What is the Healthiest Drink Starbucks Has? Your Guide to Smart Sips

October 17, 2025 •

4 min read

According to nutritionists, the absolute healthiest beverages on the Starbucks menu are plain, unsweetened options like black coffee or brewed tea, both containing as few as 5 calories. When asking yourself what is the healthiest drink Starbucks has, the answer lies in minimizing added sugar and calories through smart customizations.

Quick Summary

This guide examines the best low-calorie and low-sugar choices available at Starbucks, from simple coffees and teas to modified popular drinks. It shows how to customize your order to reduce unnecessary calories, helping you make mindful and delicious choices aligned with your wellness goals.

Key Points

Start Simple: Unsweetened black coffee and plain brewed teas are the healthiest, with minimal calories and high antioxidant content.
Customize Your Milk: Swapping standard 2% milk for nonfat, almond, or coconut milk can dramatically lower calorie counts in lattes and other creamy drinks.
Leverage Sugar-Free Syrups: Use sugar-free vanilla or stevia instead of standard syrups to satisfy a sweet tooth without the added calories and sugar.
Reduce Syrup Pumps: When a sugar-free option isn't available, simply ask for fewer pumps of the standard syrup to cut back on sweetness and calories.
Modify Refreshers: For fruity drinks, order Refreshers unsweetened or ask for a splash of water instead of lemonade to reduce sugar while maintaining flavor.
Skip the Extras: Omit whipped cream and heavy caramel or mocha drizzles, which add unnecessary calories and sugar to any drink.

The Undisputed Healthiest Options

For those seeking the pinnacle of healthy beverages at Starbucks, the answer is straightforward: the simplest, least-processed options are always best. By default, these drinks contain minimal to zero calories and no added sugars, serving as the perfect base for your morning or afternoon pick-me-up.

Black Coffee & Brewed Tea

Plain Black Coffee: A grande Pike Place Roast contains just 5 calories and is a rich source of antioxidants. Studies link moderate coffee consumption to a lower risk of type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Brewed Tea: Options like Emperor's Clouds & Mist green tea or Mint Majesty herbal tea are naturally calorie-free and sugar-free. Green tea, in particular, is packed with the antioxidant EGCG.
Caffè Americano: This simple blend of espresso and hot water is another excellent low-calorie choice, with a grande containing only 15 calories.
Cold Brew: Slowly steeped coffee results in a smoother, less acidic taste, and a grande has just 5 calories. It's a great base for customization.

Customizing for a Healthier Indulgence

For many, a trip to Starbucks involves more than just black coffee. Fortunately, many popular drinks can be made healthier with a few simple requests. The key is to reduce or eliminate high-sugar syrups and high-fat dairy. When customizing, remember that a standard grande gets four pumps of syrup, so cutting back is crucial.

Ordering Hacks for Better Nutrition

Request Sugar-Free Syrups: Starbucks offers sugar-free vanilla and sometimes other flavors. Swapping these in can drastically cut sugar and calories.
Choose Lower-Calorie Milk: Almond milk and coconut milk are the lowest-calorie options, though they are also lower in protein. Nonfat milk offers a good balance of lower calories and higher protein than plant-based alternatives. Oat milk is also available, but check the nutritional content as some brands contain added sugar.
Go "Skinny": Ordering a "skinny" version of a latte or macchiato automatically substitutes nonfat milk and sugar-free syrup while omitting whipped cream.
Reduce Syrup Pumps: For drinks where sugar-free syrup isn't an option, simply ask for fewer pumps. For example, instead of a standard four pumps in a grande, ask for one or two.
Skip the Toppings: Whipped cream and heavy drizzles add significant calories and sugar. Ask for your drink without them to instantly lighten it up.

Healthier Options Beyond Coffee

Iced Passion Tango Tea: This herbal, caffeine-free tea is a naturally vibrant and zero-calorie base. You can add sugar-free vanilla or stevia for sweetness, or a splash of light coconut milk for a creamy twist.
Iced Shaken Espresso: By ordering it with almond milk and sugar-free vanilla, you get a strong, flavorful coffee with a much lower calorie count than a standard latte.
Matcha Green Tea Latte: A standard matcha latte is quite sugary. For a healthier version, request it with almond milk and ask for zero pumps of classic syrup. You still get the antioxidants from the matcha with far less sugar.

Healthy Drink Comparison Table

To illustrate the impact of simple modifications, here is a comparison between standard and health-conscious versions of popular Starbucks drinks. All nutritional values are for a grande size.


Drink	Standard Order	Healthy Customization	Calorie Reduction	Key Customizations
Iced Vanilla Latte	190 kcal, 28g Sugar	80 kcal, 10g Sugar	110 kcal	Nonfat Milk, Sugar-Free Vanilla Syrup
Caramel Macchiato	250 kcal, 37g Sugar	~105 kcal, 12g Sugar	~145 kcal	Almond Milk, Sugar-Free Vanilla Syrup, Light Caramel Drizzle
Iced Matcha Latte	240 kcal, 32g Sugar	~100 kcal, ~12g Sugar	~140 kcal	Almond Milk, NO Classic Syrup
Iced Coffee	80 kcal, 20g Sugar (Classic)	10 kcal, 0g Sugar	70 kcal	Unsweetened, Add Sugar-Free Syrup

Healthy Habits for Starbucks Lovers

Cultivating healthy habits when ordering at Starbucks extends beyond a single drink. It's about being mindful of ingredients and knowing your alternatives. Incorporating unsweetened black coffee and tea, or customizing your favorite lattes with lighter options, allows you to enjoy the cafe experience without compromising your health goals. A great resource for deeper insights into coffee's health effects can be found on sites like Healthline.(https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/top-evidence-based-health-benefits-of-coffee) The more informed you are, the easier it becomes to make consistently healthier decisions that add up over time.

Conclusion

While black coffee and plain brewed tea remain the purest healthiest options at Starbucks, the good news is that nearly any drink can be adapted to be more diet-friendly. By focusing on smart modifications like choosing nonfat or almond milk, opting for sugar-free syrups, and skipping decadent toppings, you can significantly reduce calories and sugar. Whether you prefer a straightforward brew or a customized indulgence, a healthier Starbucks experience is always within your reach by simply being aware of your choices.

Frequently Asked Questions

The lowest calorie drinks are unsweetened brewed coffee and unsweetened brewed tea, which contain as few as 5 calories per serving.

To order a healthier latte, ask for nonfat milk (or almond milk for lower calories), use sugar-free syrup, and skip the whipped cream.

Standard Starbucks Refreshers contain a fair amount of sugar. To make them healthier, ask for the unsweetened iced tea base and add a splash of fruit juice or sugar-free syrup.

A 'skinny' drink is made with nonfat milk, sugar-free syrup, and no whipped cream. For example, a Skinny Vanilla Latte uses nonfat milk and sugar-free vanilla syrup.

Oat milk is a good plant-based alternative, but it typically has more calories and carbs than almond or coconut milk at Starbucks. Use it mindfully if counting calories, or opt for a simple iced coffee instead.

Start with unsweetened iced coffee and add a splash of nonfat or almond milk, plus a few pumps of sugar-free vanilla syrup, rather than the high-sugar classic syrup.

The healthiest hot teas are any of the plain, brewed Teavana options without added sweeteners, such as Mint Majesty (herbal) or Emperor's Clouds & Mist (green tea).