Welcome to the twenty-first century, where humans have fully evolved into coffee-dependent beings. It’s pretty much a fact of life that most of us cannot function normally without a morning caffeine hit (or three). But what if we told you that you might not actually be getting as much caffeine in your daily brew as you thought?
Consumer magazine Which? has looked into how much caffeine you actually get at the UK’s most popular chains. It revealed that if your regular order is a medium cappuccino at Costa, you are consuming nearly five times as much caffeine as those ordering the same mug of frothy goodness from Starbucks.
In fact, Starbucks fans are being short-changed across the board, with their single espresso containing only 33mg of caffeine compared with 180mg in a shot from Pret. A Starbucks filter coffee, meanwhile, offers less than half of caffeine you’d get at Greggs.
Consuming more than 600mg of caffeine a day is linked to insomnia, irritability and increased blood pressure – meaning that indulging in just two medium cappuccinos from Costa could be a risky move. For pregnant women the recommended limit is 200mg.
The vast difference in caffeine content is dependent on a few things, according to experts who spoke to Which? Most chains use Arabica beans, which have lower caffeine levels than Robusta. However, others such as Costa serve a blend of the two, resulting in a more intense buzz for its customers.
Colin Smith, of artisan coffee roasters Smiths of London, told Which?: ‘Steeping time, size and quality of grind, and water temperature also affect the final caffeine content. For example a finer grind will result in a higher caffeine content.’
Here’s how the coffee chains stack up against each other when it comes to caffeine content:
Single espressos
1. Pret – 180mg
2. Costa – 100mg
3. Greggs – 75mg
4. Caffe Nero – 45mg
5. Starbucks – 33mg
Medium cappuccinos
1. Costa – 325mg
2. Greggs – 197mg
3. Pret – 180mg
4. Caffe Nero – 110-115mg
5. Starbucks – 66mg
Filter coffee
1. Pret – 271mg
2. Greggs – 225mg
3. Starbucks – 102mg
4. Costa – n/a
5. Caffe Nero – n/a
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