MOST people rely on at least a few coffees to help get them through the day, but a new study aims to explore the caffeine content of some of Australia’s most regularly consumed brews.
Existing research suggests people should consume no more than 400mg of coffee a day.
The study, conducted by Crema Coffee Garage in conjunction with Chemistry Staff in the University of Newcastle,examined five common brews to determine just how much caffeine each contained.
Brews examined during the study included espresso, stove top espresso, cold brew, French press and pour over coffee.
Stove top espresso and French press coffees were found to contain 65-73mg and 74-87mg of coffee respectively, meaning five of each can be consumed before the drinker exceeds their daily limit.
A cup of barista made espresso coffee was found to contain 125mg, meaning three a day would keep caffeine levels below the recommended daily limit.
Cold brew coffee was found to contain 134mg, meaning three a day would put the drinker just over the limit, but two would keep them well below.
Pour over coffee was found to contain 173mg a day, so anything more than two a day would well and truly exceed the recommended limit.
But the news wasn’t all good for home brewers – the study also found Australian consumers tended to ignore or were unaware of recommended serving sizes, particularly French Press and Stovetop methods of brewing.
Researchers found many Australian consumers tended to drink the entire contents of a 3 Cup French Press or a 2-3 Cup Stovetop brew during a single serving.
Findings indicated many people were putting as much as 100ml of coffee (219mg) of caffeine in a single stove top serving and up to 300ml of coffee (223mg of caffeine) into a single French press serving.
To read the full study, click here.
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