How Much Caffeine Is in a Latte? (And Every Other Coffee Drink)

The Short Answer

A latte's caffeine comes entirely from the espresso. Milk contributes none. So the only number that matters is how many shots are in the cup.

Using the sizes we pour at Revival — a small (8 oz) is built on one shot, a medium (12 oz) and a large (16 oz) on two — that works out to roughly:

• Small latte (8 oz, one shot) — about 64 mg
• Medium latte (12 oz, two shots) — about 127 mg
• Large latte (16 oz, two shots) — about 127 mg

Yes, the medium and the large are the same. Going up a size adds milk, not caffeine. That surprises most people, and it's the single most useful thing on this page.

Where These Numbers Come From

Not from us guessing. The USDA's FoodData Central database lists restaurant-prepared espresso at 212 mg of caffeine per 100 grams. A standard 1-ounce shot is about 30 grams, which puts a single shot at roughly 64 mg and a double at roughly 127 mg.

The same database lists brewed coffee prepared with tap water at 40 mg per 100 grams — about 95 mg in an 8-ounce cup, or about 140 mg in a 12-ounce one.

Treat all of these as estimates, not guarantees. Caffeine content shifts with the bean, the roast, the grind, how finely it's dosed, and how long the shot runs. The FDA's own consumer guidance puts regular brewed non-specialty coffee anywhere from 113 to 247 milligrams per 12-fluid-ounce serving — a range wide enough to cover two very different cups. Anyone quoting you a single exact number for "a cup of coffee" is rounding off a lot of reality.

Caffeine by Drink

Here's how the rest of the board works. Where a drink's shot count depends on what you order, the honest answer is the shot count rather than a single figure.

• Espresso — about 64 mg for a single, about 127 mg for a double. This is the base unit for everything below it.
• Latte — shot count, as above. One shot in a small, two in a medium or large.
• Flat white — built on a double shot, so about 127 mg.
• Cappuccino, macchiato, americano — all espresso drinks, so the caffeine tracks however many shots go in rather than the size of the cup. A macchiato is tiny and an americano fills a mug, but if both are built on one shot they carry about the same caffeine. If you want to know, ask how many shots — it's a normal question.
• Mocha — the espresso plus a small additional amount from the chocolate.
• Drip coffee — about 95 mg in an 8-ounce cup, about 140 mg in a 12-ounce one, scaling with the size rather than with shots.

If you want to know what any of these drinks actually *is* rather than what it contains, our guide to every espresso drink covers that.

Why a Bigger Latte Isn't a Stronger One

Because the shot count doesn't change between our medium and large, ordering up gets you more milk and a milder-tasting drink — not more caffeine.

If your latte tasted weak and you want to fix it, that's an ordering question rather than a caffeine one, and we've covered it in detail in how to order a latte, an espresso, or a cappuccino.

Cold Brew: The Honest Answer

There isn't a reliable single number, and we'd rather say so than make one up.

Cold brew caffeine depends almost entirely on the recipe — the ratio of coffee to water, the steep time, and critically whether what reaches your cup is concentrate or already diluted. Two shops can serve cold brew with very different caffeine levels and both be correct. Ours is slow-steeped for 18 hours, which shapes how it tastes far more predictably than it pins down a milligram count.

What's generally true: cold brew is not automatically the strongest thing on a menu, and it is not automatically mild either. If caffeine is the deciding factor for you, an espresso drink is the easier one to reason about, because you can count the shots.

Decaf Is Not Caffeine-Free

It's close, though. The USDA lists decaffeinated brewed coffee at 1 mg per 100 grams — about 2 mg in an 8-ounce cup — and decaffeinated espresso at the same 1 mg per 100 grams, which is a fraction of a milligram in a shot.

For context, that 8-ounce decaf has roughly one-fortieth the caffeine of the regular version. For nearly everyone that's a rounding error; if you're avoiding caffeine under medical advice, it's worth knowing the number isn't zero.

How Much Is Too Much?

The FDA's consumer guidance says that for most adults, 400 milligrams a day — about two to three 12-fluid-ounce cups of coffee — is an amount not generally associated with negative effects.

Against that, a medium latte at roughly 127 mg is about a third of the day's allowance. Three of them gets you near it.

Two caveats worth more than the number itself:

1. That figure is for healthy adults generally. It isn't guidance for everyone — pregnancy, certain medications, and some medical conditions all change the picture, and that's a conversation for a doctor rather than a coffee shop.
2. People differ enormously. The FDA is explicit that there is "wide variation in both how sensitive people are to the effects of caffeine and how fast they eliminate it from the body." The 2 PM cup that does nothing to your friend can still be working on you at bedtime. If afternoon coffee keeps you up, that's not in your head — and our guide to what coffee you should order has the afternoon options.

The Practical Version

• Caffeine lives in the espresso. Milk, syrup, and foam add none.
• Count shots, not ounces.
• One shot is roughly 64 mg; a double is roughly 127 mg; an 8-ounce drip coffee is roughly 95 mg.
• Every number here is an estimate with real variation behind it.
• Decaf isn't zero, but it's close.

Our full menu is online, and you're welcome to ask how many shots go into anything when you order — we'd rather tell you than have you guess. Come find us at 1251 S. Sherman St. Ste. 112, open 7 AM to 3 PM Monday through Friday, with weekend hours still being finalized.