How to Order a Healthier Peppermint Mocha at Starbucks

At Starbucks at least it’s already the holiday season. The coffee chain’s 2024 holiday menu is here, and while it includes some new items — including Gingerbread and Salted Pecan cold foams and some new seasonal sweet treats — we’re most exciting about a returning alum: the Peppermint Mocha. This iconic drink has been a staple of Starbucks’s holiday menu for 22 years now, and while it’s pretty perfect as-is, there are also ways to tweak your order if you’re trying to limit your caffeine, sugar, or dairy intake for health reasons.

The Starbucks Peppermint Mocha starts with an espresso roast (one shot in the tall, two in the grande or venti), and adds steamed 2 percent milk and mocha sauce and peppermint syrup (three pumps of each in the tall, four in the grande, and five in the venti) and whipped cream to create the drink we all love sipping when it’s cold outside.

But if you clocked that it contains a lot of pumps — six to 10 total — you’re right. It contains anywhere from 42 to 68 grams of sugar, depending on the size you get, and 88 to 175 mg of caffeine. Depending on your dietary restrictions or goals, that might be just right or a little much.

Here’s the full list of nutrition facts for a grande Starbucks Peppermint Mocha, in case you’re wondering:

All in all, it’s a pretty standard specialty coffee drink, and one that delivers big when it comes to flavor and cozy vibes. But if you’re want to enjoy the flavor but are limiting your caffeine, sugar, or dairy intake — if you’re sensitive to caffeine or have diabetes or lactose intolerance for example — we have a few simple swaps that can make the Peppermint Mocha healthier, courtesy of a Starbucks employee.

How to Order the Starbucks Peppermint Mocha With Less Sugar

Most of the sugar in the peppermint mocha comes from the added pumps of flavored syrup and sauce. Both the peppermint syrup and the mocha sauce have 5 grams of sugar per pump (on the hot bar; a cold bar pump of peppermint syrup delivers 3 grams of sugar and of the mocha sauce delivers 2 grams). That means 40 grams of the sugar in a grande drink come from these flavorings. If you order half the pumps of each, you’ll cut that down to 20 grams of sugar. And while the taste of the espresso definitely comes through stronger with fewer pumps, to our palate, you still get all the peppermint mocha flavor you love.

How to Order the Starbucks Peppermint Mocha Without Dairy

If you’re dairy-free, you can also customize your order to meet your dietary needs. Just skip the whipped cream and chocolate curls on top, and order yours made with nondairy milk like almond, coconut, soy, or oat milk. Oh, and good news: as of Nov. 7, you’ll no longer have to pay extra for alternative milks at Starbucks, the coffee chain reports. Just keep in mind that different milks have different sugar contents, if you’re also keeping an eye on your sugar intake.

How to Order the Starbucks Peppermint Mocha With Less Caffeine

If you’re sensitive to caffeine or are avoiding it due to a health reason, you can opt for a tall, which contain just one shot of espresso. If you want a bigger drink, you can ask for one shot, and if you don’t want to sacrifice the espresso flavor, you can ask for half-caf or decaf; Starbucks does offer decaf espresso shots.

Keeping these tips in mind the next time you order at Starbucks can help you cater to your nutritional needs while still enjoying this seasonal beverage. Of course, don’t let this stop you from ordering a grande peppermint mocha as is and taking pleasure in all that festive chocolate-peppermint flavor. The holidays are all about joy, after all!

Jenny Sugar is a former PS staff writer. She reports on all things fitness, but especially loves CrossFit and yoga.

Lauren Mazzo was the senior fitness editor at PS. She is a certified personal trainer and fitness nutrition specialist through the American Council on Exercise. Prior to joining PS, she worked for six years as a writer and editor for Shape Magazine covering health, fitness, nutrition, mental health, sex and relationships, beauty, and astrology.

Mirel Zaman (she/her) is the health and fitness director at PS. She has over 15 years of experience working in the health and wellness space, covering fitness, general health, mental health, relationships and sex, food and nutrition, spirituality, family and parenting, culture, and news.