CAFFEINE: HOW MUCH DO CUPS AND MUGS OF COFFEE CONTAIN?

How much caffeine is in a cup of coffee ? In general, how many coffees a day could we drink without putting our health at risk? What are the effects of caffeine on the human body ? To answer these questions without committing inaccuracies, it would be advisable to consult a nutrition expert. We can limit ourselves to collecting the most authoritative opinions taken from the scientific debate and concentrate on what we do best: talking about coffee. An expert of this drink, in fact, knows every detail that concerns it starting from the conformation of the plant to ending up with the ideal quantity of caffeine that will be contained in a cup.

Caffeine is a plant protection system

Caffeine is a stimulant that was discovered much later than the use of plants as healing remedies. It is a form of defense that some plants produce to sterilize harmful insects and keep fungi and bacteria at bay. So it is a completely natural substance which, however, has been shown to have exciting effects that are now known to all. Proof of its natural saving function is given by the use of coffee grounds in plants , especially in summer. In fact, these will keep mosquitoes and other insects away, giving your seedlings some peace. However, we warn you not to overdo the doses because caffeine could sterilize the soil over time and, therefore, cause the plant to die due to lack of nutrients.

It should never be abused

The dangerousness of caffeine for the aggressive agents of plants is now being studied in many scientific fields, from medicine to aerospace. The point is that cocoa, guarana, coffee and many other plants are being analyzed above all because caffeine could become a non-toxic herbicide or pesticide for human health . Right now we are reducing all scientific knowledge on the subject to a few lines, so we don’t need experts. What we need to clarify for the purposes of this study is the effect of caffeine and the quantities that are considered normal in a cup of coffee. For the progress of science, on the other hand, we certainly defer to those who know more than us.

The effects on the human body

Despite these premises we must recognize that the use of stimulants to stay awake or to be more energetic has existed since the world has existed. Man has practically always used it in various forms and for different purposes which can range from the need to control sleep to that of improving mood. Well, caffeine is one of these substances since it acts directly on the respiratory, central nervous and cardiovascular systems. It is now quite established that caffeine also acts on weight loss , since it stimulates lipolysis and helps to lose fat. In fact, in recent years, caffeine has become the main ingredient in cosmetics and productsfor aesthetic beauty, especially for the contrast of fat deposits or to tone the face. At the same time, caffeine is used to improve sports performance , alongside similar protein-based or very different stimulants such as taurine.

If you want to know more, you can read our article on the benefits of coffee

How does it activate our nervous system?

In particular, cocaine is a chemical substance that appears white in color and has a bitter taste. It is soluble and fine, like a sugary powder. When we take it through coffee it is absorbed by the membranes of the stomach and intestines, flowing quickly into our body through the blood. At that point the stimulating effect begins which can last for many hours . It all depends on the lifestyle and clinical condition of the subject, for which it would be misleading to give exact numerical indications.

Usually within an hour caffeine reaches the peak concentration in the blood, reaching the brain and stimulating it. That’s why if you have a coffee and go to sleep shortly after you won’t struggle to fall asleep. Conversely , if you are a light sleeper, the caffeine spike in your blood could wake you up and make it difficult to fall asleep. 

How much caffeine is contained in an espresso?

Going back to coffee, therefore, caffeine can certainly have effects on the body but these become quite visible when we exaggerate with the daily cups. This means that by respecting standard and non-dangerous quantities, we can sleep even after drinking a coffee. It all depends on the concentration of caffeine in the cup , the quality of the drink and the quantities consumed. There is no standard value that precisely identifies how much caffeine is contained in a cup of coffee but only a rather truthful hypothetical range. In fact, it would seem that the quantity fluctuates between fifty and four hundred milligrams per cup , a very broad and difficult range to interpret, don’t you think?

The point is that to really understand how much caffeine is contained in a cup of coffee, you need to know exactly the following information:

 Amount of powder used to make coffee:

•  Variety of coffees;
• Type of grains;
• water temperature;
•  Extraction time;
•  Quantity of drink in cup.

The main thing is not to overdo it

If you don’t have all this information available, we can only limit ourselves to hypothesizing an estimate that, more or less, everyone agrees on. Therefore, when the coffee is ground very finely, the amount of caffeine in the cup tends to be higher. The same applies to “long” coffees, i.e. coffees poured into the cup by applying a longer infusion time . For an acceptable quality Arabica and a standard 30 milliliter espresso, the amount of caffeine is around 40-100 milligrams. This means that, in one day, you can get even more than three coffees without too many risks to health or sleep. Very often the energizing effect of coffee is more of the “placebo” type, ie conditioned by our mind. It is not easy to determine when coffee is really exciting and when, on the other hand, it is rather low in caffeine . As far as we are concerned, we can say that coffee must be a pleasure and, therefore, half measures are always the ideal choice.

Coffee is not to be demonized

The same goes for the risk/benefit discourse of caffeine that splits the scientific community in two. While on the one hand there are those who put the spotlight on the health benefits, especially for those who need to lose fat, on the other there are those who alert people with circulatory problems and smokers. Excessive consumption of caffeine , in fact, could worsen mood, circulation, concentration and sleep quality.

Also consider that in the supermarket there are many exciting products for which coffee is certainly not the first on the list among the “indicted” Theine, methylxanthine, theobromine, taurine, etc. are all substances similar to caffeine for which the list of products to consume responsibly could be very long.