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 recommended when brewing filtered coffee. This in turn greatly increases the caffeine content as well as the flavor of Starbucks coffee.
We have compiled 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 some of this data.
What are the units for the amounts of caffeine??
As the Chart says it’s milligrams
10 years ago, as an avid Starbucks drinker I’d agree. But today, Starbucks tastes burnt, bitter, and soapy.
I was brewing a Starbucks cup over at a friends house and asked him to smell it after it was done brewing. “Smell like burnt tires?” I said, he mentioned “yes that’s what it smells like!”. He also mentioned that he’s been hearing more and more about how burnt Starbucks is in his large consulting organization. Starbucks has changed.
caffeine is why i drink bucks coffee of course its loaded with caffeine its fricken coffee. I brew my coffee with at least twice the recommended amount of grounds because that’s where the flavor of real coffee is. I would hope the coffee joints i go to do the same thing to ensure 1.awesome flavor and 2.Bang for your buck. I’ve had a whole pot of coffee to myself before, however when i go to starbucks one grande’ll do. Love bucks, love coffee, love caffeine, i’d take more caffeine per cup if it was even feasible.
no wonder I would drink a venti dark roast, an instant at home before leaving, And a small cup at work all before 1030 a;m., I would feel great but after an hour I would just get extra jittery and felt like sprinting,hyped up. 415mg of caffeine exceeds the recommended dose which is 100 to 200 mg per day. hmm ill switch to one tall i like the taste of starbucks, it’s strong, bitter and effective.
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.
Do the math again, all figures are proportionate.
Incorrect. If everyone wanted their coffee different, we would need 6.2 billion different types of coffee to accomodate the planet.
Interesting how the article notes the caffeine is higher per oz for a tall versus a grande brewed coffee, yet both are poured from the same source.
has anybody heard of the 50% discount offered by Starbucks? though its just just on frappes, and its crappy, tsk! disappointing…
“Surprisingly it’s not espresso, but brewed coffee which is most caffeine dense.”
False – espresso short is 1 oz, tall is 2 oz… therefore it is much more caffeine dense… Did you even think before you wrote that?
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!
OK, I just redid my math, and brewed coffee isn’t “half” as caffeine-dense as espresso, it’s closer to one-third as caffeine-dense as espresso (22mg vs 75mg per ounce).
You write “Surprisingly it’s not espresso, but brewed coffee which is most caffeine dense.” But that doesn’t look right. An 8-oz brewed coffee has 180 mg, but a single espresso (which is just 1 oz) has 75 mg, or about 40% of the brewed cup’s caffeine. By comparison, a 1-oz serving of brewed coffee would have just 22 mg, so it’s only half as caffeine-dense as espresso.
SO MUCH COFFEE WILL BE DANGEROUS IN THE HEALTH OF ONE PERSON BECAUSE 1 CUP OF COFFEE TAKEN IS JUST LIKE SMOKING OF A 1 PACK OF CIGARETTE.
coffee make us alive when we feel bit of Lizzy. it also causes drugs of nicotine which lately began in addiction.
I love the Starbucks VIA coffee. I have 2 per day/ Love the taste/Cost is approx $1.- per cup.
The caffeine content has been a “mystery;” it’s readily available on Starbucks’ website. Just sayin’.
What a bunch of uninformed dolts. The big evil Starbucks is selling you caffeine and it makes you uncomfortable… It’s too strong, bla bla bla… Another stated here that the darker the roast, the less caffeine; that is true. The heat breaks down the compound. I go for the new trenta iced coffee, more caffeine than the brewed hot coffee or the espresso drinks. What do you think you are purchasing when you go to a coffee shop? Maybe our govt. should regulate it just like they threatened with calories because we seem to be as a society to be to stupid to decide what to/or not to put in our mouths
I eventually gave up on Starbucks coffee all together. The caffeine levels were just too high and start bothering my stomach. Probably the hardest decision of my life – but I switched to black tea and haven’t looked back since (about 4 years now). Yes, it was hard at first – but, I feel so much better now and no longer have those terrible ups and downs.
Are 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.
Do you take pain medication and expect it not to stop any pain as well?
this is a lil off topic but something ppl shud knw is caffeine can cause acne ..this doesnt happen to everyone but if u drink too much coffee and have acne and none of the store bought products have helped u clear ur acne try being caffeine-free for a month… i never knew i struggled with it for years now im caffeine-free and acne free but if i do have coffee here and there i end up breaking out sucks but my option is only decaf!!
You also probably experienced that super-spike because your body was not accustomed to “so much” caffeine if you modestly gave it up.
I think some of you people are assuming that everyone is physiologically the same and people are not.
For some, any caffeine works against them in a noticeable way. For some caffeine is very healthy for them, personally, and the amount varies per person.
That’s why so many research projects seem to contradict one another.
I have a genetic blood disorder and the natural salicylates found coffee help me considerably and to have a healthy pregnancy, I must have some coffee daily. When I got off the coffee, thinking that posters like some above that coffee = the devil, I miscarried. It was tragic and another example of not really understanding the data.
If coffee works for you and you are happy and prosperous and a blessing to be around, great. If it doesn’t, then don’t do it. I think that is true with many drink and diet choices.
Why isn’t the DARK roast drip listed separately as there is a difference? This is not very helpful for what I was looking for, which is exactly the difference between their medium roasts, including their new Pike Place and their dark to really dark roasts. Oh well. I’ll keep googling.
It 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.
If 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.
Just to let everyone know how dangerous caffeine is for your body. Caffeine has whats called a half life. Which means the caffeine resides in your system for 3-12 hours. The caffeine causes your body to think it is in stress mode which does significant damage to your organs. So those of you who have more than 1 cup of coffee a day is putting your body in 24/7 stress mode. Try to cut down to at least one cup a day or having a cup every now and then.
You are all idiots.
excuse me to the first person, i work at starbucks, and we do use fair trade coffee. if our coffee was so disgusting, why are we the most popular coffee shop in the world? we serve the best coffee and our beans are carefully roasted for the exquisite taste.
What does one person’s opinion about starbucks coffee have anything to do with the majority’s opinion? That’s just his/her experience. Furthermore, how does being the ‘most popular coffee shop’ translate to having the ‘best coffee.’ Popularity = high quality. Hershey’s is certainly a popular brand of chocolate, but is it the ‘best’? Better than any other chocolate in the world (reese’s, ritter’s, kinder, etc.)
I meant Popularity DOES NOT EQUAL high quality. Think of McDonalds.
its very important that you responed back to me I love starbuck decaffinated drinks, but the caffine has to be small. Thanks A Bunch!
I am a stricky low caffiene person. I would like to know the caffience contents in your decaf drinks. I drink esspreso mostly. and how much caffiene is in your bottled frappicino? I use to be able to drink mocha but as far as i know its off the market now.anychance the decaf bottled fraps. are available in any state or in your warehouse? I would buy it through you in bulk if you have it or know someplace that does. Thank you much!
Eating an apple in the morning will give you the same amount of energy as a cup of coffee…and guess what? If you skip the apple one day, no withdrawals!
First, I love the taste of coffee – all kinds. Second, if you truly want to be rested you’ll have to quit. I’ve quit caffinee completely four times now. Once for over a year and the last time for about 4 months. It’s the great American drug. I’m convinced through reading that it is bad for you but I’ll only share personal experience here. I had some major back problems including several bulging discs compressing spinal nerve and also diagnosed with a disease called Ankylosing Spondylitus. I was getting cramps in my back and legs so bad I’d be waking up hourly. I was drinking water/fluids like a madman. I quit caffine and the next night the cramps were 90% gone and after that almost 100%.
Listen guys, I love the taste and have managed to believe that I can just have a litte (what’s a little anyway) but after the 3 days of misery when you quit cold turkey (use motrin/pain meds) my wife noticed I had MORE energy. Yup, if you can kick the withdrawl, within the week the afternoon blahs go AWAY. I only get that – I’m gonna die if I don’t have some caffine – feeling in the afternoon if I’m drinking caffine. The other thing is that you’ll actually wake up faster when you kick caffine. We all know it, the more caffine you have the more you need it in the morning and throughout the day to function.
I’ve been back on coffee for a few months and it is the same old routine. This time I’ll try quitting slowly and see what happens.
Sorry for the rambling but in short – quit and suffer through about 3 days of tired headaches (or use pain meds) then you will sleep better, wake up easier and have much more energy throughout the day!
Good luck and sorry coffee lovers – it’s also my drug of choice
I love Starbucks, but I know how much I’m spending on coffee when I can just make a cup at home. So that’s what I’ve started doing. I go to Starbucks maybe once every 2 weeks and couldn’t believe how much I’ve saved. Make your coffee at home and you might be pleasantly surprised!
i just love my daily drink off frappuccino 13.7 oz. don’t relly care about all the caffeine everyone says that it has. when i go to bed after drinking it i go right on to sleep,i go to bed at 10 p.m. every night.
thanks starbucks. the cost is getting higherso i have back off some. i love it….
I measured the amount of caffeine in a Venti coffee at University of Toronto Analytical Labs and the amount is much less then 415mg. It is actually around 222.5 (+/-) 16.1 mg for a Venti cup.