How much caffeine is in Drip coffee?

One 240 ml (8.1 fl oz) cup of drip coffee contains 96 mg of caffeine.

Drip coffee is brewed coffee produced by passing hot water through ground beans held in a paper or metal filter; this page uses the measured value 96 mg per 240 ml (40 mg per 100 ml) from our open dataset (dataset). Caffeine is a stimulant compound found in coffee and tea, and a 96 mg dose is roughly one standard cup of drip coffee by our reference definition (one cup = 96 mg per 240 ml) as reported in the same dataset. A single 96 mg cup commonly produces increased alertness for most adults within 15–45 minutes and peak blood levels at about 30–120 minutes after ingestion, according to pharmacokinetic summaries reported by public data sources (see dataset for the underlying studies and entries used here).

How long Drip coffee stays in your system

Half-life is the time it takes for the body to eliminate half of a substance; TrackCaffeine uses a population-average caffeine half-life of 5.7 hours (model parameter documented in the dataset). Using first-order elimination, remaining = dose × 0.5^(hours / 5.7), so for a 96 mg dose the arithmetic is: 3 h → 96 × 0.5^(3/5.7) ≈ 96 × 0.695 ≈ 67 mg (see dataset), 6 h → 96 × 0.5^(6/5.7) ≈ 96 × 0.482 ≈ 46 mg (see dataset), 9 h → 96 × 0.5^(9/5.7) ≈ 96 × 0.333 ≈ 32 mg (see dataset), 12 h → 96 × 0.5^(12/5.7) ≈ 96 × 0.232 ≈ 22 mg (see dataset). These calculations use the specified half-life 5.7 hours and the standard exponential formula; the intermediate values above are rounded to whole milligrams to match the decay table on this page (formula and values traceable in the dataset).

This single 96 mg cup represents 24% of the 400 mg daily guidance for healthy adults; the 400 mg/day guideline is stated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in its consumer guidance (400 mg/day, cited from the FDA consumer update linked below). In arithmetic terms, four full 240 ml drip cups at 96 mg each would sum to 384 mg, just under the 400 mg benchmark cited by the FDA (FDA), while five cups would exceed it at 480 mg.

For sleep planning, caffeine taken late can reduce and fragment sleep: a controlled trial found that 400 mg consumed six hours before bedtime shortened total sleep time by more than an hour (Drake et al. 2013), so extrapolating from our half-life model a 96 mg cup at 15:00 would leave about 46 mg at 21:00 using the 6 h calculation above and could still affect sleep depending on individual sensitivity (Drake et al. 2013 Drake et al. and our decay math in the dataset). Use the latest cup before bedtime tool or the caffeine half-life calculator to model timing for a specific bedtime, and consult safe daily limit by body weight for weight-adjusted guidance.

Certain groups should be more cautious: EFSA and other authorities recommend lower single-dose and daily limits in pregnancy and for adolescents (EFSA 2015 sets 200 mg/day in pregnancy), so a 96 mg cup is about half the pregnancy guidance and should be counted explicitly when totaling daily intake (EFSA scientific opinion; see the dataset for citations and the EFSA report).

Within the brewed coffee category, this drip coffee at 96 mg per 240 ml sits below pour-over (145 mg) and below French press (107 mg) but is substantially lower than cold brew (200 mg) and nitro cold brew (215 mg), as reported in our open dataset (dataset). Those differences indicate that method and extraction time matter: shorter contact and filter-trapping oils in drip methods often yield less caffeine than long-steeped or concentrated cold brews (comparison values from Pour over, 145 mg, French press, 107 mg, Cold brew, 200 mg and Nitro cold brew, 215 mg in the dataset).

Put another way, a 240 ml drip cup at 96 mg contains about one and a half times the caffeine of a 240 ml serving of green tea (28 mg) and more than twice a 355 ml Coca-Cola Zero (34 mg), while it is comparable to a single 30 ml espresso shot at 63 mg when adjusted for typical serving sizes (reference points taken from our comparison table in the dataset). Use the side-by-side drink comparison tool to view these entries and serving-size adjustments together.

What changes the number for Drip coffee

The 96 mg value is an estimate for a 240 ml serving and can shift because cup size, grind, water temperature, brew time and bean strength all change extraction; measurement and batch variation are explained in our open data (dataset). For example, a pour-over of the same volume is listed in our data at 145 mg per 240 ml and a French press at 107 mg per 240 ml, showing preparation method alone can change caffeine by tens of milligrams (values from Pour over, 145 mg and French press, 107 mg in the dataset).

Instant coffee and decaf are lower: our data show 62 mg per 240 ml for instant and 3 mg per 240 ml for decaf, illustrating that product choice and processing matter (values from Instant coffee, 62 mg and Decaf coffee, 3 mg in the dataset). Cold extraction yields higher values in our set—cold brew 200 mg and nitro cold brew 215 mg per 240 ml—so brewed temperature and contact time can more than double the caffeine relative to this drip reference (values from Cold brew, 200 mg and Nitro cold brew, 215 mg in the dataset).

Because a single published milligram figure cannot capture every preparation or bean lot, this page presents 96 mg as the best centralized estimate for a 240 ml serving and shows the range and comparable entries in our dataset (dataset); analytical lab measurements or specific product labels would be needed to refine this for an individual cup and would be the reason to change our listed value.

Where this figure comes from

The 96 mg figure on this page is drawn from the TrackCaffeine open dataset where we aggregate lab analyses, manufacturer labels and published composition tables; the upstream entries and methods are documented in the dataset. Different published sources disagree because laboratories use different roast levels, grind sizes, brew protocols and analytical methods—when we encounter high-quality new lab data or product-specific testing we update the dataset and the displayed value, and such provenance is visible on the linked dataset page (dataset).

For daily guidance and health-context figures we rely on established authorities: the FDA consumer guidance for 400 mg/day and peer-reviewed sleep research such as Drake et al. 2013 for the impact of evening caffeine; those sources are cited where used on this page (FDA, Drake et al. 2013), and the dataset documents the primary chemical assay or label origin for the 96 mg entry.

Bottom line

Bottom line: a 240 ml (8.1 fl oz) cup of drip coffee contains 96 mg of caffeine (40 mg per 100 ml) according to our dataset (dataset); this dose is 24% of the 400 mg/day guidance cited by the FDA (FDA). Using a 5.7 h half-life, the dose decays by first-order kinetics so 3 h ≈ 67 mg, 6 h ≈ 46 mg, 9 h ≈ 32 mg and 12 h ≈ 22 mg (formula and values in the dataset).