Coffee With Honey, Have You Ever Tried It?

This post was most recently updated on July 25th, 2023

Introduction

Honey has long been used as a natural sweetener in food and drinks, including coffee. Many people prefer honey over sugar for its taste, and because honey is sweeter, some people use a little less of it.

However, a teaspoon of honey actually has slightly more calories than a teaspoon of sugar. So what does honey really add to your coffee, and what should you keep in mind? Read on with Health My Lives to find out.

Honey provides many nutrients

Table sugar and artificial sweeteners contain almost no nutrients. Honey contains small amounts of some vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants, which help protect cells from damage caused by free radicals.

Claims that the pollen in honey reduces allergies or boosts immunity are not supported by good evidence.

The amounts of these nutrients are tiny. For example, USDA data show 100 grams of honey has only 0.5 mg of vitamin C. A spoonful of honey in coffee will not bring meaningful health benefits.

Honey provides a relatively high number of calories

Honey is mostly sugar, so it can be a problem for people with diabetes or those trying to lose weight. Eating too much added sugar is linked to weight gain, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

Honey counts as an added sugar. The CDC notes that added sugars include sugars from syrups and honey, and that the Dietary Guidelines advise adults to have no more than 10 grams of added sugar per meal.

Two teaspoons (about 14 grams) of honey add about 43 calories and roughly 11 grams of sugar to your coffee. That is already about the per-meal limit, so a few honey-sweetened coffees a day can add up quickly.

If you want to cut calories, try a small amount of a zero-calorie sweetener such as stevia or monk fruit, or slowly use less sweetener.

Drinking coffee with honey adds sugar and calories to your diet. Depending on your goals and health, you may want to use less or choose a lower-calorie sweetener.

Honey can make coffee flavour

Honey can also change and enhance the flavor of coffee. Its taste depends on the flowers the bees collected nectar from. For example, clover honey, the most common type in the United States, has a mild flavor.

Other types, such as buckwheat or manuka honey, have a much stronger flavor.

Even mild honey changes the taste of coffee in a way that plain sugar does not.

If you are new to honey in coffee, start with a mild honey such as clover honey or coffee blossom honey. Once you get used to it, adjust the amount to your taste, while keeping an eye on how much sugar you add.

Compared with sugar, honey adds a different flavor and a small amount of antioxidants, but not enough nutrients to make it a health food. Whether you drink coffee with honey comes down to your taste and your health goals.

Sources

• Get the Facts: Added Sugars, CDC
• Honey, USDA FoodData Central
• Sugars, granulated, USDA FoodData Central