Coffee Caffeine Content by Drink Calculator
Calculate caffeine content by coffee drink type and size.
Compare espresso, drip, cold brew, and specialty drinks in mg per serving and per body weight.
Caffeine Content by Coffee Drink
Caffeine varies by drink far more than most people expect, and usually in the opposite direction to how strong the drink tastes. A single shot of espresso holds less caffeine than a tall drip coffee.
Caffeine per fluid ounce (typical):
| Drink | mg per fl oz |
|---|---|
| Espresso | ~63 mg per 1 oz shot |
| Drip / pour over | ~12-16 mg per fl oz |
| French press | ~10-15 mg per fl oz |
| Cold brew (RTD) | ~12-18 mg per fl oz |
| Cold brew concentrate | ~50-100 mg per fl oz |
| Decaf coffee | ~0.5-1.5 mg per fl oz |
| Instant coffee | ~7-13 mg per fl oz |
Standard drink sizes:
| Drink | Volume | Caffeine |
|---|---|---|
| Single espresso | 1 oz | ~63 mg |
| Double espresso | 2 oz | ~125 mg |
| Tall drip (12 oz) | 12 oz | ~150-180 mg |
| Grande drip (16 oz) | 16 oz | ~200-240 mg |
| Venti drip (20 oz) | 20 oz | ~250-300 mg |
| Latte (12 oz, 2 shots) | 12 oz | ~125 mg (from the shots, not the volume) |
| Cappuccino (8 oz, 2 shots) | 8 oz | ~125 mg |
| Cold brew tall (12 oz) | 12 oz | ~150-200 mg |
| Frappuccino (16 oz) | 16 oz | ~95-100 mg (varies) |
| Decaf grande | 16 oz | ~15-25 mg |
FDA safe caffeine intake:
- Healthy adults: up to 400 mg/day
- Pregnant: under 200 mg/day
- Children/adolescents: avoid or under 100 mg/day
- Sensitive individuals: 100-200 mg/day max
Half-life and metabolism: Caffeine half-life is about 5 hours for healthy adults. Drinking 200 mg at noon means 100 mg still in your system at 6 PM. Avoid caffeine within 6-8 hours of bedtime for unimpaired sleep.
Caffeine per body weight: Tolerance varies by genetics (CYP1A2 enzyme variants). Rule of thumb:
- Standard tolerance: 5-6 mg/kg/day OK
- Sensitive: 2-3 mg/kg/day max
- Tolerance builds over weeks; resets in 5-7 days off
Milk drinks work differently. A latte, cappuccino, flat white or mocha carries the caffeine of its espresso shots and nothing more. Steamed milk adds volume, not caffeine, so a 20 oz latte on two shots has exactly the same caffeine as an 8 oz cappuccino on two shots. That is why this calculator has a separate shot box: multiplying espresso mg-per-ounce by a latte cup size is the single most common way to get a badly wrong answer here, and it overstates by a factor of six on a 12 oz cup.
Roast level myth: Caffeine survives roasting nearly intact, so by weight light and dark are close, within about 5-10%. The gap people notice comes from scooping: light-roast beans are denser, so a scoop of them weighs more.
Decaf isn’t zero: US “decaf” still legally contains up to 0.1% caffeine, typically 5-15 mg per cup, and a large decaf from a chain can reach 25 mg. Sensitive sleepers should test their own tolerance rather than assuming zero.
How we build and check this calculator
This calculator runs entirely in your browser, so the numbers you enter stay on your device. The math behind it is written by hand and tested against worked examples and standard references before the page goes live.
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