Can’t imagine having coffee without sweeteners but also looking for ways to consume less refined sugar? Here are 5 alternatives to try with your daily brew.
Some of these are natural substitutes for sugar in that they sweeten the coffee and balance out the intense flavours to appeal to your palate. Others combine with the flavour profile of your coffee to eliminate the need for sweeteners.
Erythritol
A sugar alcohol that is considered a great replacement for white sugar, erythritol is an organic compound.
How it works is that the molecules in erythritol can elicit the same sensation on your tongue as when you have something sweet.
It is obtained from corn and has often been recommended to people with diabetes.
Erythritol is even said to have less than a fraction of the calories present in the same quantity of sugar.
While it has previously been green-signalled by the WHO and the FDA, it may not suit everyone, so tread with care.
The fact that it doesn’t have an aftertaste is what makes it a good addition to your coffee.
Honey
Much sweeter than sugar, honey has long since been used to liven up cups of tea. You’ll find that it does the job with coffee too.
This is one of the easily accessible sugar alternatives, and a little bit of honey is often more than sufficient to bring out a pleasant sweetness in your cup of joe.
Moreover, honey is well known for its health benefits such as having anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties.
Considering that honey doesn’t have a mild flavour, there’s no sure way to know whether you will like it in coffee. The only way to go about it is through trial & error.
Keep in mind the flavours of coffee and decide whether honey would go with it. You never know just how much you may end up liking it.
Stevia
Stevia is a natural sweetener that can replace refined sugar in your pantry.
It is made from the leaves of a plant called Stevia rebaudiana and is extremely sweet even when compared to sugar. You’ll only need to use a little at a time.
Stevia is often thought to be a zero-calorie, zero-carb ingredient because the amount of stevia that is usually used, especially when brewing tea or coffee, makes the carbs and calories in each portion negligible.
Coconut Sugar
Also called coconut palm sugar, it is made of coconut palm sap.
The thing about coconut sugar is that it has almost the same quantity of calories as sugar. So apart from switching out the refined stuff, you aren’t actually changing much in your diet.
Unlike the name suggests, it doesn’t really taste like coconut.
Rather, you’ll find a caramel flavour to it. We think it would go great with coffees that are mild or have a nutty taste. But you can experiment to your heart’s content, and let us know when you’ve found the right match!
Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
You can also easily get your hands on a pack of unsweetened cocoa powder. While this doesn’t actually sweeten your coffee, it gives it a sweet aroma that makes the bitterness of the coffee more manageable.
Plus, you won’t feel the need to add sugar or other sweeteners. Thereby further reducing the calories in your coffee.
Just like honey, unsweetened cocoa powder has some health benefits, making it a choice ingredient for brain and heart health.
Sometimes, just adding milk or preparing a cold brew can help prevent the need for sweeteners if you’re trying to avoid sugar for health reasons.
You can also try the above-mentioned alternatives and find one that best suits your taste preferences.
Let us know what worked for you.
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