How Much Caffeine Is In Starbucks Drinks, and Are They Safe To Drink While Pregnant?

It's a cruel twist of fate: during those first few weeks of pregnancy, your energy can take a serious nosedive — right as you're supposed to be limiting your caffeine intake. Luckily for all those java enthusiasts and exhausted parents-to-be, consuming caffeine while pregnant isn't completely off limits. But if you're wondering how much caffeine you can have while pregnant, there is a recommended daily intake to keep in mind: the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists suggests you consume less than 200 milligrams of caffeine per day while pregnant. (And yes, decaf does, unfortunately, include a few milligrams.) That said, you should absolutely check in with your doctor about the safe limit for you, based on your personal health history and pregnancy. But the bottom line is, you may not have to, say, forgo your usual Starbucks stop the entire time you've got a bun in the oven. In fact, when you look at the caffeine in Starbucks's drinks, it's clear that there are plenty of options you can sip on that will still have you safely beneath that 200 milligram limit.

Check out our handy guide ahead to find out how much caffeine is in Starbucks drinks. (We sourced our information from the Starbucks site or, for bottled drinks, the PepsiCo Beverage Facts site.) But one other thing worth noting: caffeine isn't exclusive to coffee alone. It's also found in things like chocolate, tea, and soft drinks, so consume wisely and monitor how much coffee you drink alongside any other caffeine-filled foods. And again, if you're ever in any doubt, be sure to ask your doctor any questions you have about your caffeine intake during pregnancy.

Additional reporting by Melissa Santoyo

Caffeine in Starbucks Freshly Brewed Hot Coffee

  • A short cup contains anywhere from 130 mg to 180 mg of caffeine.
  • A tall of the Dark Roast has 195 mg of caffeine.
  • A venti decaf Pike Place has only 30 mg of caffeine.
  • A Caffè Misto contains 75 mg to 195 mg per cup, depending on the size.

At your local Starbucks, you can find several kinds of brewed hot coffee: the Veranda blend, the Pike Place (medium roast), and the Featured Dark Roast. Pregnant Starbucks enthusiasts looking for a coffee fix from this section of the menu could order a tall Dark Roast (which comes to 195 mg of caffeine) or a short cup (of any three of the brewed hot coffee options).

If you want a larger cup of that hot brew, opt for a decaf Pike Place — a venti of this brew is 30 mg of caffeine, so it offers a little pick-me-up without the overload. Alternatively, we recommend a Caffè Misto, which is half coffee, half milk, and contains 75 mg in a short cup and up to 195 mg in a venti cup.

Caffeine in Starbucks Espresso Drinks

  • All of these drinks vary based on the number of espresso shots added.
  • One 0.75-fluid-ounce shot of Starbucks espresso has about 75 mg of caffeine.

Whether served hot or cold, lattes, cappuccinos, macchiatos, mochas, americanos, and flat whites all contain espresso, and their caffeine levels will depend on the number of espresso shots added. Depending on the drink you choose, a short or tall version could contain either one or two shots of delicious espresso, so it could have as little as 75 mg of caffeine or upward of 150 mg.

Grande and tall versions of these varieties could contain two shots, bringing the cup to a 150 mg value. While that is still under that 200 mg limit (hooray!), some drinks of these sizes could have three shots, bringing it 25 mg over the daily limit. Just be sure to double check with your barista, and ask to tweak the number of shots if necessary.

Worth noting: the Starbucks website lets you ask for two different types of espresso roast (signature or blonde), as well as a decaf roast and options for a 1/3 to 2/3 decaf roasts. The site doesn't state how this will affect a drink's caffeine count, but it may be worth asking your barista if you are craving espresso but want to keep your caffeine levels low for the day.

Caffeine in Starbucks Iced Coffee

  • For a tall or a grande, a regular iced coffee contains as little as 120 mg of caffeine.
  • The venti, however, has 235 mg.

Starbucks only brews one type of iced coffee in its locations, which lands between 120 mg or 165 mg, depending on whether you're sipping out of a tall or grande cup. Steer clear of the venti or trenta sizes, though. With 235 mg of caffeine packed into the 24-ounce cup and 280 mg in the 30 ouncer, these drinks will put any pregnant person well over the recommended level of caffeine daily intake.

Caffeine in Starbucks Cold Brewed Coffee

  • A tall order of Starbucks cold brew contains 155 mg of caffeine.
  • The venti has 310 mg.
  • The tall nitro cold brew comes with a whopping 225 mg of caffeine.
  • The Starbucks Cold and Crafted bottled drinks range from 125 to 135 mg of caffeine.

At the 'bucks, regular cold-brewed coffee is slightly more restrictive: one tall (155 mg) is fine, but stay away from anything larger — even the grande puts you just over the limit at 205 mg of caffeine. Similarly, avoid the nitro cold brew. This drink is much more potent; a tall alone contains 215 mg of caffeine.

The Starbucks Cold and Crafted bottled drinks offer a little more leeway for pregnant coffee-lovers. There are four flavors to choose from in 11-oz. bottles: coffee with a splash of milk and mocha, coffee with a splash of milk and vanilla, and coffee sweetened black. The former two have 125 mg of caffeine, and the final option on that list has 135 mg, which is still well under your daily limit. There are also 72-oz. bottles available for purchase with 135 mg of caffeine per 12 oz., in case you want to stock up on coffee for lazy days. Just be sure to measure your portions as you pour.

The Starbucks Cold and Crafted bottled drinks are available for purchase in Target, Walmart, etc. For more detailed nutritional facts and information on where to purchase, check the PepsiCo website.

Caffeine in Starbucks Frappuccino Blended Coffees

  • When you order a tall coffee frap, you can expect to be sipping between 60 mg to 75 mg of caffeine.
  • A tall Espresso Frappuccino, though, contains 125 mg.
  • The tall-size crème-based fraps, though, may contain no caffeine — or up to 50 mg in flavors like matcha.
  • A bottled Frappuccino has anywhere from 45 mg to 115 mg of caffeine.

The amount of caffeine in a Frappuccino varies, but if you're looking for a cool, blended beverage, you can likely afford the milligrams. Depending on your favorite flavor — anything from vanilla to caramel ribbon crunch — a tall Frappuccino has 0 mg to 75 mg of caffeine. So check your specific choice's nutritional info, but this category is an OK bet from a caffeine perspective. The only outlier here is a tall Espresso Frappuccino. Due to the added espresso shots, this drink will cost you 125 mg of your daily recommended allowance.

Starbucks also sells its Frappuccinos in bottled form and in a variety of flavors, like caramel, chocolate churro, coffee, mocha, and vanilla. Different online providers may offer alternate flavors as well, so this is a fun choice to opt for when you're at home and unwilling to leave your bed. These drinks are distributed in either 13.7-oz. bottles or 9.5-oz. bottles; depending on the flavor chosen, the former contains anywhere from 60 mg to 115 mg of caffeine, while the latter contains 45 mg to 75 mg of caffeine.

The bottled Frappuccinos are available for purchase in Target, Walmart, etc. For more detailed nutritional facts and information on where to purchase, check the PepsiCo website.

Caffeine in Starbucks Bottled Iced Coffee Blends

  • For a big bottle of 48 oz., expect a range of 120 mg per 12 oz. to 220 mg per 12 oz.

Starbucks offers three roasts of its bottled iced coffee blends: dark, blonde, and medium. The medium roast is available in three flavors (vanilla, subtly sweet, and unsweetened); the dark and blonde are limited to just the unsweetened flavor.

Sold in a big bottle of 48 ounces, these drinks contain anywhere from 120 mg of caffeine per 12 oz. to 220 mg per 12 oz. To avoid surpassing your daily caffeine intake as a pregnant person, exercise caution, and measure your portions according to your chosen flavor and the caffeine quantity.

These are available for purchase in Target, Walmart, etc. For more detailed nutritional facts and information on where to purchase, check the PepsiCo website.

Caffeine in Starbucks Iced Teas

  • These range from 20 to 70 mg of caffeine per cup, if you stick to the tall size.
  • Bottled Teavana teas range from 16 to 55 mg of caffeine.

Tall iced teas and iced tea lattes range from 20 to 70 mg of caffeine per cup depending on the flavor. A cup or two of these a day is fine and a good way to spread out intake throughout the day, rather than in one fell swoop with a single cup of a higher-caffeinated choice. Also worth knowing: the two iced passion teas don't have any caffeine in them at all.

Bottled Teavana teas range from 16 mg to 55 mg of caffeine per 14.5 oz., which basically translates to being able to drink several of them in a day without feeling any guilt about not sharing.

Caffeine in Starbucks Iced Espresso Classics

  • These one-serving-sized bottles contain 145 mg.
  • The Starbucks canned espresso has anywhere from 115 mg to 120 mg of caffeine.

Starbucks Iced Espresso Classics come in three flavors — vanilla latte, caffè mocha, and caramel macchiato. There are also a few seasonal flavors like pumpkin spice latte and peppermint mocha, as well as two "skinny" renditions of the vanilla latte and caffè mocha flavors. Clocking in at 145 mg for a 14-oz. bottle, one of these drinks could be the perfect solution to a daily caffeine craving, though you'd have to limit yourself to just the one.

You can also opt for the larger 40-oz. bottles. Since each of these bottles of Iced Espresso Classics contains 125 mg of caffeine per 12 oz., you can pace your caffeine intake throughout the day. To do so, just be sure to measure out how much you're pouring into your cup — anything more than about 18 oz. (which, to be fair, is a ton of coffee) would put you over the 200-mg-per-day mark.

Alternatively, the Starbucks canned espresso has anywhere from 115 mg to 120 mg of caffeine in a 6.5-oz. can. These powerful little pick-me-ups are available in three flavors: cream, cream light, and salted caramel cream.

The bottled and canned espresso drinks are available for purchase in Target, Walmart, etc. For more detailed nutritional facts and information on where to purchase, check the PepsiCo website.

Caffeine in Starbucks Refreshers

  • Any flavor or size (including trenta) will have less than 200 mg of caffeine — in fact, the largest size of every option clocks in at just 90 mg.
  • The canned version carries 50 mg of caffeine.

As for the caffeine in Starbucks refreshers, you're in luck! Any of the strawberry-acaí, pineapple-passionfruit, and dragonfruit flavor varieties in any size (including the 30-oz. trenta cup) are well under the recommended daily limit. The strawberry-acaí and mango-dragonfruit drink varieties (including the Pink Drink!) are refreshing options for a hot day or for when you have the sweats on a cool day.

For those who didn't know, Starbucks actually sells canned refreshers, too. These little guys come in 12-oz. cans bursting to the brim with fun flavors like black-cherry limeade, peach passionfruit, and strawberry lemonade. If you're looking for a fruity drink to cool down on a tough day, this is definitely a good choice. With only 50 mg of caffeine per can, you can treat yourself to a few a day (as long as you're being mindful of the caffeine you may be getting from other sources, too).

The canned Starbucks Refreshers are available for purchase in Target, Walmart, etc. For more detailed nutritional facts and information on where to purchase, check the PepsiCo website.

Caffeine in Starbucks Bottled Cold Brew

  • The bottled cold brew contains 155 to 180 mg of caffeine.
  • The nitro cans range from 110 mg to 155 mg of caffeine.
  • The Starbucks Doubleshot has 100 mg to 135 mg depending on size and flavor; a Tripleshot exceeds the daily recommended limit.

The caffeine in each Starbucks Bottled Cold Brew varies; served in 11-oz. bottles, depending on the flavor of choice, you can expect anywhere from 155 to 180 mg of caffeine — perfect for a quick coffee break. The nitros are a little different, ranging from 110 mg to 155 mg of caffeine per each 9.6-oz. can.

The Starbucks Doubleshot is also a great pick-me-up. Available in coffee, hazelnut, mocha, vanilla, and white chocolate, these drinks pack a punch, ranging from 100 mg to 135 mg depending on size and flavor. Starbucks also sells Tripleshot energy cans, but at 225 mg of caffeine per can, it exceeds your daily recommended intake.

Both the Starbucks Bottled Cold Brew and Starbucks Doubleshot are available for purchase in Target, Walmart, etc. For more detailed nutritional facts and information on where to purchase, check the PepsiCo website.

That covers the amounts of caffeine in different Starbucks items. Get your drink on, folks!
NBC via Giphy

That covers the amounts of caffeine in different Starbucks items. Get your drink on, folks!