Calling all coffee shop owners looking for a healthy alternative to all those drinks pumped with syrup and sprinkled with artificial sweeteners. You know sugar, right? The powdery stuff that makes our coffee taste mad good despite being really bad for you? We found a way to cut sugar out of our drink because here at Renude, we’re not huge fans of sugar. And surprised face, it turns out most consumers aren’t either: in a study conducted by Healthline, 86% of consumers are aware that sugar sucks, but they don’t know how to cut it out of their diet.
And you can’t blame them. Sugar is everywhere. It’s in everything we consume, from bread to foods that could be healthy but aren’t (because why make eating healthy easy?), like salad dressing and protein bars. A little sugar never killed anybody…but a lot of sugar certainly has. When an excess amount of it gets in your bloodstream, the effects can take a huge blow at your heart, your stomach, and your skin, making them unhappy havens of disease and health conditions.
If sugar was a person at a party, they’d be the one that compliments your outfit and then turns around and calls you a freak behind your back. The Regina George of spices, if you must. It may appear all sweet and cool on the surface, but when sugar sinks its teeth in you, brace yourself, because the condiment’s got an agenda that, thanks to science and history, is not-so hidden anymore.
One of the most common places sugar calls home is in coffee. About 67% percent of coffee drinkers use sweeteners that are drenched in the devil’s condiment, such as creamers, artificial sweeteners, and even most plant-based milks on the market. On average, a coffee drinker gulps down an additional 17.5 grams of sugar every day. If this means nothing to you like it did to me, the American Heart Association states about 25 grams of sugar is the max a person should have each day.
We know that you know that sugar is the pits. No convincing needed there. But when it comes to the Chagaccino containing a whopping 0 grams of sugar and 0 calories, a lot of customers and coffee shop owners are skeptical. How the hell can that be? Three words in mandarin: luo han guo (or two in english: monk fruit). Monk fruit, unlike sugar, contains no calories, carbs, and sugar. It’s a fruit that only grows in certain parts of Southeast Asia, first cultivated by monks (hence the name) in the 13th century, making it a rare but healthy alternative for shit like sugar.
According to the FDA, monk fruit can taste up to 200 times sweeter than actual sugar. It’s a proven healthy alternative for the more commonly used sweeteners found in grocery stores and coffee shops across America. So the next time a customer walks in and asks for a recommendation, feel free to suggest the Chagaccino.
