How Much Caffeine is in a Cup of Coffee?

A 240 ml cup of drip coffee contains 96 mg of caffeine.

• Drip coffee (240 ml) ≈ 96 mg.
• Cold brew (240 ml) ≈ 200 mg; nitro cold brew (240 ml) ≈ 215 mg.
• Single espresso (30 ml) = 63 mg; double espresso (60 ml) = 126 mg.
• Starbucks Pike Place (473 ml) = 310 mg3 mg.

Average caffeine content per common coffee servings

This table lists measured servings from standard menus and lab-sourced summaries; use it to compare typical single servings rather than concentration.

Factors that change caffeine in your cup

Three primary variables determine the mg you actually consume: serving size, extraction (brew method and time), and bean/roast. Roast level has smaller effect than people expect: dark roasts taste stronger but often contain slightly less caffeine by volume than lighter roasts. Extraction and brew ratio matter most—pour over in this dataset (240 ml) yields 145 mg while drip (same volume) yields 96 mg.

Bean type, grind and brew time

Finer grind and longer contact time increase extraction, so French press and pour over can extract more caffeine per cup than faster methods. Cold brew’s long steep time explains its high 200 mg/240 ml value in the dataset; nitro cold brew is slightly higher at 215 mg/240 ml.

Serving size vs concentration

Always check both. A Starbucks Pike Place Grande (473 ml) has 310 mg because of large volume; a double espresso (60 ml) has 126 mg in a much smaller cup.

Drip vs espresso vs instant: concentration and practical effects

Espresso concentrates caffeine: single shot (30 ml) = 63 mg gives higher mg per ml than drip, but a standard 240 ml drip (96 mg) usually delivers more total mg per serving than a single shot. Instant coffee (240 ml) here is 62 mg, close to a single espresso in total mg but much lower concentration.

How long caffeine stays in your system (decay math)

Caffeine’s average elimination half-life is about 5.7 hours. Population averages give these useful benchmarks: after 3 h ≈69% remains; 6 h ≈48%; 9 h ≈33%; 12 h ≈23%.

Concrete examples below use those percentages so you can predict approximate mg remaining from a known dose.

Example: from a 473 ml Monster (160 mg) ≈ 77 mg remains after 6 h and ≈ 37 mg after 12 h. Individual metabolism varies with genetics, liver function, age and medication.

Health context and safe limits

For healthy adults the U.S. Food and Drug Administration cites ~400 mg/day as a general upper bound; pregnant women are advised to limit caffeine to about 200 mg/day (FDA). The American Academy of Pediatrics discourages caffeine for adolescents. For specific risks (arrhythmia, anxiety, pregnancy), consult a clinician—this page is informational only.

Overdose and sensitive groups

High single doses (several hundred milligrams) can trigger palpitations, tremor, or severe anxiety in sensitive people; extremely high doses risk toxicity. If you suspect overdose, seek medical attention. Mayo Clinic and EFSA provide detailed risk summaries.

Practical tips to manage daily caffeine

• Compare mg not cup counts: 240 ml cold brew (200 mg) ≠ 240 ml latte (68 mg).
• Avoid caffeine within 6–8 hours of bedtime because roughly half can remain after 6 hours.
• Choose decaf (3 mg/240 ml) or smaller servings if you near daily limits; consider switching to tea for lower mg.
• Track intake with an app like CoffeeLog to sum mg across drinks and energy products.

How many 240 ml cups of drip coffee equal the FDA 400 mg daily limit?

Four 240 ml cups of drip coffee (4 × 96 mg = 384 mg) stay under the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s 400 mg/day upper bound, while five cups (5 × 96 mg = 480 mg) exceed it (U.S. FDA).

The FDA daily upper bound is 400 mg/day.

Put another way using our dataset: 1 drip (240 ml) = 96 mg (this site’s dataset), so 400 mg ÷ 96 mg ≈ 4.17 cups, meaning any whole count of five 240 ml drip servings surpasses the FDA limit (U.S. FDA; dataset link above).

Not all “cups” are 240 ml: if you drink a 473 ml Starbucks Pike Place Grande at 310 mg, that single drink is ~78% of the FDA limit (310 mg ÷ 400 mg = 0.775) and leaves only ~90 mg of room for the rest of the day (dataset and U.S. FDA; see Starbucks guide for item specifics).

If you prefer cold brew, one 240 ml cold brew is 200 mg and two of those equal 400 mg exactly (200 mg × 2 = 400 mg), so a single cold brew already supplies half the FDA ceiling (dataset and U.S. FDA; see our cold-brew guide Cold Brew Coffee: Complete Caffeine Content Guide).

Can a single serving exceed the 200 mg single-dose recommendation?

Yes—several single servings in our dataset exceed 200 mg, for example Starbucks Pike Place Grande (473 ml, 310 mg) and Pret Filter Coffee (350 ml, 271 mg), which both surpass the 200 mg single-dose level noted by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA).

A single-dose limit is the amount of caffeine consumed in one intake event.

EFSA’s 2015 scientific opinion identifies 200 mg as a benchmark for a single dose (EFSA 2015), and our dataset shows multiple single cups above that amount: Pret Filter Coffee = 271 mg (dataset), Starbucks Pike Place Grande = 310 mg (dataset), and Dunkin' Cold Brew (710 ml) = 260 mg (dataset).

Practical implication: one 240 ml cold brew at 200 mg equals EFSA’s single-dose benchmark exactly (dataset and EFSA 2015), so choose sizes intentionally if you want to avoid large single doses; see our side-by-side comparison tool for quick drink comparisons.

Which chain or single-cup sizes deliver the most caffeine in one serving?

Large single servings from coffee chains often deliver the highest single-serving mg: Starbucks Pike Place Grande (473 ml) = 310 mg, Pret Filter Coffee (350 ml) = 271 mg, and Dunkin' Cold Brew (710 ml) = 260 mg in our dataset.

Single-serving caffeine is the total milligrams of caffeine contained in one prepared cup or container.

Those numbers come directly from our dataset entries, so compare them before ordering: Starbucks Pike Place Grande 473 ml → 310 mg (dataset), Pret Filter Coffee 350 ml → 271 mg (dataset), Dunkin' Cold Brew 710 ml → 260 mg (dataset).

To translate to daily limits, the Starbucks Grande (310 mg) is ~78% of the FDA 400 mg/day limit (310 mg ÷ 400 mg = 0.775; U.S. FDA) and leaves ~90 mg of headroom for the rest of the day. For chain-specific breakdowns and alternatives, see our Starbucks and Dunkin' guides (starbucks coffee caffeine guide, Dunkin' caffeine guide).

How can I taper to reduce caffeine tolerance and avoid withdrawal symptoms?

A practical taper many consumers use is to cut total daily caffeine by about 10–25% per week while keeping enough mg to prevent intense withdrawal; this gradual approach reduces acute headaches and functional impairment compared with abrupt cessation (our withdrawal guide).

Tolerance is reduced responsiveness to caffeine after repeated exposure.

For example, someone drinking a Starbucks Pike Place Grande (473 ml, 310 mg) could reduce by 10% in week one (310 mg − 31 mg = 279 mg), then another 10% the next week (279 mg − 28 mg ≈ 251 mg), which is a measured taper documented in consumer guides on withdrawal mitigation (Caffeine Withdrawal: Symptoms, Duration, and Management).

Our guides recommend pairing a taper with consistent timing and hydration and tracking intake with a tool like the half-life calculator to see how much remains at any hour (caffeine half-life calculator), and the stepwise 10–25% reductions are described in our withdrawal page as a practical plan (dataset and internal guide).

How many cups can pregnant people safely drink per day?

Regulatory bodies advise pregnant people to limit caffeine to about 200 mg/day, so one 240 ml cold brew (200 mg) hits that ceiling while two 240 ml drip coffees (2 × 96 mg = 192 mg) remain under it (EFSA 2015; NHS).

Pregnancy caffeine limit is the recommended maximum daily milligram intake during pregnancy.

EFSA’s 2015 opinion and the NHS both identify ~200 mg/day as the recommended pregnancy ceiling (EFSA 2015; NHS 2026 guidance), and our dataset shows practical combinations: 1 cold brew (240 ml = 200 mg) = EFSA limit (dataset and EFSA), while 2 drip cups (2 × 96 mg = 192 mg) remain below it (dataset).

Examples to avoid: a Starbucks Pike Place Grande (473 ml, 310 mg) would exceed the guideline in a single serving (dataset and EFSA), so pregnant people should select smaller servings or decaf options (decaf 240 ml = 3 mg in our dataset) and consult their clinician and our pregnancy guides (Caffeine During Pregnancy: How Much Is Safe?).

Bottom line

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration sets a general upper bound of 400 mg/day for healthy adults (U.S. FDA), and the European Food Safety Authority identifies 200 mg as a useful single-dose benchmark and a pregnancy limit (EFSA 2015). In our dataset a 240 ml cup of drip coffee is 96 mg, a 240 ml cold brew is 200 mg, a single espresso (30 ml) is 63 mg, and a Starbucks Pike Place Grande (473 ml) is 310 mg—use those concrete numbers to plan your day (dataset entries).

Practical rules: four 240 ml drip cups (4 × 96 mg = 384 mg) stay under the FDA 400 mg/day limit but five cups (5 × 96 mg = 480 mg) exceed it (dataset and U.S. FDA); one 240 ml cold brew (200 mg) equals EFSA’s single-dose benchmark and two cold brews equal 400 mg (dataset and EFSA 2015). If sleep timing matters, note that clinical sleep research finds a 400 mg dose six hours before bed reduces sleep by more than an hour in objective measures, so prefer earlier caffeine or lower mg late in the day (Drake et al., J Clin Sleep Med 2013).

Use the tools and guides on this site to compare items and plan a taper or bedtime cutoff: try the caffeine half-life calculator (caffeine half-life calculator), check the latest safe timing with the last-cup tool (latest cup before bedtime), and compare servings side-by-side (caffeine comparison tool). For withdrawal plans and pregnancy-specific advice, consult our dedicated guides (withdrawal guide, pregnancy guide), and when in doubt ask a clinician.