For all the coffee drinkers out there, have you ever stopped to think: “How much caffeine is in my cup of coffee?”
There are several things that can affect how much caffeine is in coffee, like what kind it is, how it’s made, and what kind of bean is used. How much caffeine are you drinking each day, and how does this affect your health?
Caffeine
Many people are familiar with the term caffeine and associate it with something that can help to improve alertness and energy levels. What is caffeine, and what does it do? Caffeine is a type of stimulant drug. This means that it speeds up the communication between the brain and body.
Caffeine affects the nervous system, heart, and muscles. Caffeine is a stimulant that is found in coffee, tea, soda, chocolate, and certain medications like the ones for drowsiness and headaches.
Factors affecting caffeine content
Coffee is a beverage containing caffeine that is enjoyed by millions of people every day. However, not all coffees are made the same! Different types of coffee contain different amounts of caffeine. There are many factors that can affect how much caffeine is in your morning cup of coffee.
Type of coffee
The amount of caffeine in your coffee can depend on the type of coffee you are drinking. For example, espresso or brewed coffee can have different levels of caffeine. If you would rather buy your coffee from a café than make it at home, that is also an option.
The type of coffee you choose may also affect the amount of caffeine in your cup.
Brewing methods
The way your coffee is made can also affect caffeine content. The strength of your coffee depends on how you make it at home. It can be made to your personal preference. For example, if you want your coffee to have a stronger flavor, brew it for a longer time.
The longer your coffee brews, the more caffeine it will likely have. How much water you use compared to how much coffee you use is very important, so the size of your coffee mug could also be a factor.
Light roast vs. dark roast
How you roast your coffee beans can affect the caffeine levels in your cup of coffee. Now, don’t let the name fool you.
While it may seem counterintuitive, dark roasts actually have less caffeine than light roasts. This is because roasting burns off some of the caffeine. A dark French or Italian roast will give you a less caffeinated cup of coffee.
Type of bean
There are three main types of coffee beans: Arabica, Robusta, and a mixture of the two. The coffee brand you prefer can indicate how much caffeine you’re taking in. In comparison, Robusta beans have twice the amount of caffeine as Arabica beans.
A higher dose of caffeine makes the taste of Robusta beans unpleasantly bitter and acidic. There are more Robusta beans in coffee that is similar to espresso or in coffee blends that claim to make the coffee stronger.
Caffeine in different types of coffee
You might be wondering how to know the caffeine content in your coffee if there are so many different factors that can affect it. To start, how much caffeine is in an 8 fl oz of coffee?
- Brewed Coffee: 70 – 140 mg caffeine in 8 oz. cup
- Espresso: 63 mg caffeine in a shot (which also equals to about 1 – 1.75 oz.)
- Espresso-based drinks: 63 mg caffeine in a small cup and 125 mg in a large cup
- Instant Coffee: 30 – 90 mg of caffeine (Waka Coffee has about 70 mg of caffeine as indicated by Caffeine Informer)
- Decaf Coffee: 0 – 7 mg of caffeine
Method of preparation
The amount of caffeine in your coffee is impacted by the way it is brewed and prepared. Water penetrates coffee grounds and extracts flavor from them in a way that causes coffee to taste different when it is brewed at different temperatures.
The longer water is in contact with coffee grinds, the higher the caffeine concentration in your coffee cup.
Drip or filter
- 115 – 175 mg caffeine with an average of 145 mg
French Press or plunger
- 80 – 135 mg caffeine with an average of 107.5 mg
Percolated
- 64 – 272 mg caffeine with an average of 200 mg
Boiled coffee (for example, Turkish or Greek)
- 160 – 240 mg caffeine with an average of 200 mg
Arabica vs. robusta
The type of coffee beans used in your favorite coffee affects not only caffeine content, but also the taste of your coffee.
The majority of Arabica beans are grown in Latin America, with some countries, like Colombia, producing only Arabica beans. This bean has a sweet, soft taste with sugar, fruit, and berry undertones.
The Arabica coffee bean is more difficult to grow than the Robusta bean, as it is more susceptible to pests and weather conditions. The crop matures more slowly and produces fewer fruits per tree. Due to this, Arabica beans tend to be pricier.
The Robusta bean is a type of coffee bean that is grown mostly in Africa and Indonesia. This coffee is much more bitter than others and often leaves a bad taste in your mouth afterwards.
The coffee beans from Kenya have a stronger taste than those from Arabia because they contain twice as much caffeine. The Robusta bean is easier to grow than the Arabica bean, matures more quickly, and produces more crop per tree.
How your bean is roasted can affect the amount of caffeine in your morning coffee. The taste and flavor of coffee can be changed by the type of roast. The coffee beans lose water and expand in size when they are roasted.
Caffeine is also lost in this process. A dark roast has more intense flavors than a light or medium roast, but less caffeine. Lighter and medium roasts usually have more caffeine than other types.
Caffeine content in different kinds of coffee
Here’s a list of the caffeine amount in the most popular coffee drinks:
Caffeine content in brewed coffee
On average, an 8 ounce cup of regular or brewed coffee contains between 70 and 140 mg of caffeine.
Caffeine content in Espresso
An 8 oz cup of espresso contains about 130 mg of caffeine.
Caffeine content in Espresso-based drinks
Espresso-based drinks like Americanos, cappuccinos, lattes, and macchiatos that contain milk have different amounts of caffeine depending on cup size.
Both cappuccino and latte contain 173 mg of caffeine per 16 oz cup. An Americano typically contains 60-120mg of caffeine per cup, while a small macchiato typically contains 80mg, and a large macchiato typically contains 120mg.
While a cup of Cortado, Aussie flat, doppio, and long macchiato all contain 120-125 mg of caffeine.
Caffeine content in instant coffee
An 8 oz cup of instant coffee contains a relatively small amount of caffeine compared to other caffeinated beverages.
Caffeine content in decaf coffee
Even though decaf coffee has had the caffeine removed, there may still be a small amount of caffeine left in it. This amount depends on the type of coffee, how it was decaffeinated, and the size of the cup. A regular cup of decaf coffee contains an average of 2 mg of caffeine, while a 20 oz cup contains 7 mg of caffeine.
A 16 oz of instant decaf coffee has less caffeine than a 16 oz cup of brewed decaf coffee. An 8 oz cup of decaf coffee from Nescafe or Folgers contains 0 to 3 mg of caffeine, while decaf espresso has 0.3 mg of caffeine.
Caffeine content in cold brew coffee
A 16 oz cup of cold brew coffee typically contains between 205 to 260 mg of caffeine.
Caffeine content in ice coffee
Although iced coffee has the same amount of caffeine as hot coffee, it is more diluted, and therefore has less caffeine. This happens because the ice cubes make the drink more watery and this lowers the amount of caffeine.
Caffeine content in commercial coffee
The caffeine content in commercial coffee can vary greatly depending on the cup size and coffee variation. Some commercial coffee brands such as Starbucks have coffee cup sizes of 24 oz.
This large cup size is the same as drinking 3-5 regular cups, which means you’re taking in more caffeine than normal.
Caffeine content in Starbucks coffee
This is how much caffeine the different cup sizes of brewed coffee at Starbucks contain:
- 8 oz cup – 180 mg
- 12 oz cup – 260 mg
- 16 oz cup – 330 mg
The amount of caffeine in Starbucks decaf coffee varies depending on the cup size, from 15 to 30 mg. Their espresso contains slightly more caffeine than regular coffee, at 75 mg per cup.
A 16 oz cup of Starbuck’s cold brew coffee contains about 200 mg of caffeine, a cup of Blonde Coffee Americano contains about 250 mg of caffeine, and a cup of venti caramel macchiato contains about 150 mg of caffeine.
A Starbucks doppio contains double the amount of espresso as a regular cup and has 150-300 mg of caffeine. Lastly, Starbucks’ iced Americano contains the following amounts of caffeine per cup size:
- Tall (12 oz) – 150 mg
- Grande (16 oz) – 225 mg
- Venti (24 oz) – 300 mg
Caffeine content in McDonald’s coffee
Drinking coffee from McDonald’s can give you anywhere from 109 to 180mg of caffeine, depending on the size of the cup. While this is the caffeine content in the other McDonald’s popular coffee drinks:
- Espresso – 71 mg per cup
- Decaf coffee – 11 mg per cup
- Cold brew – 260 mg per 16 oz
Caffeine content in Dunkin donuts coffee
The size of Dunkin Donuts’ cup of brewed coffee can range from 10 oz to 24 oz, while the amount of caffeine can range from 215 mg to 517 mg.
One shot of espresso at While there other Dunkin Donuts coffee drinks contain this much caffeine:
- Espresso – 75 mg per shot
- Decaf coffee – 7 mg per 10-12 oz cup or 10 mg of caffeine when served in a 14-16 oz cup.
Caffeine content in Nespresso coffee
Nespresso claims that their espresso shot made using a classic capsule and pure Arabica coffee contains 65 mg of caffeine. The amount of caffeine in espresso made with Robusta pods is almost twice as much as the amount of caffeine in espresso made with Arabica pods.
An independent study found that the amount of caffeine in a Nespresso coffee can range from 19 to 147 mg per serving.
Caffeine content in Keurig coffee
The amount of caffeine in a Keurig pod can vary depending on the roast strength, with a range of 75 to 150 mg per 8 oz cup.
Caffeine content in Costa coffee
Espresso at Costa Coffee contains the following amount of caffeine, depending on cup size:
- Single-shot – 92 mg
- Double shot – 185 mg
- Triple shot – 277 mg
All of Costa Coffee’s Americano, latte, and cappuccino beverages have the same amount of caffeine per cup at 277 mg.
Caffeine content in Tim Hortons coffee
If you order a medium cappuccino at Tim Hortons, you will get 45 mg more caffeine than their single-shot espresso. This is how much caffeine the other popular Tim Hortons coffee drinks contain:
- Hot or iced latte – 50 mg per cup
- Decaf coffee – 9 mg per cup
Most caffeinated coffee
So what we have learned is that there are many things that can affect caffeine levels in coffee. With that being said, you might be wondering which coffee has the highest caffeine content. Although it may appear to be a simple question, there are other factors that can affect the answer.
Test the caffeine amount in your coffee
You can test the level of caffeine in your coffee by buying caffeine-testing strips from your local store. First, soak a coffee filter in black coffee. Then, add milk or sugar and hold the filter in the coffee for 30 seconds.
If the “C” line on the testing strip gets darker, this indicates that the amount of caffeine present is below 20 mg. If the “D” line becomes more visible, this means that the amount of caffeine is above 20 mg.
Conclusion
The amount of coffee in a cup can vary depending on what type of coffee and coffee brand you use. Typically, this is the caffeine content of the most popular coffee drinks out there:
- Decaffeinated coffee contains the lowest amount of caffeine per cup – 2 to 8 mg on average.
- Brewed coffee contains a higher amount of caffeine – 95mg per cup.
- Cold brew coffee is the most caffeinated coffee drink that can contain up to 260 mg of caffeine.
The FDA recommends that you drink 4-5 cups of coffee per day, or up to 400 mg of caffeine.