A wake-up call for Coffee Drinkers

According to Tara Parker who authors the NYT's Well Blog, coffee drinkers may be getting an unwanted jolt from their morning decaf.

Coffee sleuths from Consumer Reports recently tested cups of decaf at Dunkin’ Donuts, Starbucks, Seattle’s Best Coffee, 7-Eleven, McDonald’s and Burger King. Most of the 10- to 12-ounce decafs tested had less than five milligrams, the magazine reports in its November issue. But one decaf from Dunkin’ Donuts contained 32 milligrams of caffeine — about the same amount in 12 ounces of Coca-Cola Classic. A cup of Seattle’s Best was found to contain 29 milligrams of caffeine, while a tall Starbucks decaf packed 21 milligrams. Results varied at each chain, but the magazine found that the decaf at McDonald’s consistently had the lowest levels of caffeine. FYI a regular cup has from 85 to 100 milligrams of caffeine.

Parker further points out that "It’s long been known that the decaffeinating process doesn’t eliminate 100 percent of the caffeine in coffee, but there are no standards for acceptable levels in brewed decaf. Last year, University of Florida researchers also tested several 16-ounce servings of decaf, finding the caffeine content ranged from nine to 14 milligrams, according to a study published in the Journal of Analytical Toxicology."

The Consumer Report showed that there is a wide variability in caffeine levels in both decaf and caffeinated coffees. Caffienated coffees varied widely in terms of caffeine content ranging from 58 all the way up to 281 milligrams.

Source: NYT Well Blog