What is Caffeine?
Caffeine:
Caffeine is a type of stimulant drug, which speeds up the messages traveling between the brain and body. Caffeine affects the nervous system, heart, and muscles.
Caffeine is the common name for the chemical name 1,3,7‐trimethylxanthine, which was derived from the German word kaffee and the French word café - both simply meaning coffee. According to The Journal of Nutrition, caffeine was consumed as far back as 2737 BC when Chinese Emperor Shen Nung boiled drinking water and leaves, creating a pleasant aroma and the first pot of tea. It is a naturally occurring alkaloid (organic compound) that is found in varying quantities in the beans, leaves, and fruits of more than 60 plants.
Where can you find caffeine?
Some common sources of caffeine are the kola nut, cacao bean, yerba mate, and guarana berries. It is mostly known to be found in coffee products made of coffee beans (Arabica or Robusta), and tea leaves.
How much caffeine in your cup of coffee?
- Brewed Coffee: 70 - 140 mg caffeine in 8 oz. cup
- Espresso: 63 mg caffeine in a shot (which also equals to about 1- 1.75 oz.)
- Espresso-based drinks: 63 mg caffeine in a small cup and 125 mg in a large cup
- Instant Coffee: 30 - 90 mg of caffeine (Waka Coffee has about 70 mg of caffeine as indicated by Caffeine Informer)
- Decaf Coffee: 0 - 7 mg of caffeine
How much caffeine in your cup of tea?
- Brewed Black Tea: 25 - 48 mg of caffeine in 8oz. cup
- Decaf Black Tea: 2 - 5 mg of caffeine in 8oz. cup
- Brewed Green Tea: 25-29 mg of caffeine in 8oz. cup
- Bottled Tea: 5-40 mg of caffeine
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