A cappuccino from Costa Coffee contains over three-and-a-half times as much caffeine as one from Starbucks and as much caffeine as four cans of Red Bull, a new report has found.
According to a study by consumer watchdog Which?, which compared the caffeine content of popular drinks from coffee shop chains, that a cappuccino at Costa contains 325mg of caffeine, compared with 89mg at Starbucks.
A single espresso at Pret a Manger, which contains 180mg of caffeine, has nearly four times as much caffeine as one from Starbucks (45mg).
A medium matcha latte from Costa serves 99mg of caffeine, compared with 57mg for a Starbucks matcha green tea latte and 28mg for a Pret version. This equates to three-and-a-half times more caffeine in Costa’s matcha latte compared with Pret’s. Meanwhile, Costa’s matcha latte contains more caffeine than a Starbucks cappuccino, flat white, latte and americano.
According to the British Heart Foundation, the caffeine limit for most adults is generally considered to be up to 400mg per day.
While the amount of coffee a drink actually contains will cause differences in caffeine content, other factors that can influence this include the type of coffee beans used, the roast, the grind and serving size, the brewing method, water temperature and length of extraction, according to the watchdog.
Pret and Starbucks use arabica beans, while Costa and Greggs use a combination of both arabica and robusta, with robusta beans containing around double the caffeine of arabica beans.
“Our research shows caffeine content varies wildly from chain to chain,” said Which? health and wellbeing expert Jessica Carson. “If you drink multiple cups a day or need to cut back for health reasons, pay attention to where you shop and what you order to avoid any unwanted side effects.”
Pret and Caffè Nero declined to comment. Costa, Starbucks and Greggs have been contacted for comment.
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