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How Much Caffeine Is in Costa Coffee? Every Drink and Size, in mg
Costa Coffee caffeine by drink and size: 100 mg per espresso shot, 241 mg in a flat white and 325 mg in a medium cappuccino. Full tables, plus the NHS and FSA limits.
The short answer
- A Costa espresso shot has about 100 mg of caffeine, one of the strongest shots on the UK high street.
- A flat white has about 241 mg. A medium cappuccino or Americano has about 325 mg, and a large about 400 mg.
- A medium latte has about 200 mg, a medium cold brew 210 mg and a medium matcha latte 99 mg.
- The NHS advises no more than 200 mg a day in pregnancy. A single Costa small cappuccino reaches it.
Costa Coffee caffeine levels are high by any standard. A single espresso shot has about 100 mg, and most medium drinks are built on three shots. That puts a medium cappuccino at about 325 mg, over 80% of the 400 mg a day the UK Food Standards Agency and the European Food Safety Authority consider safe for healthy adults (more on daily limits in how much caffeine is too much).
Below is how much caffeine is in Costa Coffee, drink by drink and size by size, using the same values as the Caffeine vs Water drink catalog. These are good estimates based on published figures; the exact amount in your cup depends on the beans, the grind and the barista.
Costa sizes in ml
| Size | Approx. volume | Espresso shots (most drinks) |
|---|---|---|
| Small | 236 ml | 2 |
| Medium | 332–340 ml | 3 |
| Large | 454 ml | 4 |
Costa's caffeine rises by the shot, not by the ml of milk. That's why a small cappuccino and a small Americano both have about 200 mg: two 100 mg shots.
Costa Coffee caffeine by drink and size
| Drink | Small | Medium | Large |
|---|---|---|---|
| Espresso (single / double) | 100 mg / 200 mg | ||
| Americano | 200 mg | 325 mg | 400 mg |
| Cappuccino | 200 mg | 325 mg | 400 mg |
| Latte | 200 mg | 200 mg | 325 mg |
| Mocha | 325 mg | ||
| Flat White (one size) | 241 mg | ||
| Flat Black (one size) | 241 mg | ||
| Cold Brew | 160 mg (355 ml) | 210 mg (473 ml) | |
| Matcha Latte | 99 mg | ||
The medium latte is the odd one out: it has about 200 mg, the same as a small, because it gets fewer shots than a medium cappuccino. If you like a Costa medium but want less caffeine, the latte is the one to pick, or the matcha latte at about 99 mg (compared in matcha vs coffee caffeine). A large cappuccino or Americano, at about 400 mg, is a full day's limit in one cup.
The flat white is made with three "cortissimo" shots, a shorter, more concentrated extraction, which gives about 241 mg in a smaller cup. It tastes stronger than a latte and it is.
How Costa compares with other UK coffee chains
In a 2023 comparison by Which?, a medium Costa cappuccino had 325 mg of caffeine, nearly five times the 66 mg in a Starbucks cappuccino. Greggs (197 mg) and Pret (180 mg) came next. Which? repeated the comparison in August 2026 and found the gap had narrowed, with a Costa cappuccino at over three and a half times the Starbucks version, but Costa was still one of the highest for caffeine.
| Drink | Size | Caffeine |
|---|---|---|
| Costa Cappuccino | Medium, ~340 ml | 325 mg |
| Costa Flat White | One size | 241 mg |
| Starbucks Flat White | Grande, 473 ml | 195 mg |
| Starbucks Cappuccino | Tall, 354 ml | 75 mg |
| Starbucks Cappuccino | Grande, 473 ml | 150 mg |
Part of the difference is the beans. Which? notes that Costa uses a blend of Arabica and Robusta beans, and Robusta is naturally higher in caffeine. Part is simply more shots per cup. Starbucks figures here are U.S. values from our catalog; see Starbucks caffeine by drink and size. For how a shot compares with filter coffee in general, see espresso vs drip coffee caffeine.
Costa Coffee caffeine and pregnancy
The NHS advises no more than 200 mg of caffeine a day during pregnancy, because high intakes are linked to a higher risk of miscarriage and low birth weight. The FSA and EFSA use the same 200 mg figure. At Costa, that's:
- One small cappuccino, Americano or latte (about 200 mg), or
- Two single espressos (about 200 mg), or
- Two medium matcha lattes (about 198 mg).
A flat white (241 mg) or any medium except the latte is over the daily limit on its own. The NHS's own examples, a cup of instant coffee at 100 mg or a cup of tea at 75 mg, can make coffee-shop drinks look deceptively similar. They aren't. If you're pregnant or breastfeeding, a decaf or a single-shot drink is the easier fit; Which? found a Costa decaf coffee has about 2 mg. For the full picture, see caffeine and pregnancy, and check your own limit with your midwife or GP.
What a Costa does to your sleep
With a typical 5.5-hour half-life, a medium cappuccino (325 mg) takes about 15 hours to drop under 50 mg, the level most sleep research treats as low enough not to matter. A flat white (241 mg) takes about 13 hours, and a small latte (200 mg) about 11.5 hours. A medium cappuccino at 1 pm still leaves roughly 95 mg in a typical adult at 11 pm.
Show as a table
| Half-life | 1 h | 3 h | 6 h | 9 h | 12 h | 24 h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 h | 208 | 150 | 89 | 53 | 31 | 4 |
| 5.5 h | 215 | 170 | 117 | 80 | 55 | 12 |
| 7.5 h | 221 | 187 | 142 | 107 | 81 | 27 |
mg of active caffeine, hours after one 241 mg drink.
A 2023 meta-analysis of 24 studies found caffeine reduced total sleep by about 45 minutes and recommended leaving at least 8.8 hours between a regular coffee and bed. For a triple-shot Costa, that's the minimum, not the target. Work out your own cutoff with the caffeine bedtime calculator, or see the table in when to stop drinking coffee before bed.
In Caffeine vs Water, you can set your bedtime (or read it from Apple Health) and the app shows how much caffeine still fits today, so an afternoon Costa becomes a decision rather than a guess.
Frequently asked questions
How much caffeine is in a Costa flat white?
About 241 mg. It's made with cortissimo shots, a shorter and more concentrated extraction, so it has more caffeine than a medium latte (about 200 mg).
How much caffeine is in a Costa medium cappuccino?
About 325 mg, from three espresso shots of about 100 mg each. A small has about 200 mg and a large about 400 mg.
How much caffeine is in a Costa latte?
About 200 mg in a small or medium and about 325 mg in a large.
Does Costa Coffee have more caffeine than Starbucks?
For milk-based espresso drinks, yes. A Costa medium cappuccino has about 325 mg, while a Starbucks Tall cappuccino has about 75 mg and a Grande about 150 mg. In its 2023 comparison, Which? found Costa's cappuccino had nearly five times the caffeine of Starbucks'.
Can I drink Costa coffee while pregnant?
The NHS advises no more than 200 mg of caffeine a day in pregnancy. A small Costa cappuccino, Americano or latte is about 200 mg on its own, and a flat white or most medium drinks go over. Decaf is the easier option; check with your midwife or GP.
Sources
- NHS. Foods to avoid in pregnancy (caffeine: no more than 200 mg a day).
- Food Standards Agency / GOV.UK. Guidance for food business operators on food supplements containing caffeine, 2024 (EFSA safe levels: 400 mg a day, 200 mg single dose, 200 mg a day in pregnancy).
- EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies. Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine. EFSA Journal, 2015.
- Which?. Caffeine levels in high street coffees still vary significantly, August 2026. 2023 figures as reported by The Caterer.
- Gardiner C, et al. The effect of caffeine on subsequent sleep: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Med Rev, 2023.
- Brand nutrition and allergen guides, as compiled for the Caffeine vs Water drink catalog (September 2026).
General wellness information, not medical advice. If you're pregnant, have a heart condition, or take medication that affects caffeine, check your limits with a doctor.