What is coffee sugar, and how do juice sweeteners replace it?

Nayuki's "No Added Sugar · Nayuki Black Grape" drink drew complaints for tasting very sweet even though no cane sugar was added. The sweetness comes from apple juice, and concentrated apple juice can contain more than 50 percent sugar, so the total sugar in the cup is not low. Juice is used to keep the drink sweet while the label still says no added sugar.

The same logic applies to what is coffee sugar and what is the ingredients in coffee. When sugar is swapped for juice, the ingredient list may look cleaner, but the sugar load can stay similar or rise. Consumers who read juice as natural and burden-free can take in more sugar than expected, which keeps the risk of blood sugar spikes in place.

Recently, Nayuki launched "No Added Sugar · Nayuki Black Grape," promoting zero added sugar with all sweetness coming from fruit, yet it drew complaints from consumers for being too sweet. The brand replaced cane sugar with apple juice, but concentrated apple juice can have a sugar content exceeding 50, so the actual sugar content of the entire drink is not low. This approach is similar to the strategy of some brands hiding additives in ingredients, maintaining sweetness while preserving the "healthy" selling point. Consumers' impression of juice as natural and burden-free is being exploited, while the risk of blood sugar spikes remains. This article sorts out the ins and outs of the incident and includes relevant product information from Front Street Coffee, exploring the trade-off tea beverage brands face between taste and health.

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A few days ago, Nayuki launched a new product called "No Added Sugar · Nayuki Black Grape." Although officially positioned as a healthy fruit tea with zero additives, the drink's sweetness sparked heated discussion online.

Many netizens complained: "They clearly said no added sugar, but it tastes so sweet it makes you question life," "It feels like 70% sugar or even full sugar," and some said bluntly, "This marketing campaign really made me laugh out of anger."

According to Nayuki's official introduction, this drink emphasizes no additional sugar, with all sweetness 100% from fruit, under the slogan "Good fruit tea, no added sugar." The reason it still tastes quite sweet is that apple juice is added, and apple juice itself has a high fructose content, so the actual sugar content of the entire drink is not low.

Some netizens explained that concentrated apple juice can have a sugar content exceeding 50, and using apple juice to replace regular sugar simply cannot achieve the "low-sugar healthy" effect people want. Indeed, juice has long left people with the impression of being "natural" and "burden-free," and some netizens admitted they knew nothing about juice, with some even saying they "always thought juice was healthier."

This is somewhat exasperating. People thought adding juice made it healthier, but unexpectedly fell into another sugar intake trap, and may have unknowingly consumed more sugar due to not understanding the real situation. Some netizens commented: "Drinking this still spikes blood sugar quickly," and "You can't expect shops to offer truly healthy drinks."

The drink only adds juice without sugar, but "whether the juice contains sugar is another matter." Some pointed out that this is exactly the same as certain brands' additive strategy—adding additives to ingredients but only listing the ingredients rather than the additives directly on the product, allowing them to claim "zero additives." By this logic, drinks with actually high sweetness can still use health as a selling point for promotion.

So why not directly label the sweetness value, or truly achieve low sugar? Despite being criticized by consumers for "excessive marketing" or "false advertising," Nayuki still chooses this eye-catching selling point rather than disclosing the real sugar content. Additionally, taste and health are inherently difficult for tea beverage brands to balance, and the entire beverage market favors sweetness. Going against the market trend to make truly low-sugar or sugar-free products may not be wise, and Nayuki is well aware of this. Their current product marketing reflects this trade-off after weighing the options.

However, some netizens offered a completely different view, believing that complaining about this drink is "nitpicking." Apple juice is not sugar, but it certainly contains sugar, so positioning it as a natural ingredient is fine. These netizens feel that Nayuki has not misled consumers.

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The above content is compiled by CoffeeHunters, a coffee news website.