Caffeine vs WaterCoffee chains
How Much Caffeine Is in Pret Coffee? Filter, Latte, Flat White and Espresso
How much caffeine is in Pret coffee? A Pret filter coffee has about 271 mg, and a latte, flat white, cappuccino or Americano about 180 mg. Matcha 28 mg, decaf 6 mg. Plus NHS limits.
The short answer
- A Pret filter coffee has about 271 mg of caffeine, the strongest regular hot drink on the UK high street.
- A Pret latte, flat white, cappuccino or Americano has about 180 mg. So does a Pret espresso.
- A Pret matcha latte has about 28 mg and a decaf latte about 6 mg.
- Two Pret coffees (about 360 mg) take most adults close to the 400 mg daily limit. In pregnancy the NHS limit is 200 mg, so one Pret espresso drink is about the whole day.
Pret is simple compared with most coffee chains. Its espresso drinks don't come in small, medium and large with different shot counts. Almost every barista coffee lands at about 180 mg of caffeine, whether it's a flat white, a latte or an Americano. The big exception is filter coffee, which has about 271 mg in a 355 ml cup.
The figures below come from Pret's press office, as published by the consumer group Which? in August 2026. Pret doesn't put caffeine on its menu, so this is the best public source. As with any coffee, the amount in your cup varies with the beans and how the shot runs.
Pret caffeine by drink
| Drink | Size | Caffeine |
|---|---|---|
| Filter coffee | 355 ml | 271 mg |
| Espresso | 50 ml | 180 mg |
| Americano | 355 ml | 180 mg |
| Cappuccino | 355 ml | 180 mg |
| Latte | 355 ml | 180 mg |
| Flat white | 237 ml | 180 mg |
| Matcha latte | 355 ml | 28 mg |
| Decaf latte | 355 ml | 6 mg |
Pret gave Which? the same 180 mg for its espresso and cappuccino in 2023 and in 2026, and the same 271 mg for filter coffee. So these numbers have been steady for a few years, which is not true at every chain.
Pret's espresso is the stand-out. Its 180 mg comes in a 50 ml serving, about twice the volume of a Starbucks UK shot, and it has nearly four times the caffeine (Starbucks UK lists 45 mg). Pret uses only Arabica beans, which are lower in caffeine than Robusta, so the strength comes from the amount of coffee, not the bean.
Pret vs other UK coffee chains
Pret sits in the middle for milky coffees and at the top for filter and espresso. Here's how its regular drinks compare with the same drinks elsewhere, using the Which? 2026 figures.
| Chain | Latte | Cappuccino | Espresso | Filter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pret | 180 mg | 180 mg | 180 mg | 271 mg |
| Costa (medium) | 200 mg | 325 mg | 100 mg | n/a |
| Greggs (large) | 208 mg | 235 mg | 75 mg | n/a |
| Caffè Nero (regular) | 175 mg | 221 mg | 67 mg | n/a |
| Starbucks UK (Tall) | 89 mg | 89 mg | 45 mg | 210 mg |
A Pret latte has about twice the caffeine of a Starbucks UK Tall latte, and a little less than a Costa medium. A Pret filter coffee is stronger than any of the milk drinks in this table except a Costa medium cappuccino. If you're used to thinking of filter as the "plain" option, at Pret it's the strong one.
Pret matcha and decaf
The Pret matcha latte is one of the gentlest drinks on the high street at about 28 mg, roughly what's in a cup of green tea. Costa's matcha latte has about 99 mg and Starbucks UK's Tall about 57 mg, so "matcha" doesn't mean the same thing everywhere. For more on that, see matcha vs coffee caffeine.
Pret told Which? you can ask for a decaf version of most caffeinated drinks. A decaf latte has about 6 mg, which is low enough to ignore for most people, though not zero. If you're very sensitive, how much caffeine is in decaf coffee explains why.
How Pret compares to your daily limit
The UK Food Standards Agency follows the European Food Safety Authority: up to 400 mg a day is safe for most healthy adults, and single doses of up to 200 mg. In pregnancy, the NHS advises no more than 200 mg a day. Here's what that looks like at Pret:
- Healthy adults (400 mg): two espresso drinks (about 360 mg) fit. A filter coffee plus a latte (about 451 mg) goes over.
- Single dose (200 mg): any Pret espresso drink fits. A filter coffee (271 mg) doesn't.
- Pregnancy (200 mg): one latte, flat white, cappuccino or Americano is about 180 mg, close to the whole day. A filter coffee is over on its own. Decaf or matcha are the easy fits.
Club Pret is where this adds up. The subscription gives members half price on up to five barista-made drinks a day. Five espresso drinks would be about 900 mg, more than twice the adult limit. Most members won't have five, but two or three a day is common, and three is already 540 mg. For a fuller picture of daily limits, see how much caffeine is too much.
What a Pret coffee does to your sleep
Caffeine leaves your body slowly. With a typical 5.5-hour half-life, a Pret latte or flat white (180 mg) takes about 10.5 hours to drop under 50 mg, the level most sleep research treats as low enough not to matter. A filter coffee (271 mg) takes nearly 14 hours. A flat white at 2 pm still leaves about 60 mg in a typical adult at 11 pm, and a 2 pm filter coffee about 90 mg.
Show as a table
| Half-life | 1 h | 3 h | 6 h | 9 h | 12 h | 24 h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 h | 233 | 168 | 100 | 59 | 35 | 4 |
| 5.5 h | 242 | 191 | 131 | 90 | 62 | 14 |
| 7.5 h | 248 | 210 | 159 | 121 | 91 | 30 |
mg of active caffeine, hours after one 271 mg drink.
So if you sleep at 11 pm, a Pret coffee is best finished by about midday, and filter coffee earlier still. For the reasoning behind those times, see when to stop drinking coffee before bed. An afternoon matcha latte (28 mg) or decaf is a much easier fit.
Try it with your own drinks
Pick your drinks, when you have them and your bedtime. Drag along the chart to see how much caffeine is in you at any hour.
Frequently asked questions
How much caffeine is in a Pret filter coffee?
About 271 mg in a 355 ml cup, according to figures Pret gave Which? in 2023 and 2026. That's the most caffeine of any standard hot drink at Pret.
How much caffeine is in a Pret latte?
About 180 mg. Pret's latte, flat white, cappuccino and Americano all have about the same caffeine, because they use the same amount of espresso.
How much caffeine is in a Pret flat white?
About 180 mg in a 237 ml cup. It has the same caffeine as a Pret latte, with less milk.
How much caffeine is in a Pret espresso?
About 180 mg in a 50 ml serving. That's nearly four times a Starbucks UK espresso (45 mg) and almost twice a Costa shot (100 mg).
How much caffeine is in a Pret Americano?
About 180 mg in a 355 ml cup. It's Pret espresso topped up with hot water.
Does Pret matcha have caffeine?
Yes, but not much: about 28 mg in a 355 ml matcha latte. Costa's medium matcha latte has about 99 mg.
How much caffeine is in Pret decaf?
About 6 mg in a 355 ml decaf latte. Decaf isn't caffeine-free, but that amount is small for most people.
Is Pret coffee stronger than Costa?
It depends on the drink. A Pret espresso (180 mg) and filter coffee (271 mg) are stronger than Costa's espresso (100 mg). But Costa's medium cappuccino (325 mg) is much stronger than Pret's (180 mg), because Costa adds more shots.
How many Pret coffees can I have a day?
For most healthy adults, two espresso drinks (about 360 mg) stay under the 400 mg daily limit. Three go over. In pregnancy, the NHS limit of 200 mg means about one.
Sources
- Which?. Caffeine levels in high street coffees still vary significantly, August 2026, and press release, 25 August 2026 (Pret figures from Pret's press office; Pret uses Arabica beans).
- Which?. A little or a latte? Which? finds huge differences in high-street coffee caffeine levels, March 2023.
- Starbucks UK. Nutrition & Allergen Guide, Summer Beverages, July to September 2026.
- Retail Times. Club Pret coffee subscription to remain at £5 per month, February 2025 (50% off up to five barista-made drinks a day).
- NHS. Foods to avoid in pregnancy (caffeine: no more than 200 mg a day).
- EFSA Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies. Scientific Opinion on the safety of caffeine. EFSA Journal, 2015 (400 mg a day, 200 mg single dose).
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.