Protein Coffee for Beginners

Start with the coffee you already drink. Fuel Up makes four protein coffees — House Blend, Mocha, Caramel Machiatto, and Chai — and each one lines up with an order you probably have already. Pick your match, pick hot, iced, or latte, and you've ordered. Every flavor carries the same printed numbers: 20g of protein, 100 calories, and under 2g of sugar in a 24 oz cup. So the only real decision is flavor.

Find your flavor by your usual order

If you usually order…	Start with	What to know
Plain or drip coffee	House Blend	Built on espresso; the most coffee-first of the four
A mocha, or anything chocolate	Mocha	Built on espresso
A caramel latte or macchiato	Caramel Machiatto	Built on espresso, under 2g of sugar
A chai latte, or you'd rather skip espresso	Chai	Warm cinnamon chai spices instead of espresso

You can see all four flavors side by side before you decide. If the first one isn't quite it, move one row over rather than giving up on the idea. The protein and calories stay the same; only the flavor changes.

Hot, iced, or latte

All four flavors come hot, iced, or as a latte. There's no right answer for a first cup: order it the way you take your coffee now. If you're a hot-coffee person, go hot. If your usual is an iced drink from a drive-thru, go iced. The format is about how you like to drink it, not about what's in it.

Read the numbers before you pay

Protein coffee is easy to judge because the numbers are on the menu:

• 20g of protein in every 24 oz cup
• 100 calories
• Under 2g of sugar
• Keto friendly, per the menu
• $9.95, the same for all four flavors

One number isn't printed yet: caffeine. Every cup carries 160mg, Chai included, per the owner. For a sense of scale, the FDA cites 400 milligrams a day for most adults, about two to three 12-ounce cups of coffee, and notes that people vary widely in how sensitive they are to it. If you're new to coffee, that 160mg is worth knowing before your first cup, and the morning is the easiest place to start.

The one thing that's different: milk

Almost everything else Fuel Up makes is dairy-free. Protein coffee is the exception: it's the milk-based line, and the milk is where the creaminess comes from. If dairy doesn't sit well with you, start with a regular protein shake or smoothie instead and come back to coffee later. Tell the team at the counter and they'll point you to the right cup.

Your first order, start to finish

1. Pick your flavor from the table above.
2. Pick hot, iced, or latte.
3. Order ahead through order.online for pickup, call (708) 556-9800, or walk in at 325 N Weber Rd in Bolingbrook.
4. Give it a few mornings before you judge it. If it still isn't your flavor, try the next one over.

That's the whole routine. After the first week, most of the thinking is done, and your usual coffee stop comes with 20g of protein.