During my week using Jawbone’s UP Coffee app, I wondered how it was that, in spite of my own somewhat problematic coffee-drinking habits, the amount of caffeine I consumed was still substantially less than that of most of the UP Coffee community. But if this infographic detailing how much caffeine there is in each Starbucks drink is anything to go by, there’s a very simple answer to that question: Everyone else is drinking way more Starbucks than I am. Thrillist recently compiled a whole bunch of data concerning the caffeine content of all of Starbucks’ Grande-sized drinks; they then assembled it in the form of a handy-dandy infographic, allowing us to see exactly how caffeinated each of our favorite ‘Bux beverages are. Here’s what I found out:
Since I usually just brew my own coffee at home, I don’t consume a whole lot of specialty or espresso-based drinks; as such, the caffeine content of my regular eight-ounce cup of joe measures in at about 98 mg. By contrast, a Starbucks Grande cup holds about 16 ounces, making it double the size of what I usually drink — on top of which is the fact that some Starbucks brews pack in extra caffeine. Surprisingly, though, not all of that extra caffeine comes from espresso: The most caffeinated Grande-sized beverages at the coffee chain are all regular coffee. 16 ounces of Featured Dark Roast, Clover Brewed Coffee, and Pike Place Roast each contains a whopping 330 mg of caffeine — over three times what’s in a standard, eight-ounce coffee.
To be fair, the drinks that sit at the top of the list are the outliers — once you get beyond the top eight entries, the highest it usually gets is 150 mg per drink. Most of the fancy lattes (including the alternate beloved and reviled Pumpkin Spice Latte) fall under the 150 mg category; any Frappuccinos with a flavor profile based on coffee settle between 85 and 110 mg; and most of the tea drinks, latte or otherwise, are under 70 mg a pop. Beware, though — as we learned a few weeks ago, just because something is “decaffeinated” doesn’t mean that it’s totally free of caffeine. Pike Place Roast, for example, strikes again in its decaffeinated form with 25 mg per 16 ounces — five mg more than a chocolate chai tea latte, which weighs in at 20 mg.
According to the Mayo Clinic, most adults can drink up to 400 mg of caffeine a day with no ill effects; that’s roughly the amount contained in four cups of brewed coffee, 10 cans of soda, or two “energy shot” drinks like 5-Hour Energy. It’s worth noting, though, that anywhere between 250 and 500 mg of caffeine might be enough to cause an overdose, making you jittery and giving you a bunch of other unpleasant symptoms. At least caffeine toxicity doesn’t reach fatal levels until you hit five to 10 grams, or between 5,000 and 10,000 mg — most people don’t come anywhere close to consuming that amount daily, so, y’know… there’s that.
Check out the full infographic over at Thrillist. Where does your favorite drink fall?
Image: Thrillist
