Cappuccinos from Costa contain almost five times more caffeine than those from Starbucks, a study has found. Consumer champion group Which? has revealed a huge disparity in the amount of caffeine in drinks from different high street coffee chains.
A Costa medium cappuccino has three shots of espresso and 325mg of caffeine - roughly the same amount as four cups of tea or four cans of Red Bull. Greggs had the second highest cappuccino caffeine levels with 197mg, while Pret a Manger was third with 180mg.
Which? nutritionist Shefalee Loth said: "Many of us rely on coffee to get us through the dark winter mornings, but our research shows you may be consuming significantly more, or less, caffeine than you bargained for." She added people who are sensitive to caffeine or need to avoid it for health reasons, such as being pregnant, may want to request fewer shots when ordering.
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A Starbucks medium cappuccino contains just 66mg of caffeine, while its espresso has half that - making the chain clearly the best high street choice for those wanting to cut down their caffeine intake. Caffè Nero had the second lowest levels of caffeine after Starbucks in both cappuccinos (110-115mg) and espressos (45mg).
By comparison, a 250ml can of popular energy drink Red Bull contains around 80mg. The US Food and Drug Administration considers 400mg a safe amount of caffeine for healthy adults to consume daily, reported the Guardian.
The Which? research found that the single espresso offering the biggest caffeine hit was from Pret a Manger, with 180mg. Pret’s filter coffee also contained the most caffeine at 271mg - two-and-a-half times as much as the Starbucks equivalent.
Most of the coffees in the chains featured in the study have at least two shots of espresso. Which? said the variety of coffee beans was another factor that could affect caffeine content,, with arabica beans containing about half the caffeine of robusta beans.
A Costa Coffee spokesperson said the caffeine content of its drinks was clearly displayed in its stores and on its website, and the chain would "encourage customers to be aware of the caffeine content". They added: "All Costa coffees can be enjoyed with decaf coffee and we offer a wide range of non-caffeinated drinks."
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