Bothered about caffeine levels? Read this ultimate guide on how much caffeine in coffee.
You’re probably one of those coffee lovers who can’t go a day without taking at least a cup of coffee. Most people cannot kick start their day without a hot cup of coffee in their hand but most of them have not stopped to ask how much caffeine in a cup of coffee is appropriate.
One of the most popular sources of caffeine is very common in coffee. The coffee caffeine content that is contained in coffee varies considerably and this depends on a certain number of factors. These factors could include the type of coffee, the method by which the coffee is brewed, and the brand of coffee.
The American Dietary Guidelines has published that a percentage of over 95 adults and in the U.S take in drinks and foods that contain a considerable amount of caffeine. It was shown that on average, adults who are residents in the United States ingest from about 110-260 milligrams of caffeine daily.
So then, how many mg of caffeine in coffee is contained in a cup of 8-ounce (oz) coffee? According to the FDA, an estimation was made and they found that there’s about 80-100 milligrams of caffeine in an 8-ounce cup of coffee.
This leaves us wondering how much caffeine in 16 oz coffee is normal. Maybe double? We’ll surely find that out soon.
Here, I have listed out the caffeine content of some of your favorite coffee types and brands. You’re not going to regret having this piece of information.
Coffee Types
Here are some common coffee types and their caffeine content.
Brewed Coffee
Let’s talk about the caffeine in brewed coffee. This type can also be identified as filter coffee. It basically involves the usage of hot water to brew ground coffee. In the process, a filter helps in finely separating the ground coffee from the brewed coffee.
The process of brewing coffee involves using a machine for the task. Some people like using a french press, others prefer a percolator.
If you brew coffee using any of the methods stated above, expect around 95 milligrams of caffeine in an 8 oz cup.
Decaffeinated Brewed
Yeah, I know you would feel this one won’t contain any amount of caffeine due to its name. But decaffeinated brewed coffee actually has some milligrams of caffeine. A study has shown that in an 8 oz cup of decaffeinated coffee you would find about 2 mg of caffeine.
Instant Coffee
As the name implies, coffee at it’s instant. How is this made? It is made by simply adding water (hot) to coffee powder. This method doesn’t require any special skills or tools. In fact, this is by far the most popular method of making coffee in the world today.
In an 8 oz cup of instant coffee, there are about 62 milligrams of caffeine.
Cold Brew
Don’t mistake cold brewed coffee for iced coffee, both of them are completely different. The process of making cold brewed coffee is one that involves patience. You’ll need to soak coffee grounds in water and allow to cool for a couple of hours.
For cold brew coffee, you should find about 153-238 mg of caffeine.
Espresso
If you haven’t had Espresso coffee I cannot call you a coffee lover. If you want very strong coffee in the morning, espresso is the way. Espresso coffee is made from a unique machine called an Espresso machine. How does it work? This machine uniquely passes hot water through finely packed coffee grounds and then into your cup.
Espresso coffees contain a ridiculously high amount of caffeine and that’s why espresso is served in little quantity.
In a 1 oz cup of espresso, there are about 63 milligrams of caffeine.
Popular Coffee Brands And Their Caffeine Content
A lot of manufactures and eateries that belong to big chain stores have provided rough estimates of the amount of caffeine content that can be found in some of their coffee products. Some may be shocking while others may not be so shocking.
Here is a list of some of these manufacturers.
Seattle’s Best
This company has numerous retail stores and anyone looking for any of their specials to order from can do that from any of their numerous retail stores.
According to caffeine informer, a small cup of 112-ounce of some of the company’s coffee products contains the following amounts of caffeine.
Brewed Coffee: 260 mg
Latte: 75 mg caffeine (which are for both classic and flavored varieties)
Espresso: 75 mg (per shot)
Mocha: 80 mg
Dunkin’ Donuts
Amongst the popular brands, dunkin’ donuts is one of the most popular donut and coffee retailer that offers users quite a number of beverages that are caffeinated.
I checked out caffeine informer, and found some coffee drinks and their caffeine content. Check out the list below.
Decaf Brewed Coffee: 10mg
Americano: 249mg
Brewed coffee: 210 mg
Espresso: 85 mg (per shot)
Latte: 119mg
Starbucks
As famous as Starbucks is, a lot of persons will surely want to drink from this cup. It is highly nutritional and also popular, some of us know that already. So, how much caffeine is in a cup of Starbucks coffee? So we have different kinds:
Cold-brew with cold foam: 155mg
Cappuccino: 75mg
Decaf Pike Place roast: 20mg
Caramel macchiato: 75mg
Pike Place roast: 235mg
Factors That Affect Caffeine Content In Coffee
The caffeine in a cup of coffee is affected by some really noteworthy factors. And as a coffee lover, you need to be able to know these.
One major factor that affects the caffeine content in coffee is the beans. As there are various kinds of coffee bean then there should also be as well different caffeine contents in them. There are two very popular kinds of plants that produce coffee beans. These are:
- Coffee Arabica, this is commonly known as Arabica.
- Coffee Canephora, which is commonly known as Robusta.
In the study of coffee from 2016, it was found out that Robusta coffee actually contains two times more caffeine content as there is in Arabica coffee. According to research, dry arabica beans contains about 34.1-38.5 g of caffeine per Kilogram, while Robusta beans have a whopping 68.6-81.6 g of caffeine per kilogram.
There are some other factors apart from this most obvious one that can affect the caffeine content in a cup of coffee. There are;
- The serving size
- The amount of ground coffee that the person uses during the brewing process
- The brewing method
- The type of roast
More Sources Of Caffeine You Didn’t Know About
Apart from coffee, there are other sources of caffeine. The percentage of caffeine in coffee is certainly more than these. They are:
Tea
The amount of caffeine in tea is lesser than a regular cup of coffee with the same size as the cup. For instance, if you take green tea in an 8-ounce cup, it should contain about 28mg of caffeine and the same serving of a black coffee may end up containing 47mg of caffeine. How much caffeine in black coffee cannot equate the amount of caffeine in tea?
Soft drinks
Soda and fruit-flavored beverages sometimes do contain a minimal amount of caffeine. A 12 oz can of cola has up to 33 mg of caffeine.
Energy drinks
There is a higher content of sugar and caffeine in energy drinks because the effects they have on the body are similar to the effects caffeine has on the body. Different brands produce different contents of caffeine in an energy drink. FDA says that a normal should contain 40 to 250mg per 8 oz but still, some may contain up to 316 mg of caffeine. How much caffeine in 8 oz coffee should surely be more than that of the same quantity of energy drink?
Chocolate
It is very normal for the chocolate to contain caffeine. The amount that will be in it varies most normally through the content of cacao in the chocolate. Darker chocolate mistimes contain more caffeine than those that are mixed with milk. For illustration, the caffeine content in a 1 oz serving of chocolate is 45-59% of cacao solids and that is 12mg, 60 – 69% of cacao solids and that is 24mg and 70-85% of cacao solids and that is 23mg.
Medications
There are some medications that contain caffeine for pain relief. On a normal, menstrual relief maximum strength contains about 500mg acetaminophen, 15mg pyrilamine maleate, and 60 mg of caffeine.
There are daily recommended intake of caffeine for adults is not more than 400mg of caffeine per day. For children, there are no obvious rules. Adolescents that are aged between 12 to 18 years should consume about 100mg of caffeine. Young children also can consume an average of 2.5 mg per 1g of body weight. It would not also be a bad idea to use a caffeine chart at a point to check these out for yourself.
Conclusion
I hope this article has helped you to know the amount of caffeine in coffee. Now you can stop asking how much caffeine in coffee. The numbers are a bit confusing at first but with proper understanding, you can get the hang of it. For example, the caffeine in 20 oz coffee (brewed) would be about 237 milligrams of caffeine.
