--- title: Why You Should Order a Latte Instead of Coffee description: New research explains why regular coffee may not be the best choice for commuters canonical: https://time.com/3723873/order-latte-instead-coffee/ author: Real Simple article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-02-27T22:43:17.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T08:56:46.984Z og:title: Why You Should Order a Latte Instead of Coffee og:description: New research explains why regular coffee may not be the best choice for commuters og:url: https://time.com/3723873/order-latte-instead-coffee/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdb5abac0b8f36ac/69878120e20a8784e0a854d1/gettyimages_90719181-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2336 og:image:height: 1314 og:image:alt: latte og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Why You Should Order a Latte Instead of Coffee twitter:description: New research explains why regular coffee may not be the best choice for commuters twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdb5abac0b8f36ac/69878120e20a8784e0a854d1/gettyimages_90719181-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Why You Should Order a Latte Instead of Coffee > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture recommendation newsletter, edited by culture editor Eliza Berman. Each week it surfaces the books, shows, films and ideas TIME's editors think are worth your attention, and explains why. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Does TIME have a culture newsletter? Yes. Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published weekly. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=f2e880bf-8e03-41e3-8957-991a4426817b&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1) by [Real Simple](https://time.com/author/real-simple/) ## Real Simple Feb 27, 2015 10:43 PM UTC  Latte with Flower Pattern Latte with Flower Pattern Getty Images by [Real Simple](https://time.com/author/real-simple/) ## Real Simple Feb 27, 2015 10:43 PM UTC Whether you’re carrying your cuppa from the coffee maker to the kitchen table or toting it along for your commute, your morning pick-me-up isn’t likely to make the journey without a few small spills. Turns out, though, your bleary-eyed, non-caffeinated self may not be _totally_ to blame. [New research](http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/pof2/27/2/10.1063/1.4907048), published in the journal _Physics of Fluids_, suggests that regular liquid is more prone to spilling than that with a little foam on top. Adding a few layers of bubbles—like the layer of milk foam in a latte—seems to significantly minimize the sloshing motion of liquid. After [a team of researchers](http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/02/150224112915.htm) from Princeton noticed a few real-world scenarios in which foamy liquids appeared to spill less—a pint of Guinness, which is a very foamy beer, for instance, seemed less prone to spills than other pub favorites and a Starbucks latte didn’t need a lid stopper to keep it from splashing—they resolved to find out why. The scientists first constructed a narrow rectangular container made of glass, and filled it with water, glycerol (a substance that keeps fluid thick), and dishwashing detergent to create a uniform layer of bubbles to test. The container was then subjected to two types of movement—a quick side-to-side wave and a steady rocking back and forth—and the subsequent motion was recorded with a high-speed camera. The results showed that just five layers of foam decreased the height of the fluid’s waves tenfold. Beyond informing your coffee or beer order, researchers say the findings may help engineers develop affordable and easy ways to transport liquids, including hazardous fluids like oil and gas. In the meantime, though, don’t let the findings justify _too_ many latte orders: a small one will set you back about [120 calories](http://nutritiondata.self.com/facts/foods-from-starbucks/9512/2), and [plain coffee](http://www.realsimple.com/health/nutrition-diet/healthy-eating/coffee-is-good-for-health) has plenty of health benefits—spills aside. _This_ [_article_](http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/shopping-storing/beverages/latte-coffee?xid=time-rs) _originally appeared on_ [_RealSimple.com_](http://www.realsimple.com/)_._ _More from Real Simple:_ * [9 Ways Science Justifies Your Coffee Addiction](http://www.realsimple.com/health/nutrition-diet/healthy-eating/coffee-is-good-for-health?xid=time-rs) * [How to Make the Perfect Cup of Coffee](http://www.realsimple.com/food-recipes/cooking-tips-techniques/how-make-coffee?xid=time-rs) * [The New, Surprising Health Benefit of Decaf Coffee](http://www.realsimple.com/health/decaf-coffee-liver-health?xid=time-rs) ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3723873/order-latte-instead-coffee/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3723873/order-latte-instead-coffee/"},"headline":"Why You Should Order a Latte Instead of Coffee","datePublished":"2015-02-27T22:43:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:56:46.984Z","description":"New research explains why regular coffee may not be the best choice for commuters","url":"https://time.com/3723873/order-latte-instead-coffee/","keywords":["Living","Food & Drink","latte","Coffee"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdb5abac0b8f36ac/69878120e20a8784e0a854d1/gettyimages_90719181-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Real Simple","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/real-simple/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltcdb5abac0b8f36ac/69878120e20a8784e0a854d1/gettyimages_90719181-copy.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"latte","caption":"latte","creditText":"Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/tag/time-section-living/","name":"Living"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3723873/order-latte-instead-coffee/","name":"Why You Should Order a Latte Instead of Coffee"}}]}] ```