Comparing coffee to fast food

Reporter: Bryan Seymour
Broadcast Date: November 05, 2009

Most of us have it once or twice a day but the traditional cup of coffee has changed for the worse with our waistlines growing as the sizes change.

We have grown up hearing "you are what you eat" and now it is time to think about what you drink.

Nutritionist Joanna McMillan Price was invited to evaluate four popular drinks we find in coffee stores around the country and how they differ in energy, fat and sugar with these foods.

Iced chocolate vs chicken and chips
A large Gloria Jean's iced chocolate with whipped cream has more energy, triple the saturated fat and eight times the sugar of a Red Rooster chicken and chips.

"About 650 fewer kilojoules so in fact you would be better off, and you'd feel fuller if you'd feel like you've had a meal than if you've had (Gloria Jean's Large iced chocolate)," Joanna said.

Gloria Jean's Large Iced Chocolate with Whipped Cream: 3260kj/780cal, 77.1g fat, 20.2g saturated fat, 87.7g sugar.

Red Rooster Quarter Chicken with Chips: 2592kj/620cal, 23.2g fat, 7.6g saturated fat, 10.8g sugar.

Vienna coffee vs pizza
We compared two slices of Dominos supreme pizza, thin and crusty, with a Hudson's Coffee.

It was a small Vienna, now you think there would be no comparison between having this and two supreme pieces of Dominos pizza but there is twice the fat in the coffee overall, than there is in the pizza.

"It is important to point out that it is not the coffee, often it is what is going into that coffee," Joanna said.

Small Hudsons Coffee Vienna: 1120kj/268cal, 25.8g fat, 25.8g saturated fat, 8.1g sugar.

Two slices of Dominos Supreme Thin n' Crispy Crust Pizza: 1342kj/320cal, 12.8g fat, 7g saturated fat, 3.2g sugar.

Hot chocolate vs McDonald's Double Quarter Pounder
It is no surprise there is 25g of saturated fat in a McDonald's Double Quarter Pounder. The stunning thing is in a Starbucks Signature hot chocolate you will find there is 15g of saturated fat.

"Avoid cream, avoid the sugar syrup shots, you can get about eight teaspoonfuls of sugar in one single syrup shot," Joanna said.

"Go for more of a traditional Italian-style coffee, ask for skim milk, and you have something that has very few calories."

Tall Starbucks Signature hot chocolate: 1810kj/433cal, 26.1g fat, 15.7g saturated fat, 36g sugar.

McDonald's Double Quarter Pounder: 3560kj/852cal, 52.2g fat, 25.1g saturated fat, 7.4g sugar.

Gloria Jean's Mocha Chiller vs Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
The sugar content in the drink was the most disturbing factor for Joanna.

"You are getting a huge amount of sugar, 129grams of sugar in this one drink, that is absolutely enormous and it is far more than anybody eats," she said.

Large Gloria Jean's Mocha Chiller Cocoa Loco: 2670kj/638cal, 8.8g fat, 5.1 saturated fat, 129g sugar.

Krispy Kreme Original Glazed doughnut: 954kj/228cal, 11g sugar, 13g fat, 7g saturated fat.

Gloria Jean's statement

You have the legal right to know what is in the food you buy and most takeaways provide it up front. But Gloria Jean's coffee does not. You have to ask for it or perhaps write in for it.

Today Tonight emailed a request their head office for their nutrition information.

Statement from Gloria Jean's Coffee
21 October 2009
Gloria Jean's Coffees and Nutrition
Our view is always to provide our guests with choice as we understand people have different needs and preferences.

So we offer a variety of drinks including fruit chillers, a range of herbal and straight teas, and for guests looking for a special treat we have our Iced Chocolates and Mocha Chillers.

Our beverages are handcrafted and can be tailored to suit the tastes of our guests. For those looking for a lower fat/low kJ option our coffees can be customised with skim milk, soy milk, no whipped cream and no added sugar.

We believe in the importance of providing nutritional information to our guests so they can make informed decisions about what they consume.

That is why we are open and transparent in sharing this information. Anyone can access nutritional information for any of our drinks on request at our coffee houses or through our Guest Relations department (Tel: 1800 689 550).

We also provide this information to guides such as Weight Watches and are in the process of looking at providing this information on our website.

To provide our guests with the most current information we offer our nutritional guide by request and send out regular updates to our franchise partners through our intranet and communication bulletins.

We are actively working towards what more we can do on this issue. Itâ€檚 a journey not a destination and we would encourage our guests to contact us with their feedback on how we can improve. Contact details can be found on our website www.gloriajeanscoffees.com.au.