Caffeine is a bitter substance found in over 60 plants and is commonly used in various foods and drinks in our daily diet. Although not typically associated with chocolate and sweets, caffeine can be found in chocolate in high amounts.
Keep on reading to learn more about this and other interesting facts about caffeine and its effects on your body.
Does Chocolate Have Caffeine?
Chocolate is a popular product with numerous health benefits if ingested in moderation. However, although it’s rarely discussed, chocolate also contains caffeine and other substances that have a stimulatory effect on people.
Cocoa beans used to make chocolate have a small amount of caffeine. It’s estimated that three million tons of beans are used to make chocolate every year. Depending on the type of chocolate you choose, it can have a different effect on you.
Caffeine percentage in different kinds of chocolate
The percentage of caffeine in chocolate depends on the product’s cocoa percentage. Dark chocolate typically has a higher amount of caffeine than milk chocolate.
For example, milk chocolate contains around 3.5–6mg per ounce, while some types of dark chocolate can go up to 160mg per 3.5 ounces. Also, 8 ounces of chocolate milk contain the amount of caffeine equal to a cup of decaffeinated coffee, whereas the same amount of hot cocoa has around 3–13mg of caffeine.
In case you were wondering does white chocolate have caffeine, the answer is no. It can be safely consumed by those who suffer from cocoa or caffeine sensitivity because cocoa beans aren’t used in its production.
How do caffeine and chocolate stimulate our brains?
Although chocolate contains caffeine, that substance alone isn’t the reason chocolate has a nice stimulating effect on us. Cocoa beans also contain theophylline and theobromine, which are the main culprits for the stimulating nature of chocolate.
These substances facilitate the production of serotonin, which is why we feel good after eating chocolate. On the other hand, caffeine is a mild stimulant that wakes up our brain and makes it more focused.
In combination, these substances stimulate our brain on several levels that affect our mood over a prolonged period of time. Theobromine reacts positively with caffeine, removing its negative effects like jitters and sleep problems.
How Long Does Caffeine Stay In Your System & Other Facts
Caffeine is one of the most widespread stimulants in the world. It’s estimated that adult Americans consume around 200mg of caffeine (two 5-ounce cups of coffee) a day on average.
While the US FDA classifies it as both a drug and an additive, consuming up to 400mg a day shouldn’t cause any problem for a healthy adult. However, there’s no typical reaction to caffeine, and it depends a lot on an individual and their sensitivity to this substance.
For those sensitive to caffeine, even moderate amounts can trigger insomnia, restlessness, or anxiety. However, regardless of your sensitivity to it, nutritional experts agree that you shouldn’t consume more than 600mg a day to avoid developing dependency and triggering health issues.
Although people usually associate it with coffee, you can also find caffeine in chocolate, tea, and different sodas. It improves one’s concentration and signals the brain to reduce fatigue, boosting energy, and overall alertness.
You can feel the effects some 15 minutes after consuming caffeine. These effects peak after an hour, and the substance remains in your organism for several hours (up to ten) after consumption.
If you’re unsure whether/or how sensitive you are, watch for symptoms an hour after consuming it. Typical signs of ingesting too much caffeine are feeling dizzy or shaky, dehydrated, getting a headache, or experiencing an abnormal heartbeat. Sleep problems are also a frequent side-effect of regular consumption of high amounts of caffeine.
In case you develop a dependency and decide to cut back on caffeine, you can start experiencing withdrawal symptoms 12 hours after the last consumption. For the next week or so, you may experience headaches, nausea, tiredness, random muscle pains, and irritability.
What has more caffeine, coffee or chocolate?
The answer to this question largely depends on the type of chocolate and the type of coffee you compare. There are a lot of factors that influence this: brewing methods, cacao levels, water ratio, etc.
For example, 3.5 ounces of dark chocolate high in cacao has more caffeine (80mg) than a shot of espresso (64mg). On the other hand, a cup of brewed coffee has five times more caffeine than a chocolate bar.
One coffee bean has 6mg of caffeine on average, but the amount of it you ingest while drinking coffee depends on the preparation process. In the same way, caffeine in chocolate comes from cocoa beans, so the amount of it in chocolate depends on the percentage of cocoa in the product.
What chocolate is high in caffeine?
While chocolate does have caffeine, however it’s an amount too low to have any significant effect. So unless you have sensitivity to caffeine, you won’t notice the effects after eating chocolate.
Milk chocolate is typically the lowest on the scale of caffeine amounts. Depending on the type and the producer, this type of chocolate has 3.5–6mg of caffeine per ounce. Therefore, if you eat a bar of milk chocolate, the effect will be as if you drank a cup of decaf coffee.
However, dark chocolate can have 5–20mg of caffeine per ounce. Therefore, dark chocolate can be very high in caffeine, with some kinds reaching 160mg per 3.5 ounces.
Wrapping Up
We reached the end of today’s look into chocolate, the caffeine found in it, and the effects it can have on our bodies. If you’ve found yourself wondering: ‘’Does chocolate have caffeine?’’ after eating one too many bars in the evening, this article answers it all.
We hope you learned some interesting facts that’ll inspire you to do your own research and enjoy your favorite chocolate bar more.
FAQ
Is there caffeine in chocolate?
Chocolate is a source of caffeine, although the amounts of caffeine in chocolate aren’t as high as those in coffee or other products.
Can chocolate keep you awake?
Chocolate can definitely be the thing keeping you awake at night. However, ingesting chocolate before sleep can affect your brain’s ability to get to the deeper stages of sleep.
Does dark chocolate have caffeine?
Dark chocolate is the kind of chocolate with the highest amount of caffeine. While this amount of caffeine isn’t enough to have a significant effect, some types can have up to 160mg per 3.5 ounces.
Is there caffeine in chocolate milk?
Chocolate milk has a certain amount of caffeine. For example, an eight-ounce glass of chocolate milk has an equal amount of caffeine as a cup of decaffeinated coffee.
