{"id":194997,"date":"2026-03-05T12:49:56","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T18:49:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/?p=194997"},"modified":"2026-03-05T12:49:57","modified_gmt":"2026-03-05T18:49:57","slug":"opinion-on-sugar-laden-coffee-in-the-maha-crosshairs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/2026\/03\/05\/opinion-on-sugar-laden-coffee-in-the-maha-crosshairs\/","title":{"rendered":"Opinion: On Sugar-Laden Coffee in the MAHA Crosshairs"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/2026\/03\/05\/opinion-on-sugar-laden-coffee-in-the-maha-crosshairs\/cafe-drink\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-195007\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-195007\" src=\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cafe-drink.jpg\" alt=\"cafe drink\" width=\"1240\" height=\"827\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cafe-drink.jpg 1240w, https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cafe-drink-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cafe-drink-620x414.jpg 620w, https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cafe-drink-150x100.jpg 150w, https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cafe-drink-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1240px) 100vw, 1240px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><script async=\"\" defer=\"\" src=\"https:\/\/proxy.beyondwords.io\/npm\/@beyondwords\/player@latest\/dist\/umd.js\" onload=\"new BeyondWords.Player({ target: this, projectId: 50015, contentId: 'ad8fcdb0-d1fe-4546-b05a-f2b92200934b' })\">\n<\/script>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>At Daily Coffee News, we see a lot of press releases. And every season, as the weather turns, nearly every large coffee chain in the U.S. rolls out a new \u201cseasonal\u201d menu, usually led by fun, flavored drinks.<\/p>\n<p>Yet as seasons have turned into years, and years into decades, a quiet storm has been brewing behind the cloud-pink foam, brownie sprinkles and pillowy vanilla cold caps.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s why it stood out last week when U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/world\/americas\/us-politics\/rfk-jr-dunkin-iced-coffee-teen-safety-b2932048.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">called out large coffee companies<\/a> at a MAHA rally in Austin, Texas.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019re going to ask Dunkin\u2019 Donuts and Starbucks, \u2018Show us the safety data that show that it\u2019s okay for a teenage girl to drink an iced coffee with 115 grams of sugar in it,\u2019\u201d Kennedy <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usatoday.com\/story\/news\/politics\/2026\/03\/04\/rfk-jr-challenges-dunkin-starbucks-ingredients-safety\/88989286007\/\">told the crowd<\/a>. \u201cI don\u2019t think they\u2019re gonna be able to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was a characteristically odd request. Why a teenage girl? Can drinks be tied to &#8220;safety data&#8221;?<\/p>\n<p>Still, the comment points to a real and widening gap in the coffee business: the distance between coffee as a beverage category and \u201ccoffee\u201d as it\u2019s increasingly sold. On one side are traditional coffee drinks \u2014 brewed coffee, espresso, americanos, cappuccinos. On the other is a growing wave of sugar-forward beverages, energy drinks and soda-adjacent \u201crefreshers,\u201d plus a new layer of add-ons such as sweet foams, toppings and \u201cfunctional\u201d boosts.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/2026\/03\/05\/opinion-on-sugar-laden-coffee-in-the-maha-crosshairs\/pexels-nguy-n-ti-n-th-nh-2150376175-32855259\/\" rel=\"attachment wp-att-195009\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-195009\" src=\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pexels-nguy-n-ti-n-th-nh-2150376175-32855259.jpg\" alt=\"pexels-nguy-n-ti-n-th-nh-2150376175-32855259\" width=\"1240\" height=\"1860\" srcset=\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pexels-nguy-n-ti-n-th-nh-2150376175-32855259.jpg 1240w, https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pexels-nguy-n-ti-n-th-nh-2150376175-32855259-200x300.jpg 200w, https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pexels-nguy-n-ti-n-th-nh-2150376175-32855259-413x620.jpg 413w, https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pexels-nguy-n-ti-n-th-nh-2150376175-32855259-100x150.jpg 100w, https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pexels-nguy-n-ti-n-th-nh-2150376175-32855259-768x1152.jpg 768w, https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/pexels-nguy-n-ti-n-th-nh-2150376175-32855259-1024x1536.jpg 1024w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1240px) 100vw, 1240px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The 115-gram figure is not hypothetical. Although Kennedy did not identify a specific beverage, Dunkin\u2019s current <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dunkindonuts.com\/content\/dam\/dd\/pdf\/nutrition.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">nutrition guide<\/a> includes a medium &#8220;Mocha Swirl Frozen Coffee with Cream&#8221; listing 115 grams of total sugars and 111 grams of added sugars.<\/p>\n<p>A Daily Coffee News scan of the latest seasonal menu releases from seven large chains \u2014 Starbucks, Dunkin, Dutch Bros, Peet\u2019s, Scooter\u2019s, Black Rock and Caribou \u2014 turned up 57 featured drinks. Nearly all of them were framed around sweetness: syrups, sauces, pur\u00e9es, flavored cold foams, toppings, candy or dessert cues. (Note: Dunkin\u2019s newly announced <a href=\"https:\/\/news.dunkindonuts.com\/news\/spring-2026\">Dunkin\u2019 Zero energy drink line<\/a>&nbsp;was not included in this count.)<\/p>\n<p>Starbucks\u2019 <a href=\"https:\/\/about.starbucks.com\/stories\/2026\/starbucks-spring-menu-arrives-with-new-chai-ube-and-coconut-drinks-plus-the-return-of-lavender-favorites\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">spring launch<\/a> leans into toasted coconut, ube and lavender, much of it topped with sweet cold foam. Dunkin\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/news.dunkindonuts.com\/news\/spring-2026\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">spring menu<\/a> makes banana \u201cthe flavor of the season,\u201d built around banana syrup and banana cold foam. Scooter\u2019s is promoting a permanent \u201c\u2018Licious\u201d lineup featuring caramel, mocha, vanilla, salted caramel, honey, strawberry and white mocha, and a Lavender Ice Berry Red Bull Infusion finished with lavender cold foam and sprinkles. And that\u2019s just a sampling.<\/p>\n<p>The market explains a lot of this. As cold beverages have become a <a href=\"https:\/\/about.starbucks.com\/press\/2026\/cold-is-rising-how-global-demand-is-shaping-the-future-of-starbucks-beverages\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">focal point<\/a>&nbsp;for large chains, \u201ccoffee\u201d has expanded into adjacent categories: energy platforms, refresher-style drinks and frozen blends. Meanwhile, cold brew and iced espresso drinks are increasingly treated as canvases for syrups, sauces, toppings and foams \u2014 sometimes lightly, often heavily.<\/p>\n<p>Is there anything wrong with that? I suppose RFK Jr. will be the judge.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>What nags more is the disconnect between the industry\u2019s \u201ccoffee can be healthy\u201d messaging and what the biggest purveyors are most aggressively promoting. Whatever <a href=\"https:\/\/about.starbucks.com\/press\/2026\/cold-is-rising-how-global-demand-is-shaping-the-future-of-starbucks-beverages\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the sales mix<\/a> is, the seasonal attention is overwhelmingly on sweet, flavored, topped and boosted drinks.<\/p>\n<p>Under the FDA&#8217;s most recent guidelines for coffee \u2014 which were written and approved during the Biden administration and formally adopted during the second Trump administration \u2014 <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/2025\/05\/06\/as-of-april-28-standard-black-coffee-can-be-labeled-healthy-in-the-u-s\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">coffee can be labeled as \u201chealthy\u201d<\/a> in the United States, with the caveat that &#8220;healthy&#8221; drinks cannot exceed 5 calories.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Chains aren\u2019t typically splashing the literal FDA word \u201chealthy\u201d across menu boards. Instead, many have leaned into looser language: wellness, function, energy, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.prnewswire.com\/news-releases\/peets-coffee-rings-in-2026-with-a-purposeful-winter-menu-blending-flavor-function-and-a-fresh-new-look-302654660.html\">even purpose<\/a>. Yet concepts are often intertwined with the latest sugar-blast concoctions.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The coffee industry has always included fast caffeine stops masquerading as something more. What feels new is the confidence with which \u201cwellness\u201d language is being applied to drinks that look and taste like candy.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>This is not necessarily a question about &#8220;safety.&#8221; The more interesting question may be, why has so much \u201ccoffee innovation\u201d become sugar innovation? And what can specialty coffee purveyors do to cut through the candy shell?<\/p>\n<hr>\n<p data-start=\"2941\" data-end=\"3273\"><i>Comments? Questions? News to share?<\/i>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/contact\/\"><i>Contact DCN\u2019s editors here<\/i><\/a><i>. For all the latest coffee industry news,<\/i>&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/e-news-subscribe\/\"><i>subscribe to the DCN newsletter<\/i><\/a><i>.&nbsp;<\/i><\/p>\n<p data-start=\"2941\" data-end=\"3273\"><div class=\"crp-list-container\"><h3 class=\"crp-list-title\">Related Posts<\/h3><div class=\"crp-list\"><div class=\"crp-list-item crp-list-item-image-none\"><div class=\"crp-list-item-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/2026\/01\/19\/column-on-balancing-the-ideal-and-the-possible-in-coffee-production\/\" target=\"_blank\">Column: On Balancing the Ideal and the Possible in Coffee Production<\/a><\/div><\/div><div class=\"crp-list-item crp-list-item-image-none\"><div class=\"crp-list-item-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/2025\/11\/03\/column-what-the-2025-brazil-coffee-harvest-can-teach-us-about-the-future\/\" target=\"_blank\">Column: What the 2025 Brazil Coffee Harvest Can Teach Us About the Future<\/a><\/div><\/div><div class=\"crp-list-item crp-list-item-image-none\"><div class=\"crp-list-item-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/2026\/02\/25\/if-you-dont-like-dark-roast-this-isnt-the-coffee-for-you-how-exclusionary-ads-can-win-over-the-right-customers\/\" target=\"_blank\">\u2018If You Don\u2019t Like Dark Roast, This Isn\u2019t the Coffee for You\u2019: How Exclusionary Ads Can Win Over the Right Customers<\/a><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&nbsp; At Daily Coffee News, we see a lot of press releases. And every season, as the weather turns, nearly every large coffee chain in the U.S. rolls out a&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":195007,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[58320881],"tags":[58350085,58350083,58332819,58320140,58320778,58350080,58350081,58350078,58350077,58350079,58350084,58350076,58350082,58325604,58321054],"class_list":["post-194997","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-columns","tag-chain-restaurants","tag-cold-foam","tag-dunkin","tag-energy-drinks","tag-fda","tag-food-policy","tag-healthy-claim","tag-maha-action","tag-make-america-healthy-again","tag-nutrition","tag-refreshers","tag-robert-f-kennedy-jr","tag-seasonal-menus","tag-starbucks","tag-sugar"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Opinion: On Sugar-Laden Coffee in the MAHA Crosshairs<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"RFK Jr. targets sugary chain drinks as seasonal menus trend sweeter, widening the gap between coffee and \u201ccoffee.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/2026\/03\/05\/opinion-on-sugar-laden-coffee-in-the-maha-crosshairs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Opinion: On Sugar-Laden Coffee in the MAHA Crosshairs\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"RFK Jr. targets sugary chain drinks as seasonal menus trend sweeter, widening the gap between coffee and \u201ccoffee.\u201d\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/2026\/03\/05\/opinion-on-sugar-laden-coffee-in-the-maha-crosshairs\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/DailyCoffeeNews\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-05T18:49:56+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-05T18:49:57+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cafe-drink.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1240\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"827\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nick Brown\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@DailyCoffeeNews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@DailyCoffeeNews\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nick Brown\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/2026\/03\/05\/opinion-on-sugar-laden-coffee-in-the-maha-crosshairs\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/2026\/03\/05\/opinion-on-sugar-laden-coffee-in-the-maha-crosshairs\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Nick Brown\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/#\/schema\/person\/48d8fb808f0cf164147f4872c926ab46\"},\"headline\":\"Opinion: On Sugar-Laden Coffee in the MAHA Crosshairs\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-05T18:49:56+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-05T18:49:57+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/2026\/03\/05\/opinion-on-sugar-laden-coffee-in-the-maha-crosshairs\/\"},\"wordCount\":730,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/2026\/03\/05\/opinion-on-sugar-laden-coffee-in-the-maha-crosshairs\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/dailycoffeenews.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/cafe-drink.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"chain restaurants\",\"cold foam\",\"Dunkin'\",\"energy drinks\",\"FDA\",\"food policy\",\"healthy claim\",\"MAHA Action\",\"Make America Healthy Again\",\"nutrition\",\"refreshers\",\"Robert F. 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