Does cacao contain caffeine?

Yes – caffeine occurs naturally in cacao

Caffeine occurs naturally in several plants. The best known are coffee and tea, but the cacao bean also contains caffeine. EFSA, the European Food Safety Authority, counts both coffee and cacao beans as natural sources of caffeine.European Food Safety Authority

That means 100% pure cacao is not caffeine-free.

However, the amount is normally considerably lower than in coffee. And just as with coffee, it varies depending on factors such as variety, origin, processing, the amount of cacao used and how the drink is prepared.

That's why it's more accurate to talk about approximate levels than to say that “a cup of cacao contains exactly X milligrams of caffeine”.

How much caffeine is there in pure cacao?

It's easy to come across very different figures online. Some compare various cacao products with espresso, others compare chocolate with drip coffee – and the result can easily be misleading.

Published analyses of pure cacao mass have reported an average of around 0.21% caffeine, or roughly 2.1 mg of caffeine per gram of cacao. The same analyses also show considerably higher levels of theobromine.PubMed

To make the figures easier to understand, we can use a simple calculation example.

If a cacao drink is made with roughly 10–20 grams of pure cacao, that corresponds, based on these general analytical values, to roughly 20–40 mg of caffeine.

As a comparison, EFSA uses roughly 80 mg of caffeine for a 60 ml espresso and around 90 mg for a 200 ml cup of filter coffee.European Food Safety Authority

That means a typical serving of coffee can in practice often provide roughly 2–4 times more caffeine than a cacao drink made with 10–20 grams of pure cacao.

It's a useful rule of thumb – not an exact laboratory value for every batch of cacao or every cup of coffee. Both coffee and cacao are natural products and the variation can be considerable.

Cacao contains more than just caffeine

This is where cacao gets particularly interesting.

With coffee we almost always talk about caffeine. Cacao also contains caffeine, but the dominant compound in the same family is instead theobromine.

In analyses of cacao mass, theobromine has been reported at around 1.2%, compared with about 0.21% caffeine. That illustrates an important difference: pure cacao normally contains several times more theobromine than caffeine.PubMed

That doesn't mean theobromine is just “another kind of caffeine”. The compounds are related, but they are different molecules and the body handles them differently.

What is theobromine?

Theobromine is a natural compound most closely associated with the cacao bean. The name actually comes from the cacao tree's botanical name, Theobroma cacao.

Both theobromine and caffeine belong to a group of compounds called methylxanthines.

That sounds more complicated than it needs to be. The most important things to know are simply:

Cacao is, in fact, one of our most important natural dietary sources of theobromine.PubMed

Caffeine and theobromine – two related but different compounds

Caffeine's effects are well studied. It stimulates the central nervous system and, in moderate doses, can increase alertness and reduce the feeling of tiredness.European Food Safety Authority

Theobromine is less studied in humans and has a different pharmacological profile. That's why we think it's worth being cautious about the simplified descriptions sometimes used about cacao.

You may have seen phrases like “pure energy with no crash”, “gentle stimulation” or “focus all day”.

They sound appealing, but the reality is more nuanced.

At Espresso-XOC we'd rather explain what cacao actually contains than promise exactly how you'll feel after a cup. People respond differently to caffeine, theobromine and other compounds found in the food we eat.

Cacao or coffee – how big is the difference?

If the question is purely about caffeine, the answer is fairly clear:

Coffee normally contains considerably more caffeine per typical serving than pure cacao.

As a rough illustration, a cacao drink made with 10–20 grams of pure cacao can correspond to roughly 20–40 mg of caffeine based on published average values, while EFSA's reference values are around 80 mg for an espresso and 90 mg for a cup of filter coffee.PubMed

But caffeine content doesn't tell the whole story.

Cacao and coffee come from different plants, have different natural compositions and are used in different ways. Cacao, for example, contains considerably more theobromine than caffeine, while coffee is mainly associated with its caffeine content.

If you'd like a broader comparison of the two drinks – not just the caffeine – we cover that on our page:

Cacao vs coffee

Can you drink cacao in the evening?

For many people the question really is this: If cacao contains caffeine, should I avoid it in the evening?

There's no answer that fits everyone.

We're all differently sensitive to caffeine. The amount and the timing matter too.

Since pure cacao contains both caffeine and theobromine, we don't think it's accurate to describe it as a “caffeine-free evening drink”.

EFSA considers that around 100 mg of caffeine close to bedtime can affect sleep duration and sleep patterns in some adults.European Food Safety Authority

That doesn't mean a cup of pure cacao contains 100 mg – it's normally considerably lower. But if you know you're sensitive to caffeine, it may be wise to learn how you personally react and adjust the amount and timing accordingly.

How much caffeine is usually considered fine?

EFSA has assessed caffeine from all sources combined – that is, coffee, tea, cacao, chocolate, energy drinks and anything else we eat or drink.

For healthy adults, a single dose of up to 200 mg of caffeine is normally not considered a safety concern. A total intake of up to 400 mg over a day is also not considered a cause for concern for the general healthy adult population.European Food Safety Authority

For pregnant and breastfeeding women, 200 mg of caffeine per day from all sources is the level used in EFSA's assessment.European Food Safety Authority

These are general reference values for caffeine – not a recommendation on how much Espresso-XOC anyone should drink.

What does this mean for Espresso-XOC?

Espresso-XOC is 100% pure cacao. No caffeine is added – the caffeine present comes naturally from the cacao bean, just like the theobromine.

We think the fairest way to describe it is this:

Espresso-XOC naturally contains caffeine, but pure cacao generally contains considerably less caffeine than coffee. At the same time, theobromine is the dominant compound of the two in cacao.

Based on published average values, a cacao drink made with roughly 10–20 grams of pure cacao can be roughly estimated at around 20–40 mg of caffeine, compared with around 80–90 mg in a typical espresso or cup of filter coffee according to EFSA's reference values.PubMed

It's therefore reasonable to say that coffee often contains roughly 2–4 times more caffeine per typical serving than a drink made with that amount of pure cacao.

At the same time, we want to be clear: this is a general comparison, not an exact measured value for every serving of Espresso-XOC.

For us, that kind of transparency matters more than presenting an exact figure that nature itself doesn't always follow.