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The Best Tasting Sugar Substitutes
Who said you can't get your coffee to taste sweet without all the calories? Read on, to find out how you can easily do it!
Published February 19, 2022
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Vasileia Fanarioti
Coffee experts@The Coffee Lab
If you're looking to cut down on sugar, but don't want to give up the sweet stuff altogether, you're in luck. There are plenty of sugar substitutes that taste great, and won't wreck your diet. Whether you're looking for a healthy alternative to regular sugar, or you have a dietary restriction that requires you to use a specific sugar substitute, we've got you covered. Here are our picks for the best tasting sugar substitutes around. Enjoy!
Popular sugar alternatives for coffee
When it comes to sugar substitutes, there are a lot of options to choose from. But which one is the best? And more importantly, which one tastes the best?
Sugar is a major ingredient in coffee. It’s the main reason for the sweetness, and it also helps with the caramelised flavor that people love about coffee. But sugar has a lot of drawbacks too. For example, it can cause tooth decay, diabetes, weight gain and other health problems.
There are a number of sugar substitutes available on the market today that you can use instead of sugar to sweeten your coffee. We’ll explore some popular ones here so you can see for yourself what they are like and decide which one might be right for you.
There are two main types of popular sugar alternatives: natural and artificial. Natural ones include honey and maple syrup while artificial ones include your classic sweetener tablets.
The best tasting sugar substitutes for coffee
Sugar has been an integral part of the coffee experience for centuries. However, there are many health risks associated with sugar consumption. This is why people have started to look for alternatives to sugar in their coffee.
There are many different types of sugar that can be used in coffee. Some are healthier and some are not. Let’s discuss which of these taste better and which are healthier for you by starting first with the artificial sweeteners and moving onto some natural alternatives.
The best artificial sweetener for coffee
Artificial sweeteners are used in coffee to reduce the bitterness of the coffee. There are many different artificial sweeteners available on the market and it can be difficult to decide which one is best for you.
There are a few factors that you should consider when choosing an artificial sweetener for your coffee. These factors include: price, taste, and health benefits. The most common artificial sweeteners for coffee are aspartame, sucralose, and saccharin.
Saccharin
Saccharin is a mixture of dextrose and saccharin that is 400 times sweeter than natural sugar. It contains no calories and is not digestible for the body. The main purpose behind the addition of dextrose in this sweetener is to dilute the actual sweetness of saccharin.
Aspartame
Aspartame is an entirely artificial sweetener because its main ingredient is a protein derived from animal sources such as meat and dairy. The sweetness is 200 times that of natural sugar and it also contains zero calories.
Sucralose
Sucralose, also known by the brand name Splenda, is made from real sugar by adding chlorine. This processing of real sugar makes it unusable for the body and therefore does not have to be digested. It is 600 times sweeter than natural sugar and also has no calories.
I generally prefer Aspartame if i went for an artificial sweetener, as it has a clean sugar-like taste and is very inexpensive. It can be used in substantial measure to replace the natural source and serve as a non-caloric compound. It also has strong potential to enhance the flavor of your coffee.
The best natural sweetener for coffee
Another category of the best sweeteners are the natural sweeteners, which can provide many benefits. There are indeed many ways you can sweeten coffee without sugar and below I’ll give you an overview of the ones that are completely natural.
Xylitol (birch sugar)
Xylitol (birch sugar) is a so-called sugar alcohol, which is almost identical in consistency and taste to sugar. However, the alternative sweetener has fewer calories, is tooth-friendly and has hardly any effect on blood sugar levels. However, excessive consumption of birch sugar can have a laxative effect.
Agave Nectar
Agave nectar has a mild caramel flavor and slightly bitter and vegetal notes. This natural sweetener is obtained from cacti and contains a high proportion of fructose. It can be of significant importance for people with diabetes as it has a low glycemic index.
Molasses
Molasses is the byproduct of sugar production, which itself can be used to slightly sweeten your coffee. It is rich in earthy aromas. It can also provide you with many health benefits due to the presence of antioxidants.
Maple syrup
It works as a great flavoring and smoothing agent in your coffee. It is usually made from the sap of maple trees, which is rich in various vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants.
Stevia
Stevia is a natural sweetener extracted from the leaves of plants found primarily in Brazil. It is 150 times sweeter than natural sugar and contains no calories. It is also known to be rich in antioxidants.
Erythritol
Erythritol is also one of the sugar alcohols that are popular as a sugar substitute because of their low calorie content and low impact on blood sugar levels. Erythritol or erythritol has the same consistency as table sugar, has no disturbing taste of its own and is characterized above all by excellent tolerability.
Coconut blossom sugar
As the name suggests, the natural sweetener is extracted from the coconut palm. Even though coconut blossom sugar has a similar number of calories as industrial sugar, it is significantly healthier. This is due on the one hand to the valuable nutrients and on the other hand to the low influence on the blood sugar level. Thanks to the almost identical consistency, this sugar substitute is ideal for sweetening food and drinks.
Why is adding sugar in coffee so unhealthy?
Sweets put you in a good mood and taste good. Sweets put you in a good mood and taste good. So how is it that the sugar in coffee, which is also found in countless other foods, is so bad for us? In principle, a little sugar is not dangerous per se, but regular and excessive consumption of sugar can be harmful to your health.
Of course, this also includes the daily piece of sugar in the coffee. Anyone who drinks two or three cups of coffee with sugar every day has probably already far exceeded their daily sugar requirement. And all without the hidden sugar that is also found in so many other foods.
Sugar is like a drug and is addictive. If we drink a cup of coffee with sugar, it goes into the blood and insulin is released from the pancreas as a result. This pulls the glucose out of the blood and into the cells to be broken down. For this to happen, the blood sugar level drops enormously and the performance and concentration decrease and we look for sugar. So, after a cup of coffee with sugar in the office, we are initially very busy at work, but after a while we get weak and tired and consequently make the next cup of coffee with sugar.
Coffee drinkers who regularly use (a lot of) sugar are more susceptible to diabetes mellitus, heart and circulatory diseases, Alzheimer's and other diseases, some of which are serious. Sugar in coffee also deposits bacteria in the mouth that can cause tooth decay and attack teeth.
In addition, too much sugar in coffee causes body weight to increase due to the high calorie content and we get fat if we don't exercise enough and do not eat a balanced diet. And there are many other reasons why sugar is so bad - bad skin, brittle nails, hair loss, and, and, and. For many, sugar is the ultimate villain, but for most it remains an important part of everyday life. Be it in coffee, as a rewarding candy, or just because the sweetener tastes so damn good.
If you want to limit your sugar consumption due to health and weight, you should proceed with caution. Because sugar does not always mean sugar and the "bad guy" hides behind umpteen other terms, such as in additives that end in -ose (fructose, glucose, sucrose, lactose, maltose or ribose). However, sugar is also present in syrup and fruit concentrate.
What is the healthiest sugar to use in coffee?
Many people resort to sweetener tablets with their coffee because they are said to be healthier than sugar. Opinions differ on whether this is true, because after all, sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharin or sucralose are purely synthetic sweeteners that are completely artificially produced. There can be no talk of naturalness or valuable nutrients.
It is better to use natural sugar substitutes such as honey, agave syrup, stevia or coconut blossom sugar. Artificial substitutes such as the sugar alcohols xylitol (birch sugar) and erythritol which are obtained from natural raw materials such as corn or wheat starch, are definitely preferable to conventional industrial sugar. Due to the low glycemic index, these substances are particularly suitable as a sugar substitute for coffee for diabetics.
Of course, preference is given to alternatives that come closest to classic table sugar in terms of taste and consistency. No wonder, then, that the sugar alcohols such as xylitol (birch sugar), erythritol are the most popular. Nevertheless, some coffee drinkers also use honey, agave syrup, coconut blossom sugar or stevia.
Basically, anyone looking for the best sugar substitute for coffee should try what they like best. After all, all alternative sweeteners are better and healthier than industrial sugar.
Final Thoughts
If you’re looking for a sugar substitute that will give you the best flavor possible, we recommend trying out some of the natural sweeteners on this list. We’ve also included a guide to low carb sugar free keto coffee sweeteners, so be sure to check that out if you’re following a ketogenic diet. Have you tried any of these substitutes? What was your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!
About the author
Vasileia Fanarioti
My name is Vasileia and I’m here because i decided to combine my two favourite things: writing and coffee. I love travelling around the world and visiting coffee shops but my biggest goal is to visit a coffee farm, to see where it all starts! You can follow my coffee adventures via my blog: thewanderingbean.net
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