Is Decaf Sabotaging Your Anti-Caffeine Efforts?

Vitamin G, Glamour Magazine

By Lexi Petronis,Glamour magazine


Good morning! So it's been four weeks since I made a break with caffeine--my big experiment to see if I could lessen my dependence on my daily full-caf lattes. And you know? It's been great. At least... until I decided to stop for a cup of drive-through decaf last week and found myself a total twitchfest not too much later.


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Had the cafe secretly (accidentally) turned my decaf into a caf? Maybe! But even if it hadn't, a little investigation turned up some interesting info on what's really in decaffeinated coffee. Can you guess what's in there?


Caffeine. Like, in some cases--ahem, grande decaf latte from Starbucks--as much as an entire can of soda. A regular cup of black coffee packs about 85 mg per eight ounces; an eight-ounce up of decaf can be anywhere from 8.6 mg to 13.9 mg.


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This chart from FitSugar breaks down some startling stats from the Journal of of Analytical Toxicology really well: a Starbucks grande latte can contain anywhere from 6 mg of caffeine to an eye-popping 32 mg--that's about as much as what's in a regular, fully caffeinated shot of espresso.


If you're sticking to decaf, just remember that your caffeine mileage may vary--I know I will (though I can't say I didn't totally hate having a little bit of caffeine!).


Do you ever choose decaf over caf? Is there a beverage you like that's just a little bit caf--for when you need the smallest perk-up? Or do you stick to something else altogether: water, energy drinks, juice, herbal tea?



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