Caffeine in Decaf coffee
A 240 ml mug of decaf holds about 3 mg of caffeine. Not zero, but low enough that it will not touch your sleep.
| Caffeine per serving | 3 mg |
| Serving | 8 oz cup (240 ml) |
| Caffeine per 100 ml | 1.2 mg |
| Share of the 400 mg daily limit | 1% |
How late can you have it?
At 3 mg this sits below 40 mg, the line Cira uses as low enough to sleep on, so on its own it is unlikely to keep you awake. It still adds to whatever else is already in you.
What to know
Decaffeination removes 97 to 99 percent of the caffeine, not all of it. Measured cups run from 2 to 7 mg depending on the bean and the method.
You would need roughly thirty cups of decaf to match one filter coffee. Even four in an evening comes to about 12 mg, well under the 40 mg sleep threshold.
The exception is people who react to very small doses, and anyone told to eliminate caffeine entirely during pregnancy or for an arrhythmia. For them the honest answer is that decaf is low, not free.
Watch decaf espresso in cafés instead: a decaf shot is still 3 to 5 mg, but a mislabelled hopper is the most common way people drink caffeine by accident at 9 pm.
Compared with the rest of the coffee
| Drink | Serving | Caffeine |
|---|---|---|
| Cold brew | 10.1 oz cup (300 ml) | 180 mg |
| Double espresso | 2 oz shot (60 ml) | 127 mg |
| Flat white | 5.4 oz cup (160 ml) | 125 mg |
| Moka pot | 3.4 oz cup (100 ml) | 100 mg |
| Filter coffee | 8 oz cup (240 ml) | 96 mg |
| Cortado | 4.1 oz cup (120 ml) | 96 mg |
| Instant coffee | 8 oz cup (240 ml) | 65 mg |
| Espresso | 1 oz shot (30 ml) | 64 mg |
| Cappuccino | 6.8 oz cup (200 ml) | 64 mg |
| Americano | 8 oz cup (240 ml) | 62 mg |
| Latte | 8 oz cup (240 ml) | 62 mg |
| Ristretto | 0.7 oz shot (20 ml) | 44 mg |
| Decaf coffee | 8 oz cup (240 ml) | 3 mg |
Common questions
How much caffeine is in decaf coffee?
Decaf coffee has about 3 mg of caffeine per 8 oz cup (240 ml). That is 1% of the 400 mg daily limit for a healthy adult, or about a sip of filter coffee.
Will Decaf coffee keep me awake?
On its own it is unlikely to. At 3 mg it stays below 40 mg, the line Cira uses as low enough to sleep on. It still adds to any caffeine already in you.
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Where these numbers come from
Caffeine content is the typical value for the serving shown, the same figure the Cira app uses. Brands and brew methods vary, so treat it as a good estimate rather than a measurement of your cup. The 5.7 hour half-life is a typical value for healthy adults, the 40 mg sleep line is a working threshold of the model, and the 400 mg daily limit is the figure used by the European Food Safety Authority and the US FDA. How the numbers are worked out.
