Natural Caffeine Sources: Types and Their Benefits
Have you ever woken up after a poor night’s sleep and felt like your brain was operating at half capacity? Many of us simply slam an energy drink or two and try to ride the caffeine wave however far it takes us.
However, these synthetic sources of caffeine are also pumped full of artificial ingredients and can do more harm than good. There’s nothing better than nature’s best, and you might be surprised to learn that there are actually many natural sources of caffeine. Read on for a few of our favorites.
What Is Caffeine?
Caffeine is a compound that can stimulate the nervous system. In healthy amounts, caffeine can help you feel awake and focused, which is why many people drink their coffee in the morning to start the day.
There are plenty of natural sources of caffeine (which we’ll talk about in a bit), but caffeine can also be artificially added to other foods and drinks. For instance, soda and energy drinks often contain synthetic forms of caffeine.
What Are the Benefits of Caffeine?
There’s a reason caffeine is such a big part of the American diet. Beyond its ability to provide energy, caffeine also has some pretty interesting health benefits.
These include:
- Managing headaches
- Supporting athletic performance
- Potentially supporting mental health
- Potentially preserving cognitive health
- Supporting efficient digestion
What Are Natural Sources of Caffeine?
Caffeine wasn’t made in a lab somewhere — it’s actually a natural compound in many different plants. And, despite recent increases in caffeine consumption, the human race has actually been drinking caffeinated beverages for hundreds of years. Here are a few natural sources of caffeine.
1. Coffee
This wouldn’t be a list of natural sources of caffeine if we didn’t start with coffee, right? Coffee is made by brewing roasted coffee beans. These, in turn, come from the coffee plant, which mainly grows in tropical climates.
There are all kinds of ways to drink coffee. For instance, you can get a latte, which usually has between two to four shots of espresso. Or, you can opt for a simple cup of black coffee.
Naturally, how much caffeine you’ll get from your coffee drink depends on how it’s made and how much coffee is in it. However, a general rule of thumb is that an eight-ounce cup of black coffee has about 96 milligrams of caffeine, while a single shot of espresso has about 64 milligrams of caffeine.
2. Tea
You’ll probably recognize this natural source of caffeine, too. Tea is made by steeping dried tea leaves in hot water to create a mild-tasting drink. The same plant, known as the tea plant, is used to make black tea, green tea, white tea, and oolong tea.
How much caffeine you’ll get per cup of tea depends on what type of tea you drink and how strongly you make it. Generally, a cup of black tea has about 47 milligrams of caffeine, while green tea has about 28 milligrams of caffeine.
It’s also worth noting here that herbal teas like chamomile, peppermint, and lavender tea don’t contain any caffeine because they aren’t made from the leaves of the tea plant. That said, these teas still have their own amazing health benefits!
3. Matcha
Matcha is technically a type of green tea, but it’s so unique that it deserves its own section. Matcha is made by grinding tea leaves into a fine powder and then mixing that powder with hot water.
With matcha, you actually drink the ground plant leaves instead of simply steeping them. This key difference makes matcha much stronger than regular tea in many ways, including taste. Matcha plants are also specifically grown to increase their caffeine content, which makes this tea even more different than regular tea.
A cup of matcha has about 70 milligrams of caffeine in it, which is almost as much as a cup of coffee.
4. Cocoa Beans
We bet you didn’t think of chocolate as being caffeinated, but it’s true — cocoa beans have a slight amount of caffeine in them. The exact amount of caffeine you get from chocolate depends on how concentrated your chocolate is. For instance, dark chocolate contains more cocoa than milk chocolate, which means it’s also likely to have more caffeine.
On average, one bar of dark chocolate of 45 to 59 percent cacao contains 70 milligrams of caffeine. That’s as much as a cup of matcha!
Cocoa also contains another type of stimulant called theobromine. Theobromine still acts on the nervous system to help you feel focused and alert, but it has a more gentle effect. The energy wave comes gradually instead of all at once, and the effects last for longer — which means it’s less likely to give you an energy crash. One bar of chocolate contains 799 milligrams of theobromine.
5. Guarana
Guarana is a plant that grows in the Amazon rainforest, and its seeds can be ground into a highly caffeinated paste or powder. This plant is used in local folk medicine to treat headaches and menstrual cramps, and it’s also one of the main ingredients of many energy drinks.
It’s hard to say exactly how much caffeine is in a cup of guarana since it’s not usually consumed by the cup. That said, guarana seeds contain three to five times more caffeine than coffee seeds, so this is definitely the strongest natural source of caffeine on our list.
6. Kola Nuts
Kola trees grow naturally in tropical areas of Africa, and they’re closely related to cocoa plants. Kola nuts have more caffeine than either coffee or cocoa beans, especially when they’re fresh.
These nuts have a slightly bitter taste and many locals chew them throughout the day to get energy. Kola is also used to flavor drinks, and was even one of the original ingredients in Coca-Cola, along with cocaine. Obviously, the formula has changed quite a bit — cocaine was taken out of the equation in 1929, and kola nut was removed from the formula in 2016.
7. Yerba Mate
Yerba mate is an herbal tea made from steeping leaves from the yerba mate plant in hot water. A 150-milliliter cup of yerba mate contains about 80 milligrams of caffeine, which is about the same as a cup of coffee.
This plant was used for energy by indigenous people for thousands of years before it became mainstream. Now, you can buy canned yerba mate almost anywhere or brew it yourself.
Can You Have Too Much Caffeine?
Who knew so many plants contain caffeine? With so much caffeine around, you might be wondering if it’s possible to have too much caffeine.
Unfortunately, it is possible to overdo it on caffeine. While experts agree that healthy adults shouldn’t have more than 400 milligrams of caffeine a day, the reality is much more complex.
Everyone has a specific gene (gene CYP1A2) that dictates how fast they metabolize caffeine. If you have a “fast” gene, you might be able to drink three or more cups of coffee and not feel a thing. If you have a “slow” gene, you might get jittery after one cup of coffee.
The effects of this gene don’t just stop with coffee jitters. If you have a “slow” gene, drinking too much caffeine is more likely to have serious health effects over time. It can even lead to health concerns like high blood pressure.
If you have too much caffeine, you’ll know when it hits you. Symptoms of drinking too much caffeine include:
- Shakiness or jitters
- Sweating
- Racing heart
- Nausea
- Heartburn
- Lightheadedness
- Irritability
It’s also important to remember your own personal tolerance for caffeine. Everyone is different, and you might not handle caffeine as well as the next person. Always pay attention to how you feel and back off the caffeine if you start feeling side effects. You can also talk with your doctor to make sure you’re safely consuming caffeine.
How Can You Drink Less Caffeine?
Just like with other substances, you can develop a tolerance to caffeine. This means that you’ll need more and more caffeine to get the same effects over time. Luckily, you can regain your caffeine sensitivity by cutting back. Here’s how you can do it.
Cut Back on Volume
You could start by simply drinking less coffee or tea. Kick it off by cutting one cup a day for a week, and repeat until you feel comfortable with how much caffeine you’re taking in.
You could also opt for smaller sizes. For instance, instead of getting a venti latte, try getting a grande. Eventually, you might even get to the point where a tall drink is enough to help you feel alert.
Opt for Decaf
You can also trade one or two cups a day for decaf tea or coffee. This way, you can still enjoy your habit of drinking a hot drink, and you can even enjoy the same taste you’re used to — it just won’t have caffeine in it.
Try Functional Coffee
Another option is to make your coffee work a little harder. Our Mushroom Coffee+ contains coffee extract to give you that familiar taste, but each cup contains significantly less caffeine than a cup of coffee.
Plus, our blend contains L-theanine and lion’s mane mushrooms to support mental clarity and focus, as well as chaga mushrooms for immune health and grass-fed collagen protein for hair, skin, and nail health.
The Bottom Line
Caffeine is one of the most important parts of the day for many people. It’s what gets us out of bed, gives us energy to succeed, and helps us focus enough to function at the top of our game. You might be used to getting caffeine from tea or coffee, but you can also naturally get caffeine from sources like cocoa beans, guarana, kola nuts, and yerba mate.
At Everyday Dose, our brainpower is focused on helping you, well, focus. Caffeine can support focus, but only in certain amounts — which is why our functional blends rely on other compounds like L-theanine and lion’s mane mushroom to further encourage mental clarity. To learn more about the ingredients we use, check out our blog today.
Sources:
94% of us Drink Caffeinated Beverages | Sleep Foundation
Caffeine content for coffee, tea, soda and more | Mayo Clinic
The Important Health Benefits Of Matcha Tea | Piedmont Healthcare
Chocolate, dark, 45- 59% cacao solids | USDA
Kola Nut - an overview | ScienceDirect Topics
