Prepare to be buzzed — even if you ordered decaf. (Dave Yoder for The New York Times)You may be getting an unwanted jolt from that morning decaf.
Coffee sleuths from Consumer Reports recently tested cups of decaf ordered at Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks, Seattle’s Best Coffee, 7-Eleven, McDonald’s and Burger King. They visited six locations of each chain, evaluating 36 cups of decaf in all.
A regular cup of coffee has from 85 to 100 milligrams of caffeine. Most of the 10- to 12-ounce decafs tested had less than five milligrams, the magazine reports in its November issue. But one decaf from Dunkin’ Donuts contained 32 milligrams of caffeine — about the same amount in 12 ounces of Coca-Cola Classic. A cup of Seattle’s Best was found to contain 29 milligrams of caffeine, while a tall Starbucks decaf packed 21 milligrams. Results varied at each chain, but the magazine found that the decaf at McDonald’s consistently had the lowest levels of caffeine.
It’s long been known that the decaffeinating process doesn’t eliminate 100 percent of the caffeine in coffee, but there are no standards for acceptable levels in brewed decaf. Last year, University of Florida researchers also tested several 16-ounce servings of decaf, finding the caffeine content ranged from nine to 14 milligrams, according to a study published in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology.
By testing nearly four times more cups of coffee, Consumer Reports showed there is wide variability in caffeine levels in both decaffeinated and caffeinated coffees. Notably, even the caffeinated coffees purchased at the chains varied widely in terms of caffeine content, ranging from just 58 milligrams all the way up to 281 milligrams.
The findings are important for people with certain health issues. Caffeine can increase heart rate, interfere with sleep, cause heartburn and increase anxiety, and heavy consumption isn’t advised for women who are pregnant or breastfeeding and for those who take certain medications. The findings show that one or two cups of decaf will contain some caffeine, but probably not enough to cause a health concern. Still, people who drink several cups of decaf coffee a day may be getting far more caffeine than they bargained for.
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From 1 to 25 of 325 Comments
The important point is that decaffeinated is not the same as caffeine-free!
— RJH de la HayeI think that sounds right proportionally since regular Starbucks coffee has more caffeine in it than the typical “…regular cup of coffee has from 85 to 100 milligrams of caffeine…” quoted above. Who drinks 10-12oz of anything any more?
According to one source a 20 oz Venti coffee at Starbucks has 480mg of caffeine in it.
http://www.somacon.com/p147.php
http://www.energyfiend.com/the-caffeine-database/
I often advise my irritable or anxious patients to stop drinking coffee only to find out later that they switched to decaf, but started drinking a lot more of the new stuff.
— EricThis is totally wrong. You show a picture of an artisanal capuccino like one produced by a real coffee barista and not some international coffee conglomerate’s overcaffeinated brew. The picture you have is someone who knows who’s doing the coffee-bean harvesting, roasting and profiting and it is someone who makes beverages with a shot of espresso. You could have an espresso shot every day for the rest of your life and still have zero health risk. There just isn’t enough caffeine in it. That’s a fact.
If we’re talking Maxwell House coffee or the like, then likely caffeine goes way way up. Show a picture of it instead. And don’t implicate those that are operating in the best interests of people.
Because artisanal cafés have a great reputation for positive third-world development, environmentalism, and direct trade that engages remotely located farmers. And on the topic of espresso’s caffeine, you can get to the facts here.
— MarcusEds note: You are correct that per serving, espresso (which is served in shots rather than cups) typically does have less caffeine than drip coffee. However, it still has caffeine. Here’s a chart from Center for Science in the Public Interest listing caffeine content of coffees and espresso. tpp
What you didn’t mention is that McDonald’s decaf probably has the lowest levels of caffeine because it has the highest level of water and the lowest level of coffee in it.
— ACWthanx Marcus for your helpful chart. Expresso is always getting vilified as the caffeine menace. Hi quality arabica coffee like illy is 1% caffeine. There has been health benefits associated with coffee that go under the radar. It is good for the colon for instance. Starbucks on the other hand is very robust and frankly unpleasantly bitter. America is still grappling with learning how to make a good cup of coffee. from brown acid water to hi octane jet fuel. someday will get it right.
fred east village
— fred jorioHere’s the REAL secret to a good cup of coffee. Please pass it on.
1) WASH THE POT WITH SOAP AND WATER!!
That’s it!
— carnapThis is great! Good info.
— JerryMarcus wrote….
“Because artisanal cafés have a great reputation for positive third-world development, environmentalism, and direct trade that engages remotely located farmers.”
How, pray tell, is this related to anything, either in the story itself or in the poster’s own rant about whatevere it is he’s talking about? It appears that expresso can have some adverse effects on a person after all.
— Crackity JonesMany of these “average” numbers are meaningless, since different brew methods (of which over-dilution may be the blatant one, and proper espresso extraction may the be subtle one) produce differing amounts of caffeine. More importantly, different coffees (i.e., different beans) have differing amounts of available caffeine. Notoriously, robustas (which are something like 95%+ of the market) are higher in caffeine than arabicas (which are the specialty market’s variety). But even that’s a broad brush.
— D. AuerbachWhat’s the issue here? I’d always heard that decaf was about half of caf, so this seems about right, actually lower caf in decaf than I thought.
Who drinks decaf anyway?
— Rance SperglPoster #4 read my mind.
— J.H.What post #1 said: caffeine-free and decaf are different. And isn’t the whole decaffeination process dangerous anyway?
— VickiNo wonder I still fly when I drink those decafs…now I know…so where do I get genuine decaf coffee ground and make my own decaf…Caffeine is very dangerous when driving…
— LeeSince the Times uses Center for Science in the Public Interest as a source on a consistant basis, you would think that CSPI was an independent science group instead of the liberal-activist lobby group that it actually is. It has been an appendage of the Nader conglomerate, and its views should be placed in that context, though the Times never does so. Of course, that’s because CSPI’s views invariably coincide with those of the Times. Pick your sources to make your point.
— Nicolas MartinEds note: I used the chart because it was a quick source of information for a reader with a comment about caffeine content. CSPI is not the source for the story. The article relied on Consumer Reports and the Journal of Analytical Toxicology. tpp
Ugh decaf! Bring on dark strong REAL coffee, fair trade of course. That is the real coffee issue.
— ShaneThis is particularly disturbing for people with high sensitivity to caffeine. Caffeine is liked to anxiety and panic disorder.
— stephanie bilodeauWho cares? I have never for a minute been able to understand why anyone would spend perfectly good money for decaffeinated “coffee”, (or, for that matter, alcohol free “beer”). If you’re not in the market for an actual cup of coffee, how about a nice glass of ice water with a twist of lemon?
— Kelly FitzpatrickPoster # 11 asks, “Who drinks decaf anyway?” Well, I do, for one. I have a sensitivity to caffeine that — once the initial euphoria wears off — makes my heart race and my bladder spasm. No fun at all. But I love decaf lattes, and there are three Starbucks within two miles of my workplace, so I visit them pretty often. Two of them, that is. Because one of them puts WAY more caffeine in their decaf than the other two (or ANY other Starbucks I’ve ever visited)and makes me feel as if I’ve just drunk a venti serving of the real deal. It reminds me of the Seinfeld episode about the nonfat yogurt that turned out not to be so nonfat after all…
— FturnerHow about good old moderation?
Coffee, decaf or high-octane, was never meant to be drunk out of 20 ounce vats.
— JRI’ve never understood decaf drinkers. I personally think decaf is a sin against the coffee gods. Why if you are sensitve to caffeine would you drink coffee anyway? Why not just switch to another beverage, that’s actually decaffeniated. Instead of whining OMG there’s caffeine in my coffee switch to water (in reusable plastic containers with an organic lemon wedge of course).
— La ToshaIf God wanted us to drink decaf, coffee beans would be red when immature and green when ripe, not the other way around.
Matt B
— Matt BFort Myers, FL
i agree with posters 20 & 21. if u really like to avoid caffeine, simply switch to a healthier beverage that is caffeine-free. go for citrus blends instead.
— monch bravante@ La Tosha:
Coffee still tastes good to those of us who drink decaf and also, the little bit of caffeine in decaf can be felt by those of us that are more sensitive to caffeine. This makes decaf a nice alternative for us. Hopefully, that doesn’t interfere too much with your coffee drinking habits.
— Decaf DrinkerI just think We dont have to care about it
— hurJoonCaffeine requires a bit of jolt, extra, something this bunch would’ve tested if it were not a jolly ol black and milk looking all mustardy. I say believe yourself, test a cup, let it and then if it tastes vile let it go. We’re mumbling gray most of the time anyway, if you grasp on to coffee as your white pick me up at least give yourself the decency to back off every now and then. De-what not-may not be the territory for you to chart.
— Sean