Design a coffee recovery drink to meet your athletic goals!
Coffee shops today have a broad selection of coffee, espresso, tea, and iced drinks. Which of them are useful for athletes looking for some recovery? And how do you build your best coffee recovery drink?
What do you need in a coffee recovery drink?
Carbohydrate refills your muscle glycogen stores and provides energy for repair. Protein repairs, rebuilds and stimulates muscle growth and satiety. Standard guidelines for recovery after a strength session or repeated, high intensity sport is a ratio of 1 part protein to 2 parts carbs. For endurance, 1 part protein to 3-4 parts carbs. Note that this pretty much negates the need for a lot of flavored syrups – it’s too easy to overshoot on the carbs!
Carbohydrates: consider dairy milks, sweetened soy or pea protein, oat or rice, or any of the sweetened nut milks. Avoid the unsweetened nut milks (did you think you’d ever read that?!) because there are minimal carbs.
Protein: Dairy milk, soy and pea protein are the only ones that naturally have any protein. If you need protein and want to use a nut milk, get your protein elsewhere.
Water: get water at the coffee shop, a water fountain, convenience store, or bring some from home. Tea of any sort and coffee also qualify as water sources. Beware of added sugar, flavors and caffeine.
Calories: Have you eaten today? Did you bring enough food from home? Consider buying food OR get a drink with carbs and protein and fat, so 2% or whole dairy or soy or pea milks. Food > beverages for long term satiety.
What are you recovering from?
A lift, conditioning session or other repeated high intensity, short duration sport. Aim for equal amounts of carbs and protein.
An endurance workout. Aim for carbs, some protein and maybe fat if you can handle it.
Or a mixed workout, such as training for a team sport. Opt for carbs, protein and possibly fat if the workout was long.
How about a strategy meeting or watching video? A size small of whatever you want with a few carbs and some caffeine to keep you awake.
How long was the workout and are you dehydrated?
Less than 1 hour, hydrated: Consider something small in volume, maybe with carbs and protein.
Less than 1 hour, dehydrated: Maybe carbs and protein, larger volume.
More than 1 hour, hydrated: Definitely carbs and protein, small volume. Size dependent on length of exercise. Longer exercise? More to recover from, so a larger drink with more carbs and protein makes sense.
More than 1 hour, dehydrated: Carbs, protein and large volume.
Adjust the size of your coffee recovery drink.
The longer your workout, the bigger the drink – especially if you’re dehydrated OR it’s hot OR you’re a heavy sweater. For long endurance workouts (2+ hours), you might even get two drinks. On a related topic, less volume can lead to fewer calories as well as lower levels of protein and sugar (added or inherent) – and vice versa.
Adjust the milk.
For more information on various types of milks, check out this related blog!
Dairy: For the fewest calories, go for skim. This provides the most protein for the least fat. Calories increase with fat content, with whole milk having the most. There are also half and half (known as “breve” on menus), heavy cream and (seasonal) eggnog options. None of these support health or sports performance. Avoid these!
Soy and pea milks: These have carbs, protein, and fat, with levels depending on the brand. Sweetened milks will provide more carbohydrates.
Almond and other nut milks are low in calories in general, so low in protein and carbs. Carb levels vary, since there are sweetened and unsweetened versions. You’ll need a separate protein source. Fat levels vary between nuts.
Oat milk is low in protein and fat and has moderate carbohydrates. Some brands have added fat to increase creaminess and/or have added protein (usually pea protein). Many companies also have a “barista” version that is designed to produce excellent foam for espresso drinks. Again, you’ll need an external protein source.
Adjust the added sugars/flavors
This is somewhat dependent on size; smaller drinks have fewer pumps of flavor syrup.
At Starbucks, one pump of syrup is 20 calories from 5 grams of added simple sugars. One pump of mocha sauce is 35 calories, 5 grams of sugar, 1 of fat, 1 of fat, 1 of protein. There are also “skinny” versions of a couple of syrups, sweetened with an artificial sweetener instead of sugar.
If you’re at Dunkin, flavor swirls are 50 calories from 12 grams of added simple sugars, while flavor shots are 10 calories with 0 grams of sugar (so artificial sweetener).
Did you know that you can adjust the number of pumps of syrup and sauce that are added to your drink? Do you NEED that much sugar to replenish glycogen? Or do you just WANT that much sugar? If you’re treating yourself for a quality workout or a winning record in a tournament, be honest about that. Sadly, at most coffee shops, flavor and sweetness are tied together.
Adjust the toppings
Whip or no whip? Whipped cream adds somewhere between 50 and 80 calories, depending on the size of your drink. Sadly, whip has no recovery benefit.
Summary
There are some good recovery beverages to be found in coffee shops, but they’re not the flashy seasonal splurges. If you want to be prepared for your next workout, your priorities should be carbs, protein and fluids. The best options for this would be a plain low/lower fat latte or cappuccino with dairy or soy milk, with added tea or water for additional hydration.
If you would like to talk about specific recovery choices that work for you, reach out here to work together.
See this related blog on nutrition content of various types of milks, dairy and non-dairy.
And see this related article on Building A Better Peppermint Mocha.