I came across this nifty research review article while writing a post for Harvard Health Blog. Ah, caffeine. What a fascinating little chemical!
Don’t feel like reading an eighteen-page scientific paper? Here’s the gist of it: Anything you thought your cup of coffee was doing for you, it probably is.
Yes. Coffee. It really does improve alertness, attention, mood, and reaction time, especially when we’re sleep-deprived. It may also enhance physical coordination and endurance. Temporarily, of course.
But not just coffee. I found myself studying the table below, which lists the caffeine content of common beverages, foods and medications.
Who knew: a serving of dark chocolate has the same amount of caffeine as a can of Coke! That’s just two tablespoons of dark (baking) chocolate. That may be my new go-to pick-me-up in the late afternoon.
If you’re as big a dork as I am, check it out, and enjoy!
Estimated caffeine content of beverages, foods and dietary supplements
| Item | Caffeine content (mg/100 mL) | Serving size (mL) | Caffeine content (mg/serving) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coffee | |||
| Drip method | 60–100 | 150 | 90–150 |
| Instant | 27–72 | 150 | 40–108 |
| Decaffeinated | 1–3 | 150 | 2–5 |
| Tea | |||
| 1-min brew | 6–22 | 150 | 9–33 |
| 5-min brew | 13–33 | 150 | 20–50 |
| Iced Tea | 6–10 | 350 | 22–36 |
| Chocolate Products | |||
| Hot cocoa | 1–5 | 175 | 2–8 |
| Chocolate milk | 1–3 | 235 | 2–7 |
| Milk chocolate | 3–50 | 30 | 1–15 |
| Baking chocolate | 115 | 30 | 35 |
| Cola Beverages | |||
| Coca-Cola® | 10 | 350 | 35 |
| Diet Coke® | 13 | 350 | 47 |
| Pepsi® | 11 | 350 | 38 |
| Diet Pepsi® | 10 | 350 | 36 |
| Other soft drinks | |||
| Dr. Pepper® | 11 | 350 | 40 |
| Mountain Dew® | 16 | 350 | 55 |
| Barq’s® Root Beer | 7 | 350 | 23 |
| Energy Drinks | |||
| Amp® | 30 | 235 | 71 |
| Cocaine® | 120 | 235 | 280 |
| Monster® | 34 | 235 | 80 |
| Red Bull® | 34 | 235 | 80 |
| Rockstar® | 34 | 235 | 80 |
| Energy Shots | |||
| 5-h Energy® | 333 | 60 | 200 |
| 10-h Time Release® | 740 | 57 | 422 |
| Over-the-counter Medication | |||
| Anacin (1 tablet) | – | − | 32 |
| Excedrin (1 caplet) | – | − | 65 |
| Midol (1 pill) | – | − | 60 |
| NoDoz (1 tablet) | – | − | 200 |
1 oz = 29.56 mL.
Reference:
McLellan TM, Caldwell JA, Lieberman HR A review of caffeine’s effects on cognitive, physical and occupational performance. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2016 Dec;71:294-312. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.09.001. Epub 2016 Sep 6.