Most lovers of coffee pods love them because of the caffeine present in the final brew. It’s not a new concept. Everybody knows that the primary constituent of coffee that makes it more useful is caffeine. If you are an astute lover of coffee, it's not just the taste of coffee you want. In most cases, you want your daily dose of Coffee because of the caffeine content.
When people claim that caffeine is what helps the world to go round, you shouldn't doubt them. If you take a cup of coffee every day or frequently, caffeine makes your world go round. Caffeine is the active ingredient in coffee. This constituent is what gives you that vibrant feeling you enjoy after you take a cup of coffee.
Caffeine is one of the most critical constituents present in coffee pods. Therefore, it's only normal to have caffeine in all coffee pods to make it work optimally. What different coffee pod manufacturers do is reduce or customize the amount of caffeine in your coffee pods.
So, not all coffee pods have the exact volume of caffeine. While some have average caffeine content, others have a high caffeine content to give you that extra kick.
As much as caffeine keeps you active, you need to still watch how much caffeine you take into your system. This brings you to ask how much caffeine is in coffee pods? In this article, we'll be discussing the amount of caffeine in different types of coffee pods. Also, we'll discuss the factors that contribute to the caffeine content of coffee pods.
What is the Amount of Caffeine Present in Coffee Pods?
An excellent advantage a coffee pod gives you is the convenience of brewing your coffee. All you need to do is to have your favourite coffee pod and hot water. This way, it is easy to brew as many cups of coffee pods that you want daily. That means you can take in as much caffeine as you wish daily!
The internet is a great source of information. Unfortunately, some of that information can be wrong. If you are an avid internet user, you will notice several blogs talking about the caffeine in coffee pods and how the quantity is a lot. In most cases, the carriers of these rumours are the people who have hated the coffee pod idea since its inception. To clear your doubts, the amount of caffeine in coffee pods is not too much. However, coffee pod's caffeine content isn’t always consistent within all coffee pods.
The first reason for this inconsistency is the several types of coffee pods available from different global brands. Unfortunately, when you buy coffee pods, not many brands indicate the amount of caffeine in their products. Therefore, the question you may ask is, do coffee pods have too much caffeine?
In most cases, you'll only be taking too much caffeine in coffee pods when you take several cups daily. Because in most coffee pods, the caffeine content is average. Besides, caffeine is not the only constituent of coffee pods; there are many other constituents that combine to give you that taste you love.
Like we said earlier, the caffeine in coffee pods isn't the same for different coffee pods. One apparent reason for that is these coffee pods don't come from the same manufacturer.
More so, most manufacturers try to make different coffee pods that suit other consumers. However, we can provide an answer to the question of how much caffeine is present in coffee pods by using an average figure. Let's take a look at some case studies.
Case study: What's the amount of caffeine in most coffee pods?
There are three primary models of coffee pods. Each one of these models has its respective features, taste, and differences. One of the common differences you'll notice within these coffee pods is the coffee pods caffeine content. The three types of coffee pods alongside their coffee content are;
- Smaller coffee pods: For this type of coffee pod, the caffeine content ranges between 40 and 45mg for every twelve ounces. For brewed pods, on the other hand, the caffeine content ranges between 50 and 60mg.
- Standard coffee pods: This is a common type of coffee pod. The amount of caffeine in these coffee pods is about 130mg for every eight ounces.
- Plus pods: If you've ever taken these types of coffee pods, you may have noticed the small size. This coffee pod may not make you a large amount of coffee, but it gives you a higher caffeine kick. For every eight ounces of these pods, you get up to 260mg of caffeine.
As you can see from the above list, these three coffee pods come from the same source. However, the coffee pod’s caffeine content is all different from each other. For example, if you take 8 ounces of the standard coffee pod two times, your caffeine content is about 260mg. On the other hand, if you take the plus pods with this same size two times, your caffeine content is about 520mg.
The surprising fact is plus pods may not result in the same quantity of coffee that standard pods make. However, in terms of caffeine content, it has more to offer.
What is the Standard Quantity of Caffeine in Regular Coffee Pods?
The truth is there are too many types of coffee pods around the globe to give an accurate answer. More so, you need to define what the standard coffee pod is before you know the right amount of caffeine. You must remember that all the various types of coffee pods have multiple standards. So, the question you should ask is, what is a standard coffee pod?
Generally, most coffee lovers agree that a cup of coffee that weighs eight-ounce is the standard cup of coffee. Going by this standard only means that a coffee pod that can make a cup of coffee that weighs eight ounces is the typical coffee pod.
How much Caffeine is in Coffee Pods?
In most cases, an eight-ounce cup of coffee contains about 100mg of caffeine. If we're going by this standard, we can say your coffee pod containing between 90mg to 130mg of caffeine is standard.
However, it will be best if you remembered that there are different producers of coffee pods. So the caffeine in an eight-ounce coffee pod may not be the same for two producers. Let's take a look at some factors that affect the caffeine content in your favourite coffee pods.
Related Article: What Are The Best Coffee Pods?
What are the Factors that Determine Caffeine Content in Coffee Pods?
Trying to know the amount of caffeine in coffee pods can help you document your caffeine intake. This way, you have an exact figure of how much caffeine you take daily. That way, you can reduce it or observe the way your body reacts to caffeine.
While the caffeine content is vital, shouldn't you bother about why the caffeine in coffee pods is different? All coffee gets its source from coffee beans. Coffee pods may go through a lot of production processes, but the primary source is coffee beans. Since there's only one source, don't you think the caffeine in coffee pods should be equal or very similar?
The simple answer to this question is 'no.' You can't assume that the caffeine content should be the same because of the coffee beans. Brewing your coffee with coffee pods may be easy, but making those pods often depend on some factors. Some of these factors include:
Coffee beans
The process of producing coffee or coffee pods starts with the coffee beans. Now, there are many options of coffee beans that coffee pod manufacturers can choose from. Each of these coffee beans has different levels of caffeine content. Some coffee beans may have high caffeine content, while some may have low content.
A good example is the Arabica coffee beans and the Robusta coffee beans. These two types of beans are common for coffee pod production. In fact, some manufacturers mix both. However, the caffeine content in these coffee beans is different from each other. For the Arabica beans, you have a caffeine content of 1.5%, while the Robusta has a caffeine concentration of 2.4%.
Therefore, there's a high chance for a coffee pod made from Robusta beans to have higher caffeine than Arabica beans. Some other beans with caffeine content include Tanzania Peaberry, Mexico Pluma Altura, amongst others.
Roasting of coffee
As a coffee pods lover, you must have noticed some coffee pods appear darker than others after you brew. It doesn't mean the lighter one is fake or below standards. What it means is that it has a lighter roast than the other coffee pod. The roast of the coffee pod affects the caffeine content.
After picking the coffee beans, the next production step is the roasting process. When roasting coffee, most coffee pod manufacturers choose between a light roast or a dark roast. The only difference between these two roasting processes is the roasting time. The darker roast requires more time.
Usually, the caffeine content hardly changes during the roasting period. However, the property of the beans changes when you roast them. First, the beans become dry, and it gets more extensive and dense. The roasting process isn't the primary factor that influences the caffeine content; it's the weight.
The total weight and volume of the coffee beans after the roasting process influence the caffeine in coffee pods. For the light roast, it spends less time roasting, so it still has more water content. So while the light roast may have less flavour, it may have slightly higher caffeine content.
Grinding of Coffee
After reading, the next step to make coffee pods is grinding. The grinding process also influences the quality of caffeine in coffee pods. The major driving force for grinding is the size of the grind and the total grind time.
Researchers from Lakehead University here in Canada did some research about the standard grinding time. This research suggests that the average grinding time for optimal caffeine content is about forty-two seconds. The study goes ahead to also opine that the caffeine content skyrockets when coffee pod makers grind the beans for about forty seconds.
Weight and volume of coffee beans
This factor may be surprising, but it's a primary player that influences how much caffeine is present in your coffee pods. After you roast your coffee beans, you can take measurements of both the light roast and dark roast. Let's assume you fill both the light roast and dark roast in two separate bowls of equal sizes. The light roast will have more beans (and higher caffeine content) because of its smaller sizes.
That means, by volume, the light roast coffee beans will have more caffeine than the dark roast. However, let's take a larger size of dark roast coffee beans vs. a smaller size of light roast. The larger size of the dark roast will have more caffeine content. So, by weight, a larger size dark roast has more caffeine than the lighter roasts.
Manufacturer customization.
As we have mentioned earlier, the choice of the manufacturer increases the amount of caffeine present in your coffee pods. If the manufacturer decides to add more caffeine constituents, there'll be more caffeine in the coffee pods.
For example, some coffee pods are made from a mix of Arabica and Robusta coffee beans. If the Robusta quantity is higher than the Arabica, the coffee pod may have more caffeine content.
Related Article: How Long Do Coffee Pods Last: Your Questions Answered
Conclusion
Coffee pods save you unnecessary stress when it’s time to brew your coffee. However, a common misconception is that there's too much caffeine in coffee pods. This article has answered the question of how much caffeine is present in your coffee pods.
Many factors can add to the caffeine content in your coffee pods. It depends on the type of coffee beans used and their method of manufacturing.
Here at Invigo Coffee, we only offer coffee pods with average caffeine content. As a result, you don’t have to worry about taking too much caffeine for your own good. Shop with us today!
