Trying a Ready-to-Drink Keto Coffee, and My MCT Oil Warning
In this recording
A four-minute clip from May 2019, shot on the deck in the morning, freshly showered, with bacon in the oven. It's a taste test of a canned "keto" coffee. I'd tried the original flavour the day before, and this was the hazelnut.
- [0:00] The label: MCT oil, about 1 g of carbs, 5 g of fat (4 saturated), 10 g of protein, caffeine for about two cups of coffee, sweetened with monk fruit.
- [0:51] The original tasted like iced coffee with a little cream, not the sweet canned coffee drinks I expected.
- [1:42] The hazelnut was much creamier, and I liked it. A fair grab-and-go option if you already buy canned coffee.
- [2:23] The MCT warning: some people don't tolerate it, and it can wreck your bathroom schedule. If you're new to it, go carefully.
- [3:10] MCT oil gets oversold. It may have a small thermogenic effect, but it isn't magic. At 80 calories, this was lower than most people make their own coffee.
What this is
This is a quick product review, not a keto lesson. I'm not naming or linking the product here. A brand isn't the point, and the channel doesn't push products.
Two things in it are still worth hearing.
First, the label reading. I checked where the one carb came from and couldn't tell. I said I wouldn't worry about one gram (live THWY6053). That's the right scale of concern for a single drink. The calorie count was the more useful number: 80 calories is less than a lot of homemade "keto coffees" with butter and oil stirred in. That ties into the point I made in 2017. Bulletproof coffee is optional, and the fat in it is calories, not a ketosis requirement (video DLRlphyc1t8).
Second, the MCT warning. I said MCT oil is one of the better fats for energy, but I'm "not on the MCT train" (live THWY6053). That matches my 2017 "keto kit" video, where I said MCT oil isn't necessary and ketosis doesn't need it (video DWI8qQl5BbY). The practical part is the stomach. If you're new to MCT, start small. My on-camera version was blunter: don't trust a fart (live THWY6053).
None of the evidence pages covers MCT oil or the thermogenic claim, so read that part as my opinion from 2019.
Key points
- A one-gram carb mystery on a label isn't worth worrying about. Calories in drinks are.
- MCT oil isn't required for keto, and it can upset your stomach. Start small if you try it.
- Butter-and-oil coffee is optional. If weight loss is the goal, those calories count.