How much caffeine is in coffee, tea, soda, and other foods?

How much caffeine is in your espresso drink, bottled iced tea, canned soda, coffee, or chocolate? Good question.

The FDA doesn’t require manufacturers or restaurant chains to disclose how much caffeine is in their foods or beverages. Some do so voluntarily, but it may be printed on labels in small type, only posted on company websites, or only disclosed if you ask the customer service department. 

What’s a caffeine-curious consumer to do? To check numbers for specific products, see our caffeine chart, where we’ve compiled data that companies disclose for 200+ foods, drinks, medications, and supplements. 

But if you want an overall guide to how much caffeine you can expect in a typical serving of coffee, tea, soda, chocolate, etc., and how much caffeine is too much, start here.  

Click here to jump to a category: 

• How much caffeine is too much?
• Coffee, espresso, lattes, etc.
• Teas, tea lattes, kombucha
• Sodas
• Energy drinks, pre-workout powders
• Refreshers
• Chocolate
• Coffee-flavored foods 

This article comes from Nutrition Action. We don’t accept any paid advertising or corporate or government donations. Any products we recommend have been vetted by our staff and are not advertisements by the manufacturers. They’re just healthy foods or beverages we think you’d like to know about!  

How much caffeine is too much?

For most healthy adults, consuming up to 400 milligrams of caffeine a day is “not generally associated with negative effects,” says the Food and Drug Administration. But that daily dose may—or may not—be too much for you. People vary in how quickly their bodies break down caffeine and how sensitive they are to its effects. Overdoing caffeine can make you jittery and disturb your sleep. And people who are pregnant, trying to become pregnant, or breastfeeding need to limit caffeine, says the FDA. That’s why Chemical Cuisine, CSPI’s food additive safety database, rates caffeine as “Certain People Should Avoid.” 

Also, keep in mind that certain medications—like some ADHD drugs, pseudoephedrine for nasal congestion, and some blood pressure and thyroid medications—can interact with caffeine, leading to side effects (like jitteriness), less effective medications, or decreased absorption of medications. Check with your healthcare provider or pharmacist. 

For children and teens, the American Academy of Pediatrics and other health authorities recommend  avoiding caffeine altogether, especially energy drinks. “While most adults can safely consume caffeine in limited quantities, children and adolescents have smaller bodies and rapidly developing brains, making them more susceptible to the negative effects of consuming too much,” their recommendations explain. Those effects include poor sleep quality, increased blood pressure, and mental health problems. 

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How much caffeine is in my coffee, espresso, latte, etc.?

The short answer: it depends. You may wind up with more or less caffeine in your cup depending not just on how much coffee it contains but on factors like the variety of coffee beans, growing conditions, brewing method, water temperature, and ratio of water to beans. 

That list helps explain why some companies that disclose caffeine content for their products only offer a range (like Starbucks does for its coffees), not a single number. Others add qualifiers. Here’s Dunkin’s: “Caffeine information provided is an approximate value based on our standard brewing/steeping procedures and limited analytical data. Caffeine values can vary greatly based on the variety of coffee/tea and the brewing equipment/steeping method used.”

Don’t assume that ordering a specific “roast” of coffee or espresso will land you less caffeine. While some studies report that “dark roast” coffee has less caffeine than “light roast,” others don’t find a substantial difference. Caffeine levels for the light vs. dark roast coffees served at Starbucks and Panera, for example, are no different.

Many of our examples below use data for drinks made at Starbucks because the chain is popular and its coffee is relatively high in caffeine. (If you’re estimating what’s in your unlabeled drink, it’s safer to err on the high end.)

Coffee

Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture puts an 8 oz. cup of drip coffee at roughly 70 to 100 milligrams of caffeine. (Note: Coffee mugs typically hold 10 to 12 oz.) That’s about as much caffeine as a cup of Folgers Classic Roast. And brew-at-home pods like Keurig K-cups (75 to 150 mg) are in the same ballpark.

At Starbucks, an 8 oz. (“short”) coffee packs twice that much caffeine (155 to 195 mg)! And larger sizes like the “tall” (12 oz.) and hot “grande” (16 oz.) or “venti” (20 oz.) pile on even more. (For iced drinks, a “venti” holds 24 oz. and a “trenta” holds a whopping 30 oz.)

Yet a Starbucks (20 oz.) venti hot coffee has more caffeine than any of the chain’s iced 30-ouncers. Why? Ice means less room for coffee. Topping the charts at 390 to 490 mg, a Starbucks venti hot coffee can have more caffeine than the 400 mg the FDA deems safe for most adults in an entire day. Yikes!

Tips to keep a lid on caffeine at Starbucks:  

• Order half regular coffee, half decaf coffee in your cup.
• Opt for an Americano—espresso plus water—instead of drip coffee. A hot grande Americano cuts the caffeine from 315–390 mg down to 225 mg.
• A grande “misto” (half coffee, half steamed milk) has even less caffeine (150 mg).

Decaf coffee 

If you’re very sensitive to caffeine or are having more than one cup of decaf at bedtime, keep in mind that “decaffeinated” coffee doesn’t mean “caffeine-free.” Decaf can have up to 15 mg of caffeine in every 8 oz. 

Cold brew

To make cold brew, ground coffee is soaked in cold water for hours, then strained. It’s usually served iced, but it can be heated. (In contrast, iced coffee is drip coffee brewed as usual, chilled, then served with ice.)

Like all coffee, cold brew’s caffeine depends on many factors, but most cold-brewed coffee is in the same ballpark as hot-brewed. At Starbucks, for example, you get about the same caffeine in a grande cold brew (205 mg) as you do in a grande iced coffee (185 mg)

Cold brew concentrate

Don’t confuse supermarket-bought bottles of cold brew coffee with cold brew coffee concentrate. The coffee is ready to drink. The concentrate needs water (or milk) added to dilute its caffeine and coffee flavor.

For example, a 10.5 oz. bottle of Stumptown Original Cold Brew Coffee has 295 mg of caffeine. You’d also get a decent dose (235 mg) by mixing 5 oz. of Stumptown Cold Brew 2X Concentrate with an equal amount of water or milk. 

Espresso

Rule of thumb: Expect slightly less caffeine in 1 shot of espresso than in an 8 oz. cup of coffee. That’s roughly 65 mg per shot, according to the USDA’s data for espresso, or 75 mg per shot at Starbucks. 

Tip: If you just ask for “an espresso” at a restaurant or coffee shop, you’ll most likely be served a standard “doppio” (double shot). On the Starbucks app, you can order 1, 2, 3, or 4 shots (that’s 300 mg of caffeine for the “quad”). 

Espresso drinks

With coffee, the larger the size, the more coffee—and caffeine—in your cup. But with espresso-plus-milk drinks like cappuccinos, lattes, and mochas, the amount of caffeine depends on how many shots of espresso are in the recipe for the drink. Ask your barista or, for chains, check the company’s website or app.

Here’s how the caffeine stacks up in some popular espresso drinks at Starbucks, listed from least to most caffeine:

Cappuccino or latte: Surprisingly, you get the same amount of caffeine (75 mg) in a short (8 oz.) or tall (12 oz.) Starbucks cappuccino or latte because both sizes are made with 1 shot of espresso. Grandes (16 oz.) and ventis (20 oz. hot) have 2 shots (150 mg of caffeine).

Mocha: It has the same number of shots as a latte, but with a tad more caffeine (90 to 185 mg), thanks to its cocoa syrup.

Flat white: The ingredients (espresso plus milk) make it sound like a latte, but there’s more caffeine (130 mg in a short or tall and 195 mg in a grande or venti). That’s because a flat white is made with 2 or 3 “ristretto” (concentrated) espresso shots instead of 1 or 2 regular shots. 

Frozen coffee drinks

Based on their ingredients, most “frozen coffee” drinks are more like milkshakes than coffees, but don’t assume that their caffeine is low. It varies...a lot. For example, a grande Starbucks Coffee Frappuccino has no more caffeine than a small cup of coffee (95 mg), but a medium Dunkin’ Frozen Coffee has three times as much (295 mg).

And at Dutch Bros, a large “9-1-1” Blended Freeze, with its 6 espresso shots, tops the charts at a whopping 440 mg of caffeine. (The tiny print at the end of the chain’s 30-page Nutritional Guide notes that “The FDA recommends not more than 400 mg of caffeine per day.” How helpful!)

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How much caffeine is in tea? 

Caffeine in tea varies with factors like:  

• Variety of tea
• Amount of tea leaves
• Volume of water (steeping in more water can extract more caffeine from a tea bag)
• Steep time (steeping a tea bag for, say, 5 minutes can extract more caffeine than steeping it for 3 minutes)

Black tea is often steeped for longer than green or white tea. Check your package to see if it lists preparation instructions and caffeine content.  

When brewed as directed, some types of tea have more caffeine than others. According to data we’ve compiled from the USDA, researchers, yerba mate analyses, and tea manufacturers like the Republic of Tea, Guayakí, and Lipton, here’s roughly how much caffeine you can expect in 6 oz. (that’s less than a standard 8 oz. cup), listed from most to least:  

• Yerba mate: 40-80 mg
• Black: 30-50 mg
• Oolong: 30-40 mg
• Green: 20-40 mg
• White: 15-20 mg
• Decaf: Less than 5 mg
• Herbal: 0 mg (except yerba mate)

Tea doesn’t have as much caffeine as coffee, except for yerba mate and teas with added caffeine (like Republic of Tea HiCAF or Celestial Seasonings Fast Lane). But if your cup holds more than a modest 6 oz. of hot tea or you gulp larger glasses of iced tea, those smaller doses of caffeine can still add up. Want less…or just don’t want to think about it? Go with (caffeine-free) decaf or herbal teas like: 

• Peppermint
• Hibiscus
• Chamomile
• Ginger
• Rooibos (aka “red tea”)

Tea lattes

Chai tea lattes are part black tea, part milk. Matcha tea lattes are part ground green tea powder, part milk. Ounce for ounce, their caffeine is about the same as brewed tea, but their serving size is typically larger than brewed tea’s 6 oz. So a (16 oz.) grande Starbucks chai latte ends up with 95 mg of caffeine, while a 16 oz. matcha latte has 65 mg.  

Numbers at many other chains are lower: A medium (16 oz.) Dutch Bros chai latte has 35 mg of caffeine, for example, while a 16 oz. Panera chai latte has just 9 mg. 

Kombucha

Store-bought bottled kombucha drinks like Synergy are typically made from tea that’s been fermented by a kombucha culture and chilled. But a 16 oz. bottle of Synergy only has 16 to 28 mg of caffeine, says the company. Why so low? For starters, the fermenting may break down some of the caffeine. And some bottled kombucha drinks have less caffeine because they’re part tea, part caffeine-free fruit juice.

Just don’t assume that all kombucha is low in caffeine. KeVita, for example, adds enough caffeine from green coffee bean extract to hit around 68 mg in every 15.2 oz. bottle.

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How much caffeine is in soda?

Whether sodas have added caffeine—and how much—often depends on the variety (e.g., colas typically have caffeine, ginger ales usually don’t) or the brand (e.g., Sunkist orange soda has caffeine, Fanta Orange doesn’t).

Here’s a rundown of caffeine, from most to least in a 12 oz. can. Unless noted, numbers typically apply to both a brand’s regular and diet or zero sugar versions: 

• Zero Sugar Mtn Dew: 68 mg
• Mtn Dew or Diet Mtn Dew: 54 mg*  
• Diet Coke: 46 mg
• Dr Pepper: 41 mg*
• Coke, Coke Zero, or Pepsi: 34-38 mg
• Root beer: Barq’s has 22 mg, but most brands are caffeine-free
• Orange: Sunkist Orange has 19 mg, but most brands are caffeine-free
• Other citrus: Most brands (like 7UP, Fresca, Sprite, and Starry) are caffeine-free
• Ginger ale: Most brands (like Canada Dry, Seagram’s, and Schweppes) are caffeine-free 

* Note: Zevia’s “Mountain Zevia” soda has 55 mg and “Dr. Zevia” soda has 42 mg.

Rule of thumb: A can of caffeinated soda has no more caffeine than a cup of tea. But larger bottles or fountain cups can add up. For example, a 20 oz. bottle of Diet Coke has 76 mg of caffeine. That’s as much as an 8 oz. cup of some brands of coffee. And a large (30 oz.) fountain Mtn Dew without ice at Panera hits 129 mg.

“Gut healthy” sodas

Most varieties of “gut healthy” sodas like Poppi and Olipop are caffeine-free, but those that mimic the flavor of caffeinated sodas tend to add caffeine.  

• Olipop: A 12 oz. can of Vintage Cola, Cherry Cola, Doctor Goodwin, or Ridge Rush has 50 mg of caffeine—about as much as a Mtn Dew. Other flavors have none.
• Poppi: A 12 oz. can of Alpine Blast has 55 mg of caffeine. A can of Cherry Cola, Classic Cola, or Doc Pop has 40 mg. Other flavors have none.

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How much caffeine is in energy drinks and “pre-workout” powders?

Energy drinks and “pre-workout” energy drink powder mixes range widely, from the caffeine equivalent of 1 cup of coffee to 3+ cups. For example:  

• Red Bull: 80 mg of caffeine in 8 oz.
• 5-hour Energy “shot”: 200 mg of caffeine in 2 oz.
• Celsius: 200 mg of caffeine in 12 oz.
• Bang: 300 mg of caffeine in 16 oz. 

Kids and teens should avoid energy drinks altogether, says the American Academy of Pediatrics. In fact, everyone should be wary of them. Ditto for “pre-workout” powders. Among the reasons:  

• They supply a concentrated dose of caffeine
• They’re easy to drink in a short period of time (unlike hot coffee)
• They sometimes contain ingredients that may pose health risks or haven’t been well studied (either alone or in the combinations used)
• They’ve been linked to problems like irregular heart rhythms, increases in heart rate and blood pressure, and other adverse events

“Dry scooping” pre-workout powders—gulping them down without adding water as the label instructs—has other risks. After the recent trend went viral on social media, case reports linked it to ulcers in the esophagus, heart attack, and other health problems.

A better alternative to energy drinks

What are the best choices for adults who don’t like coffee or tea but still want caffeine?

Instead of “energy drinks,” look for caffeinated flavored waters, drinks, or drink mixes that are: 

• Low in calories and sugar (no more than a few grams)
• Sweetened with only safer low-calorie sweeteners like stevia or monk fruit extract, not aspartame, acesulfame potassium, or sucralose
• Free of food dyes
• Free of questionable ingredients like botanical extracts and “proprietary blends” (some have added B vitamins or vitamin C, which are unnecessary but harmless)

Two that meet those criteria (each has 120 mg of caffeine per serving):  

• True Lemon Energy Drink Mix
• Zevia Zero Sugar Energy Drink

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How much caffeine is in a “Refresher”?

“Refreshers” are colorful fruit-flavored sugary drinks that seem designed to get you in the door of a Starbucks or Dunkin’ even if you don’t drink coffee or it’s late afternoon. If you order a “grande” or “medium,” you’ll leave with 45 to 55 mg of caffeine at Starbucks or roughly twice that much (99 mg) at Dunkin’.

Ounce for ounce, that’s less caffeine than coffee, but with flavors like Mango Pineapple and Strawberry Dragonfruit (at Dunkin’) and Strawberry Açai, Mango Dragonfruit, and Blackberry Sage (at Starbucks), you might not even realize that a Refresher is caffeinated. So you might be more likely to order one in the afternoon or evening, when a caffeine boost could cost you a good night’s sleep.

A Dunkin’ medium or Starbucks grande Refresher will also saddle you with 90 to 150 calories and 19 to 32 grams—4 1/2 to 7 1/2 teaspoons—of sugar from reconstituted white grape juice concentrate and/or added sugar.

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How much caffeine is in chocolate?

Chocolate has low levels of naturally occurring caffeine—about 8 to 12 mg per tablespoon of plain, unsweetened cocoa powder. The average amount in chocolate drinks and candies depends on whether it’s milk chocolate (less cocoa, less caffeine) or dark chocolate (more cocoa, more caffeine). For example: 

• Swiss Miss Milk Chocolate Hot Cocoa Mix (1 packet): 1-3 mg
• Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bar (1.5 oz.): 10 mg
• Hershey’s Special Dark Chocolate Bar (1.4 oz.): 20 mg
• Baking chocolate, unsweetened (1.4 oz.): 32 mg 

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How much caffeine is in coffee yogurt or ice cream?

Many companies don’t disclose how much caffeine is in their coffee-flavored yogurt. For those that do, it varies. Eating a 5.3 oz. serving of Dannon Low Fat Coffee Yogurt, for example, is roughly the same as drinking half a cup of coffee (40 mg of caffeine). Chobani, on the other hand, says that its coffee yogurt has just 3 mg of caffeine.

A 2/3-cup serving of coffee ice cream can have more. At the lower end, you’ll get roughly 25 mg of caffeine in a less-dense ice cream like Dreyer’s or Edy’s Coffee Ice Cream or Breyers Coffee Frozen Dairy Dessert.

More-dense super-premiums like Häagen-Dazs or Ben & Jerry’s coffee ice creams have roughly 30-50 mg. Among the highest: Talenti’s ranges for its Cold Brew Coffee Sorbetto (39-84 mg) and Coffee Chocolate Chip Gelato (43-91 mg) approach the equivalent of an 8 oz. cup of coffee.

The bottom line: Unless the company provides caffeine numbers (see below), it’s hard to know how much you’re getting in any brand’s coffee yogurt or ice cream. 

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How much caffeine is in my food or drink?

If you’ve pored over our chart of the caffeine in 200+ foods and drinks but didn’t find your favorite espresso, latte, chocolate, iced tea, snack food, or whatever, here’s what to do:

1. Check the label…again. Packaged-food manufacturers aren’t required to disclose caffeine on the Nutrition Facts label, so many simply don’t. But even when they do, the disclosure can be hard to find. Sometimes it’s in tiny print. Sometimes it’s aligned vertically on the side of the label. So look closely.

2. Check brand websites. Even if a company doesn’t disclose caffeine content on its label, it still might do so on its website.  

• For packaged foods, check the specific page for the product, as well as any “FAQ” (frequently asked questions) page on the website.
• For chain restaurant foods, check any “Nutrition Information” or “FAQ” pages on the website and the company’s app for your phone. (Like packaged foods, restaurant foods are not required to disclose caffeine content, so it’s hit or miss.)

3. Check corporate websites. Coke and Pepsi each compiles the nutrition and caffeine content for many of its products on a single website: 

• Coca-Cola: Includes Coke, Diet Coke, Vitaminwater, Gold Peak Tea, etc. (click to expand the “View Nutrition Facts” section for each product)
• PepsiCo: Includes bottled Starbucks drinks sold in supermarkets, Gatorade, Lipton Iced Tea, Mtn Dew, Pepsi, Pure Leaf Iced Tea, Tazo iced tea, etc.

4. Contact customer service. Even if companies don’t disclose caffeine on their labels or websites, some will provide it if you call or email their customer service contact numbers. Some customer service departments also offer the option to answer questions via text message or chat on their website. 

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