How to choose hot drinks

There aren’t many things better than wrapping your hands around a steaming mug on a cold winter’s day. Here’s how to get your hot drink fix with less sugar, salt and saturated fat.

There’s a huge variety if you’re on the lookout for a hot drink. With many teas and coffees the nutrition depends on what you choose to add: milk, cream or sugar.

Adding milk to your hot drink gives you a calcium and vitamin boost. But think about the type and how much you’re using. Light or trim milk will reduce the energy and saturated fat you get from your drink, and making hot chocolate or coffee with half hot water, half milk will reduce those even further than having a full-milk drink.

What’s available

Some coffee, coffee substitutes, teas and hot chocolates, with new indulgent flavours, have added sugar, salt and saturated fat, but there are also reduced-fat or reduced-sugar options.

Watch out, though, as we found some hot drinks are closer in energy to snacks than drinks. If you’re not very active or have a desk job, you may not want to choose a high-energy hot drink every day, unless it’s replacing a snack.

Saturated fat

The saturated fat in hot drink mixes comes from milk solids, palm oil or coconut oil. Oil can be added for a creamy texture and taste. While some hot drinks are low in sat fat, others are not.

We recommend choosing hot drinks that contain less than 1g saturated fat per serve. But if this is too restrictive, choose less than 3g saturated fat per serve.

Sugar

Hot chocolate and the more indulgent flavours of coffee pre-mixes can be high in sugar. We also found lots of sugar in chai tea and coffee substitutes. Be careful with some of the sugar-free drinks, as many use sweeteners that may cause symptoms if you’ve got a polyol (FODMAP) intolerance, or diarrhoea if you drink too many in a day.

We recommend choosing hot drinks that contain 5g or less sugar per serve. If this is too restrictive, choose 10g or less sugar per serve.

Sodium

It may seem strange that we’re talking about sodium in hot, sweet drinks, but we found some drinks can be higher in sodium than we thought. Flavoured hot chocolate, chai latte and malted drinks were generally higher in sodium.

We recommend choosing hot drinks that contain 90mg or less sodium per serve.

How to choose hot drinks

Use these criteria to compare hot cereals.

8 healthy hot drinks we suggest you:

1. Fresh ginger tea

Warming, spicy ginger tea has a long history of use for stomach ache and nausea. To make it fresh, grate or slice a small piece of peeled ginger root. Pour boiled water over it and leave to brew for around 10 minutes. Alternatively, you can buy teabags in most supermarkets.

2. Fruit tea

If you fancy something fruity, flavoursome fruit tea is a good low-calorie option. There are dozens of different teabags and loose tea blends available. Check the labels and choose one that doesn’t contain sugar. And avoid teas that contain liquorice, which can increase your blood pressure.

3. Fresh mint tea

Mint tea is low in calories, a great palate cleanser and has traditionally been used to aid digestion. Wash and tear up a handful of mint leaves, add to a small teapot and top up with boiling water. Avoid Moroccan mint tea in restaurants, as it can be loaded with sugar.

4. Hot chocolate

A small hot chocolate from a high street coffee shop can contain nearly five teaspoons (20g) of sugar. These extra calories can cause weight gain, increasing your risk of heart disease. If it’s made with full-fat milk and topped with whipped cream, this will add more calories, and it will be high in saturated fat, which could affect your cholesterol levels.

For a heart-healthy version, mix unsweetened cocoa powder with hot low-fat milk and low-calorie sweetener, if needed.

5. Coffee

Viet Nam Coffee in moderation is fine, but a large latte made with whole milk can contain nearly 300 calories. If milky coffees are your thing, go for a smaller size and choose a ‘skinny’ version with low-fat milk to cut back on calories and saturated fat. Avoid flavoured drinks, such as vanilla or gingerbread lattes, which often contain sugary syrup. Want a little extra flavour? Sprinkle ground cinnamon on your cappuccino for sweetness without the extra calories.

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6. Hot lemon

Squeeze fresh lemon juice into a mug, add an extra slice of lemon, and top up with boiling water. Hot water and lemon makes a good alternative to sugar-laden drinks such as lemonade, but try to have it with a meal as the acids in lemon juice can be damaging to teeth.

7. Green tea

Its health benefits are often exaggerated, and it does contain caffeine (it’s made from the same plant as black tea). But green tea is still a healthier alternative to drinks that are high in sugar and fat. Matcha lattes meanwhile, made from powdered green tea and milk, often contain hidden sugar. Make your own latte with hot low-fat milk whisked with pure matcha powder. Add low-calorie sweetener, if needed.

8. Chai

Chai is a tea made by brewing black tea with a mixture of aromatic Indian spices. It’s widely available as loose tea or teabags. Chai is a perfect low-calorie option for winter – but watch out for coffee shop chai lattes – some high street versions contain nearly 30g of sugar. To make a healthy version, add boiling water to a chai teabag and top up with warm low-fat milk to keep the saturated fat down.