How much caffeine in a cup of coffee?

Did you ever wonder how much caffeine is in a cup of coffee? Well your average cup of coffee contains around 95 mg of caffeine. But a lot of other factors come into play that decides the final caffeine content in your cup, let’s have a look.

We all love coffee, but so do we love the stimulant that comes with it. It drives us to get the things done that we need to get done. That’s why I took the time to research our favorite ways of how we drink our cups and the amount of caffeine in them.

Factors that affect caffeine in your cup of coffee

Things like coffee beans, roasting, type of coffee, and serving size all play a role in the caffeine content of your cup, let’s see how.

The type of coffee beans: All coffee beans are different, and so they have their own caffeine content.

Roasting: Lighter roasts have more caffeine than darker roasts, but dark roasts are much richer in flavor.

Type of coffee: All types of coffee have a different amount of caffeine content. Your Espresso, macchiato, cappuccino, americano, latte, frappuccino, and so many more.

Serving size: This might be the one that most influences your caffeine intake. It depends on how much coffee you pour into your cup that will make the difference.

How much caffeine is in a cup of coffee?

On average, a cup of coffee contains around 95 mg of caffeine. But this varies by what coffee you’re drinking. Some of them almost have zero caffeine, while others might have over 500 mg. According to the FDA, the amount of caffeine intake for a healthy adult is up to 400 mg per day, while for pregnant women it’s only 200 mg, so keep that in mind.

Brewed Coffee

Brewing is the most popular way of consuming coffee worldwide.

This is your standard regular coffee, it’s created by pouring hot or boiling water over your ground coffee beans in a contained filter.

One cup of 8 oz will contain around 70 – 140 mg of caffeine, making the average cup 95 mg.

Espresso

Espresso is made by forcing hot water through finely-ground coffee beans. This can only be done by using an Espresso machine that gives you a strong shot with a lot richer flavor and aroma.

Espresso’s caffeine is much higher than your regular brewed coffee. But since it gets served in a smaller cup, your caffeine intake won’t be as much either.

A cup of Espresso is about 1.5 oz and contains 60-80 mg of caffeine. The average espresso cup will have about 70 mg of caffeine.

Espresso-Based Drinks

Almost all of your favorite coffee drinks include Espresso. It’s the base of most of your drinks because of its rich flavor and aroma.

These include Macchiato, Cappuccino, Americano and Latte, just to give you a few examples.

None of the ingredients in your Espresso-Based drinks contain caffeine, apart from the Espresso itself.

So, therefore, your Espresso-Based drinks contain the same caffeine as your regular Espresso. Which is around 70 mg of caffeine.

Instant Coffee

Another popular method of getting a cup is instant coffee. This is usually the way to go for people that are not as into coffee as you and I. It’s a solid and fast method to get your caffeine in.

Instant coffee is made from brewed coffee that’s then freeze-dried, they are large, dry pieces that dissolve in hot water. Simply add a teaspoon of these dry pieces into a cup, pour hot water into it and you’re done. This is the easiest way to consume coffee but also the least flavorful.

A cup of instant coffee contains about 30-90 mg of caffeine.

Commercial brands have higher caffeine content

Believe it or not, the commercial brands that offer coffee such as Starbucks, Mcdonald’s, and Dunkin Donuts put a lot more caffeine in their coffees than the one you make at home.

I love going to Starbucks regularly and it does not surprise me that I feel more energized after getting a drink there.

Here’s a table I made to simplify the commercial brands and their coffees.

Caffeine in Decaf Coffee

Okay but what about decaf coffee? It surely is caffeine-free, right? Well… Almost.

Decaf coffee was discovered by accident. In 1905, a shipment of beans was soaked in saltwater. Incidentally washing the caffeine out. Since then there is a wide variety of decaf processes has been found, which typically remove about 97% of the caffeine in coffee beans. The most common method makes use of water, organic solvents, and carbon dioxide to decaffeinate coffee beans.

Your regular cup of coffee contains around 95 mg of caffeine, a decaf coffee typically has a lot less caffeine but mostly still has around 0-7 mg (with an average of 3 mg) of caffeine.

Decaf coffee is safe for consumption but keep in mind that if you drink a lot of cups in a short amount of time that your caffeine intake will add up eventually.

The bottom line

Your average cup of coffee (8 oz) contains around 95 mg of caffeine. A lot of factors come into play, such as the coffee beans, roast, type of coffee, and serving size. Espresso’s caffeine content is a lot higher than regular coffee, but because it’s served in a much smaller cup (1.5 oz), it makes the caffeine content around 70 mg. Instant coffee sits more at around 60 mg of caffeine per cup.

Commercial brands’ coffees have a lot higher caffeine content. We’ve seen quite some numbers here that go from a small cup at McDonald’s with a caffeine content of 109 mg, all the way to Dunkin Donuts’ Extra Large cup with a massive 517 mg(!!) of caffeine.

Decaf coffee still has caffeine in it. The method used to make decaffeinated beans removes around 97% of caffeine, which makes the average decaf coffee cup have 3 mg (up to 7 mg) of caffeine.