa and Luckin Coffee are as high as 605mg/kg and 532mg/kg respectively, which means that the ingredients are solid or the coffee beans themselves contain high caffeine, which are most effective in refreshing and preventing drowsiness.

FamilyMart, Burger King, Heytea, KFC, and McDonald's have lower caffeine content and are suitable for consumers with low caffeine tolerance.

However, long-term and high-dose intake of caffeine can also cause anxiety, irritability, insomnia, etc.

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) recommends that the safe daily caffeine intake for adults is ≤ 400 mg (single intake not exceeding 200 mg), and specifically points out that pregnant or breastfeeding women should consume ≤ 200 mg.

If the density is calculated as 1μg/mL, the caffeine contained in the three large cups of drinks from Costa, Starbucks and McDonald's exceeds the maximum single caffeine intake.

Taking Costa Vanilla Coffee (Large, 600mL) as an example, one cup contains 363mg of caffeine, which is equivalent to the caffeine content of 7 cans of Red Bull. Xiao Daochang reminds us to drink coffee in moderation.

Caffeine remains in the human body for 4 to 6 hours, so it is best not to drink coffee 6 hours before going to bed. If you have trouble falling asleep, drink more water to promote the metabolism of caffeine. In addition, pregnant women, nursing mothers, children, teenagers and other sensitive groups should stay away from all caffeine.

Costa, Burger King sugar content exceeds WHO warning line

Many Chinese consumers are not used to the bitter taste of coffee, so commercially available ground coffee is usually flavored with sugar or milk.

The freshly ground lattes selected in this evaluation are all of normal sweetness. When some brands offer a variety of sweetness options, normal sugar, full sugar, etc. are also defaulted.

The test results are surprising. The sugar content of the 10 freshly ground lattes is relatively low. 7-11, McDonald's, KFC, FamilyMart, and Starbucks are all "low sugar" (≤5.0g/100mL). Heytea and Burger King have higher sugar content, 6.8g/100mL and 6.2g/100mL respectively.

Heytea responded to this publication: "According to the current GB/T30767 recommended standard for coffee beverages, sugar content can be added according to the taste of the product, and there are no specific requirements." In addition, Heytea said: "If you want lower sugar calories, you can choose low-calorie stevia."

However, the sugar content of the complimentary sugar packets was not taken into account in this evaluation, so the actual sugar content of the 10 freshly ground lattes is lower than if additional sugar packets were added when drinking.

The sugar content of the freshly ground latte tested in this test is relatively optimistic, but if converted according to the volume of coffee, the total sugar content of a cup of Burger King (448mL) and Costa (600mL) are 27.8g and 30.6g respectively, which may exceed the World Health Organization's recommendation that children and adults should not consume more than 25g of added sugar per day.

Therefore, it is recommended that consumers, in addition to not adding extra sugar packets and choosing smaller sizes, can also ask the store for no sugar or half sugar when purchasing, so as to minimize the "calories" that are unintentionally consumed.

Acrylamide was detected in all 10 products, but it is not that scary

Last year, the rumor that "coffee causes cancer" was widely circulated because acrylamide was detected in coffee.

Acrylamide in food is mainly a by-product of carbohydrates and proteins produced during high-temperature processing such as frying, baking and roasting. It is not limited to coffee that needs to be roasted, but is also commonly found in potato chips, French fries, fried dough sticks, biscuits, etc.

In 1994, acrylamide was classified as a Class 2A carcinogen by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Animal experiments have shown that acrylamide may increase the risk of adrenal cancer, thyroid cancer, lung cancer, and testicular cancer in rats, but there is limited evidence of acrylamide's carcinogenicity to humans.

The former State Food and Drug Administration once issued a risk warning on the detection of acrylamide in French fries, but my country currently has no restrictive or prohibitive regulations on acrylamide in coffee.

The authoritative academic journal "Food and Chemical Toxicology" gives the carcinogenic marginal dose of acrylamide as 2.6μg/kg body weight, which is equivalent to the minimum tolerable daily dose of acrylamide of 156μg for a 60-kg adult.

The test results showed that acrylamide was detected in all 10 types of freshly ground lattes, indicating that it is difficult to avoid this risk substance in the current production process of freshly ground lattes. However, acrylamide is very common in food, so consumers do not need to worry too much.

KFC (108μg/kg) and Heytea (113μg/kg) have lower acrylamide content, while Starbucks (234μg/kg) and Luckin Coffee (275μg/kg) have higher acrylamide content, with the difference between the two being more than 2.5 times.

Xiao Daochang did some calculations and found that the acrylamide content in Starbucks and Costa is relatively high based on per cup, because Starbucks itself has a higher acrylamide concentration, while Costa has a larger capacity per cup.

A cup of Starbucks espresso latte (473mL) contains 111μg of acrylamide, and a cup of Costa vanilla latte (60mL) contains 107μg of acrylamide. For a 60kg adult, the acrylamide intake from drinking a cup of Starbucks or Costa every day is within the safe range, but the amount of consumption still needs to be controlled, and it is best not to exceed one cup a day.

In 2016, the World Health Organization (WHO) issued a document clearly stating that coffee does not pose a carcinogenic risk as long as it is not too hot.

Considering the Chinese people's eating habits, the impact of acrylamide in coffee on consumers' health is almost negligible.

Acrylamide is more likely to be found in fried and over-baked foods. The Chinese cooking method of stir-frying also produces acrylamide. Xiao Daochang recommends that readers try to reduce the use of frying, deep-frying and baking methods for cooking food, and eat more steamed vegetables and fresh fruits.