Academic

Comparing Caffeine In Soda

By Dan Filler

Count this among the questions that I never thought to ask: does house brand soda - Publix Cola, Sam's Cola, Diet Dr. Thunder, and the like - have different caffeine levels than name brands?  I'd long assumed that coffees were dosed very differently - and my assumption was correct.    One study showed that Starbucks coffee contains 56% more caffeine than the drink you buy at a local gas station or donuteria.   But it turns out that the same is true - indeed more so - when you compare name-brands like Coke to house brands.  According to Caffeine Content of Prepackaged National-Brand and Private-Label Carbonated Beverages, some house brand sodas have less than half the caffeine of name brand products.  Others have far more.  IGA Cola came in at less than 5mg of caffeine in a 12 ounce serving; Big Fizz Cola, from Rite Aid, contained 46mg.  The big names?  Coke had 33 mg, Pepsi had 39 mg, and RC had 45 mg.  The Diet versions can be quite different from their parent product; Diet Coke, for example, has 46mg.  And yes, Mountain Dew really is stronger, coming in at 55mg per can. 

If you're a caffeine addict, these small differences could matter.  A person who drinks 4 Pepsis per day taps 156 mg of caffeine.  If you're in a cash crunch and go with Piggly Wiggly Cola, you'll only rack up about 50 mg.  Your punishment for poverty?  A whopping caffeine withdrawl headache. 

For coffee drinkers, this is all child's play.  One tall cup of Starbucks drip coffee will earn you 260mg of caffeine.   Indeed, one cup of Seattle's Best decaf tested by Consumer Reports contained 29 mg of caffeine - almost the same as a Coke.

Full post as published by The Faculty Lounge on May 21, 2008 (boomark / email).