Starbucks Coffee's Shocking Caffeine Amounts
Starbucks is renowned for having some fairly calorie-dense drinks.
However, Calories aren't the only place Starbucks boasts big numbers. Caffeine amounts are also awe inspiring.
It might even be enough to make you quit drinking coffee (find out how to do that).
How Do They Do It?
For those that drink Starbucks, you know that they make one bold cup of brewed coffee.Although some people assume that this is because of the dark roasted coffee beans, it is also due to the amount of ground coffee used in the brewing process.
According to a former Starbucks employee, they use almost double the ground coffee generally recommend when brewing filtered coffee. This in turn greatly increases the caffeine content as well as the flavor of Starbucks coffee.
We have managed to compile a table of most popular Starbucks coffees to show you where the caffeine lies. Surprisingly it's not espresso, but brewed coffee which is most caffeine dense.
If you buzz after drinking a venti brewed coffee, here's why......
| Beverage | Caffeine (mg) | |||
| Short (8 oz) |
Tall (12 oz) |
Grande (16 oz) |
Venti (20-24 oz) |
|
| Brewed Coffee | 180 |
260 |
330 |
415 |
| Brewed Decaf Coffee | 15 |
20 |
25 |
30 |
| Caffè Americano | 75 |
150 |
225 |
300 |
| Caffè Latte (also Cinnamon Dolce Latte) | 75 |
75 |
150 |
150 |
| Caffè Mocha (also flavored Mocha's) | 90 |
95 |
175 |
180 |
| Cappucino | 75 |
75 |
150 |
150 |
| Caramel Macchiato | 75 |
75 |
150 |
150 |
| Chocolate Milk | - |
20 |
25 |
40 |
| Espresso | 75 (solo) |
150 (doppio) |
- | - |
| Espresso Macchiato (also Espresso con Panna) | 75 (solo) |
150 (doppio) |
- | - |
| Frappuccino Blended Coffee (multiple flavors) | - | 85-90 |
110-115 |
155-160 |
| Frappuccino Light Blended Coffee (multiple flavors) | - | 70-75 |
95-100 |
125-140 |
| Hot Chocolate | 15 |
20 |
25 |
30 |
| Tazo Black Tea Latte | 50 |
75 |
100 |
125 |
| Tazo Chai Tea Latte | 50 |
75 |
100 |
120 |
| Tazo Green Tea Latte | 30 |
55 |
80 |
110 |
| Tazo Red Tea Latte | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
| White Hot Chocolate | 0 |
0 |
0 |
0 |
Keep Reading
On some level Starbucks fascinates us. Here's some other articles that we've written about the coffee giant.- Calorie amounts of Starbucks drinks. Some of them will surprise you.
- Starbucks Latte Abuse
- Iced Coffee: A Meal's Worth of Calories
Many thanks to the caffeine database for permission to use this.
Read More
- The Do's and Don'ts for Healthier Coffee (Diet Blog)
- MiO: The New, Healthier Crystal Light? (Diet Blog)
- Meet Greg, 155 Pounds Down! (DailySpark)
- Brad Pitt Gives His Kids Coke for Breakfast! (Diets in Review)
72 Comments
Add Your Comment
Created / Updated: January 26, 2012
I gave up for the most part drinking coffee, especially with caffeine, a few years ago. Last year someone brought a starbucks coffee to a meeting for me and, forgetting what the consequences would be, I drank it. I was so zipped on caffeine afterwards I could barely drive and felt compelled to explain to the people at my next meeting the reason I might seem kind of agitated! Even the decaf at Starbucks makes me feel like I've had too much caffeine. And the taste of their coffee is disgusting. Those beans are not roasted, they are burnt. I can drink a half-decaf half-real from good old Tim Hortons and I am fine.
I don't think Starbucks uses Fair Trade coffees either and more and more I won't buy coffee if it's not FT.
ReplyIt is interesting how you and others think that FT is truly a FT. Envision my point and by no means am I targeting or trying to offend you.
ReplyIf you are offered a job and the wages are lower than your expectation, but are in a tight bind, most people will take it and begin working as immediate as they can. Further in your career you will go and complain about how very little they pay you, yet you agreed to it, so is it fair to say that if you get offered low wages for a product you are selling, it if not FT?
FT is simply another way to get people worked up about something that will get us against each other. What is needed are volunteers that believe in the FT and assist, not complain about the issue.
For me, buying fair trade does have advantages. One of the main ones is that I don't have to worry about supporting child slavery. And I do mean slavery, separate from kids helping the family out during harvest time.
ReplyYou also probably experienced that super-spike because your body was not accustomed to "so much" caffeine if you modestly gave it up.
ReplyAre you serious? You actually expected to drink a cup of coffee and not feel any of the effects from the caffiene?
The side effect from the caffiene is the basis of the coffee's appeal.
ReplyDo you take pain medication and expect it not to stop any pain as well?
you need to do your homework. starbucks isn't an evil corporation. no - they're coffee isn't burnt, either. that's what you've heard from other people and you're regurgitating it. not a wise choice!
Replystarbucks actually does carry fair trade coffee, but they're never offered as "coffee of the day" and they're not advertised in store. ironically enough, the darker the roast, the less caffeine it contains. lighter roasts always have more caffeine. which is why when I really want the most caffeine for my buck I go to Ancora for an iced zombie made with cafe bianco.
ReplyHoly cripes, no wonder I get the jitters when I get a Venti coffee from Starbucks....415 mg of caffeine!! I usually drink decaf or mix it half and half. I think Starbucks' coffee is WAY too strong anyways. I try to avoid it whenever possible.
Replyyour right , I have been drinking that everyday for awhile now , I think i am going to reduce!
ReplyI drink a triple grande non fat w/ whip mocha EVERYDAY and I am so afraid I am doing some harm to my body but I am so HOOKED to it. I am going to try to wean. I am spending @ least 50 a week on the stuff.... HELP!
ReplyI did some math just now and realized that maybe I should be worried...but somehow I cannot be. The commenter before mentioned how coffee makes them feel unlike their usual selves. For me it's the exact opposite : without my (now worryingly) large intake of caffeine, I'm unlike myself and people notice. Once again, I feel this should worry me but it doesn't.
ReplyWho can afford Starbucks? I drink one cup at home in the morning and that's it for the day.
ReplyCaffeine is not a horrible thing in moderation, however, you don't want to be downing 10 cups of coffee every single day. It is actually quite beneficial before a workout or just in the morning to give you a quickstart.
Replystarbucks is on my list on places to never enter again.
ReplyAlways getting a brewed coffee and the venti size I new it had a lot of coffee but had no idea it had that much. No wonder people get addicted to this so-called "good morning" drink. I love starbucks but I might have to watch the amount of coffee I drink in a day.
ReplyI love Starbucks and Neros coffees, but owing to the costliness of them, and the fact I tend to go for the most fattening kinds, I have to limit them to once a week tops. As a result of rarely drinking coffee I have no caffeine tolerance so a small cup is guaranteed to send me loopy. Looking at these figures explains why!
ReplyI've always wondered about the caffeine content in the Chai Tea Lattes. I'm amazed how much caffeine is in a simple cup of coffee there!
I agree that Starbuck's coffee tastes like tar, but some people like to drink tar, I guess.
ReplyI recently had kidney stone surgery and caffeine is tabu so I inquired prior to purchasing and was actually told that the Chai Tea Latte and Green Tea Latte contained no caffeine by a Starbuck's employee. Hum? And as for their coffee,yuck!
ReplyAll Tea contains caffeine unless it is HERBAL tea (like Celestial Seasonings). Green and black teas do, however, have less caffeine than coffee.
Reply--Nutritionist
Sleep and proper nutrition > Coffee
ReplyCaffeine has many health benefits as long as you can tolerate it and don't have other contra-indications. (certain illnesses and such)
For me - it's my treat, it's my comfort, and it's my Ritalin. (no joke. Severe ADD here) Far better than a lot of other comfort habits.
I mean- a nonfat latte isn't going to blow your diet like a carton of ice cream!
ReplyI used to be a huge coffee junkie. I am talking like four pots a day. Then I decided that I didn't want to ingest caffine anymore so I stopped cold turkey. For the past two years I have been caffine free. I will drink decafe and am fully aware that there is a certain percentage of caffine in that but on the whole I haven't drank anything with caffine in a long time. I can tell you that your body does not need it. I have worked night jobs for the past six years and people are always amazed when they find out that I don't eat or drink anything caffinated. What I can tell you is that too many things that we eat are over loaded with it. You have to be very careful about what you buy in order to avoid it. But if you get off caffine you do notice some good changes. One is that your mind is actually more alert and focused. Caffine does provide alot of people with a kickstart but the down time from that is pretty hard on your system. When you don't take in caffine you don't experience this. Also I find that painkillers are much more effective at lower doses. This is a substance that we just don't need to put in our bodies. With all the other crap that we ingest on a daily basis why pump more into our already overdosed systems? Plus if you have kids like I do I have no issue with them drinking anything that I have because I know that there is no caffine in it. Their little bodies definately cannot handle it. Just my two cents in the matter. I will admit that Starbucks makes a killer decaf frappacino but that is something that I may only have once a year.
ReplyMeh, I'm not worried about my caffeine intake. I drink a cup of coffee in the morning and maybe 2 cups of tea in the afternoon. I never drink Starbucks (first, because we don't have one here and secondly, they're too expensive. Dude! When I do visit a Chapters with a SB, I'll split a mocha with DH, but that's maybe once a year or less)
ReplyMy favourite is an affogato. A short espresso with ice cream!
Reply