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How Much Caffeine is Really in Dark Chocolate Bars?

Question:
How much caffeine is really in dark chocolate bars?
Reviewed and edited by Tod Cooperman, M.D. Tod Cooperman, M.D.
Initial Posting: 5/30/2015    Last Update: 8/3/2017
How much caffeine is really in dark chocolate bars? -- Dark chocolate
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.

You can find out exactly how much caffeine and cocoa flavanols (and contaminating heavy metals) we found in a variety of products in our Cocoa Powders, Dark Chocolate, Extracts, Nibs, & Supplements Review >>

You may also be interested in these related CL Answers:



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Which dark chocolate bar has the most flavanols with the least calories? >>

Why is there so much cadmium, a toxin, in cocoa powders but not in dark chocolate? >>

How much fat is there in chocolate? Is it saturated fat? >>

 See other recent and popular questions >>
COMMENTS
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Jonathan 1750   June 1, 2015
chocolate does not contain caffeine, but rather, contains theobromine a similar stimulant having a substantially similar chemical structure as caffeine.
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ConsumerLab.com   June 1, 2015
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.
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