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ConsumerLab.com Answers
How Much Caffeine is Really in Dark Chocolate Bars?
Question: How much caffeine is really in dark chocolate bars?
Answer: Most dark chocolate bars don't list the amounts of caffeine they contain. The same holds true for the amounts of cocoa flavanols.
However, our tests of popular dark chocolates showed that, other than one bar which provides 7 mg of caffeine, the others provide about 40 to 50 mg of caffeine per listed serving (about 40 grams of chocolate). This is about how much you would get from a can of cola or a cup of green tea and about half the amount in a cup of regular, brewed coffee.
We found cocoa powders provided 8 to 20 mg of caffeine per tablespoon. Among cocoa supplements however, the amount of caffeine per suggested serving ranged from less than 1 mg to a whopping 142.5 mg.
chocolate does not contain caffeine, but rather, contains theobromine a similar stimulant having a substantially similar chemical structure as caffeine.
Hi Jonathan - Dark chocolate typically contains both caffeine and theobromine. You can see the amounts we found for each, in the Results section of the Cocoa Powders, Dark Chocolate, Extracts, Nibs and Supplements Review: https://www.consumerlab.com/reviews//cocoa-flavanols/#results
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This CL Answer initially posted on 5/30/2015.
Last updated 8/3/2017.
ConsumerLab.com members may submit questions to CLAnswers@ConsumerLab.com. We read all questions and try to answer those of popular interest.
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