Coffee Lovers, Beware! Aromatic Coffee May Affect Your Blood Sugar Levels
Reporter
October 7, 2025 | 12:27 pm
CANTIKA.COM, Jakarta - Do you enjoy aromatic coffee like caramel or hazelnut latte in the morning on your way to the office? The sweet and creamy sips may feel like a small treat, but the hidden sugar in aromatic coffee can secretly affect your blood glucose level, sometimes as dramatically as when consuming a dessert.
Jessie Inchausp, a French biochemistry expert, bestselling author, and health activist widely known as the Glucose Goddess on social media, initiated a conversation about whether morning coffee, especially the aromatic ones, actually masquerades as a daily caffeine intake as a dessert.
In an Instagram video uploaded on October 3, the glucose expert analyzed the dramatic spikes shown on the glucose chart caused by the high sugar content in these aromatic coffees and shared practical tips to help balance these spikes.
According to Jessie, aromatic coffee, including popular seasonal favorites like pumpkin spice latte, is not just coffee and milk in a cup, but it contains very high sugar. She explained, "Pumpkin spice latte is not just coffee and milk with added spices. Its sugar content is very high. 50 grams of sugar for one grande cup."
If broken down, this amount is equivalent to consuming 12 sugar cubes at once - enough to trigger a sharp spike in blood glucose level. Jessie continued, "Seriously, would you add 12 sugar cubes to your morning coffee? It's like having a dessert in a cup."
In her video, the glucose chart showed a dramatic spike within two hours after consuming pumpkin spice latte. In contrast, the chart for whole milk latte showed a much more stable curve, without such a sharp increase.
She added that this not only applies to pumpkin spice latte but also to all enjoyable flavors like caramel, hazelnut, vanilla, and so on - which are basically liquid sugar. Jessie explained, "Every syrup pump contains 5-10 grams of sugar, and most drinks contain at least 3 or 4 pumps. What looks like coffee is actually a disguised dessert."
How to Balance Blood Sugar Spikes?
Sharp glucose spikes are indeed not ideal, but if you want a dessert-like coffee, there are ways to balance it. Jessie suggests making it at home to control the amount of sugar to be added, or following the tips she mentioned.
She recommends balancing sugar with some vegetables or healthy fats - "Eat it after meal, not on an empty stomach. Eat some vegetables first," she said.
HINDUSTAN TIMES
Editor's Choice: Why 'Kopi Luwak' Comes with Such a High Price Tag
Click here to get the latest news updates from Tempo on Google News
