Xingxin on Bug Coffee is an essential part of my daily routine. Apart from coding during office hour, caffeine can also increase my focus, my strength output and even the ability to burn fat during workout💪. But as much as I love coffee, I’m also mindful of how much caffeine I consume. Too much, I risk feeling jittery or disrupting my sleep😫. So, how do I decide how much coffee to drink each day? Here’s what I found.
Dosage
I summarize the recommended consumption and its source as followed.
for adult
(except pregnant female)
| Source | Consumption |
|---|---|
| Andrew Huberman | 1-3 mg / kg(body weight) |
| FDA | 400mg max ⚠️ |
| Health Canada | 400mg max ⚠️ |
| European Food Safety Authority | single dose 200mg, daily 400mg max ⚠️ |
🤰for pregnant female
| Source | Consumption |
|---|---|
| National Health Service UK | 200mg |
| Health Canada | 300mg |
👶for children
According to Health Canada, the recommendation is:
| age | caffeine per day |
|---|---|
| 4~6 | 45mg |
| 7~9 | 62.5mg |
| 10~12 | 85mg |
| 12 | (no definitive advice) |
Caffeine Content in Ground Coffee
Since I brew my ground coffee using a Moka pot, I needed to figure out how much caffeine is in each cup. The book The Question of Caffeine explains that the caffeine content in coffee beans varies depending on the type of bean. The average statistics is the following
| Ground Coffee | Caffeine per gram |
|---|---|
| Arabica beans | 9~15 mg / g |
| Robusta beans | 12~24 mg / g |
My Dosage
The ground coffee I use is Illy Classico Ground Drip Coffee. I fell in love with it during my time studying in Italy🇮🇹 back in 2018. It’s hard to believe it’s been 7 years since I first set foot in Italy - time really does fly! Illy’s smooth, balanced flavor has been my go-to ever since.
I aim for 200 mg of caffeine per day. To achieve this, I use the following calculation:
- Caffeine goal: 200 mg
- Caffeine per gram of coffee: 10 mg
- Amount of ground coffee needed: 200 mg ÷ 10 mg/g = 20 grams
So, I measure out 10 grams of ground coffee for a single cup and brew it in my Moka pot. Once I’ve enjoyed that, I brew another cup later in the day. This way, I get two rich, flavorful servings of coffee, each providing just the right amount of caffeine to keep me energized without overdoing it. ☕