Surprising Sources of Caffeine

When people want caffeine they usually reach for a cup of coffee, tea or a bottle of soda. But, what if you are trying to avoid caffeine? The staff at Information Nation has discovered that there are some “secret” foods and drinks that may pack more of a punch of energy than most people want, right before bedtime.

A cup of decaf coffee may seem like the perfect beverage to end an evening with, but in reality it’s not devoid of caffeine. It certainly has less caffeine than regular coffee, which has approximately 100 milligrams, but it still contains a surprising 20 percent. So if you are caffeine-sensitive you may just want to end a meal with water.

Non-cola sodas are sneaky little drinks. While most people know to stay away from culprits like Mountain Dew or Red Bull, some root beer contains caffeine. In fact, Barq’s has only about 12 milligrams less than Coca-Cola. Some brands of orange soda have 41 milligrams of caffeine and some cream soda has 25 milligrams. So, read the labels on sodas carefully.

While it’s no secret that chocolate contains caffeine, you may not realize that the darker the chocolate is, the more caffeine it contains. For instance, a Hershey’s Special Dark chocolate bar has 31 milligrams of caffeine. Stick to lighter colored chocolate, especially later in the evening.

Energy water is another highly caffeinated product. Some brands state outright that they contain caffeine, but others are less obvious. When purchasing energy water make sure to read the ingredient list – if it contains guarana, that means it is a highly caffeinated beverage. Guarana is a Brazilian plant that is a natural source of caffeine and some energy water products with it have nearly the same punch as half a cup of coffee.