How much caffeine is in coffee, tea & energy drinks?

How much caffeine is in your cup? Here’s the short answer: a single espresso has around 60–80 mg, an 8 oz mug of brewed coffee about 80–100 mg, a cup of black tea roughly 47 mg, and a typical energy drink 80–160 mg per can. The catch is that every one of these numbers is a range, not a fixed value — caffeine content swings with the bean, the brew, the brand, and the size of the serving.

Use this quick reference as a starting point:

Drink (typical serving)	Caffeine (approx.)
Espresso, single (30 ml / 1 oz)	60–80 mg
Brewed / filter coffee (240 ml / 8 oz)	80–100 mg
Instant coffee (240 ml / 8 oz)	30–90 mg
Decaf coffee (240 ml / 8 oz)	2–5 mg
Black tea (240 ml / 8 oz)	40–70 mg
Green tea (240 ml / 8 oz)	20–45 mg
Matcha (1 tsp / ~2 g)	60–70 mg
Energy drink (250–500 ml can)	80–160 mg
Cola / soft drink (355 ml / 12 oz)	30–55 mg
Energy shot (60 ml / 2 oz)	~200 mg

Figures are typical averages drawn from the U.S. FDA, USDA FoodData Central, EFSA, and manufacturer labels. Treat them as guides, not guarantees.

How much caffeine is in coffee?

Coffee is the biggest source of caffeine for most people, but the amount in a cup depends on how it’s made.

• Espresso — about 60–80 mg per single shot (30 ml). It tastes intense because it’s concentrated, but the serving is tiny, so a single shot often has less total caffeine than a full mug of filter coffee.
• Brewed / filter / drip — about 80–100 mg per 8 oz (240 ml), and a large café “grande” can carry 150 mg or more simply because it’s a bigger pour.
• Instant — roughly 30–90 mg per cup, usually a bit lower than freshly brewed.
• Decaf — not zero: about 2–5 mg per cup. Decaffeination removes most, but not all, of the caffeine.

What moves the number? The bean species (robusta has nearly twice the caffeine of arabica), the grind, the brew time, the dose of grounds, and — above all — the cup size.

Does tea have more caffeine than coffee?

Usually not. Tea leaves do contain caffeine, but a brewed cup delivers less than coffee:

• Black tea — about 40–70 mg per 8 oz.
• Green tea — about 20–45 mg per 8 oz.
• White tea — typically lower, around 15–30 mg.
• Matcha — the exception, at roughly 60–70 mg per prepared serving, because you whisk and drink the whole powdered leaf rather than just an infusion.

Steeping time and water temperature matter: a longer, hotter brew pulls out more caffeine. So “tea is gentler than coffee” is true on average — but a strong matcha can rival an espresso.

How much caffeine is in energy drinks and shots?

Energy drinks vary widely, so the label is your best friend:

• A 250 ml Red Bull has 80 mg.
• A 473 ml (16 oz) Monster has about 160 mg.
• Most cans land in the 80–160 mg range, comparable to a strong coffee — not the megadose people often assume.
• Energy shots are the concentrated outlier: a 60 ml shot can pack around 200 mg.

Many also add sugar and other ingredients, and the caffeine is delivered fast — which is why they feel stronger even when a coffee has similar milligrams.

How much caffeine is in soft drinks and sodas?

Sodas sit at the low end:

• Cola — about 34 mg per 12 oz (355 ml) can.
• Diet cola — slightly more, around 46 mg.
• Mountain Dew — about 54 mg.
• Many clear lemon-lime and root-beer sodas contain none at all.

So a can of cola is closer to a quarter of a coffee than a substitute for one.

Why does caffeine content vary so much?

Because almost every step changes it: the bean or leaf type, the roast and grind, the brew method and time, the brand’s recipe, and the serving size. That’s why no chart can give you one true number — only a realistic range. The figures above are reliable starting points, but the cup in front of you could land anywhere within them.

How do you know how much you’re really drinking?

The hard part isn’t one drink — it’s the total. A morning espresso, an afternoon filter coffee, a tea after lunch and a soda with dinner add up faster than it feels. And how much is still active at bedtime depends on how long caffeine stays in your system and on how much you can comfortably have in a day.

That’s where CaffIQ helps: it logs each drink with a realistic milligram estimate, shows your live running total, and tells you how late you can still enjoy the next cup — tuned to your own body. You keep the coffee; you just stop guessing the numbers.

CaffIQ provides general estimates, not medical advice. For any health question, consult a qualified professional.