Know Your Caffeine Content

You might find that you benefit from knowing the caffeine content of the drinks you are drinking, especially if you have ever been affected by coffee - either to a greater or lesser extent - than you expected to be.

Starbucks is one of the favorite coffee destinations of most Americans. The Frappuccino is one of the most popular of all of their specialty drinks. You will espcially see people drinking this drink - and might even be especially tempted by this drink yourself - during the hot summer months, but did you know that the Frappuccino has no caffeine in it? The Frappuccino is actually powder-based, and contains only coffee flavoring and no real coffee. On those hot, summer days when you want something to not only refresh you but to also wake you up, reconsider before swinging by Starbucks for a Frappuccino.

Another source of confusion regarding caffeine content comes from espresso. In fact, regular consumers are not the only ones confused by espresso; it is not unusual to find a barista making a comment about how you must really need to stay awake if you ever order an espresso-based drink and request an extra shot. But while espresso does, in fact, contain more caffeine per ounce than coffee, it is rare for an espresso-based drink to contain more than two or three ounces of actual espresso. One example is a venti latte at Starbucks - the largest size offered - which only comes with three shots (or ounces) of espresso. As a shot of espresso typically contains between 35 and 50 milligrams of caffeine, this amounts to between 105 and 150 milligrams of caffeine.

On the other hand, you get between 115 and 150 milligrams of caffeine from a single cup. If you order a venti coffee at Starbucks - which is 20 ounces, or two and a half cups, of coffee - you are getting over 300 milligrams of caffeine. This means that the venti espresso drink is giving you less than half the caffeine you get from a venti coffee.

If you are sensitive to caffeine, you might actually want to consider espresso drinks over plain coffee. As long as you make sure you are aware of how many shots of espresso comes in a drink, you can actually consume a lot less caffeine. On the other hand, if you are wondering why caffeine is not making a big difference for you, you might be getting a lot less caffeine than you actually thought!