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How Much Caffeine Is in Starbucks UK Drinks? Short, Tall, Grande and Venti
How much caffeine is in Starbucks UK drinks? About 45 mg per shot: a Tall or Grande latte has 89 mg, a Grande Americano 134 mg, a Grande filter coffee 255 mg. Every size, from Starbucks' UK guide.
The short answer
- A Starbucks UK espresso shot has about 45 mg of caffeine, much less than a U.S. shot (about 75 mg).
- A Tall or Grande latte or cappuccino has about 89 mg: both get two shots. A Venti has about 134 mg.
- A Grande Americano has about 134 mg; a flat white about 89 mg.
- The strongest drinks are filter coffee (255 mg Grande) and cold brew (265 mg Grande).
- A Tall matcha latte has about 57 mg and a decaf shot under 2 mg.
If you've read that a Starbucks Grande latte has 150 mg of caffeine, that's the U.S. figure. In the UK, Starbucks' own nutrition guide puts a Grande latte at about 89 mg. UK shots have less caffeine, and UK milk drinks don't always get an extra shot when you go up a size.
Everything below comes from the Starbucks UK Nutrition & Allergen Guide for July to September 2026, which lists caffeine for every drink and size. We've rounded to the nearest mg. The amount in your cup can still vary a little from store to store.
Starbucks UK sizes and shots
| Size | Approx. volume | Shots in a latte | Shots in an Americano |
|---|---|---|---|
| Short | 236 ml | 1 | 1 |
| Tall | 354 ml | 2 | 2 |
| Grande | 473 ml | 2 | 3 |
| Venti (hot) | 591 ml | 3 | 4 |
Shot counts here are worked out from the caffeine values in the guide: each Signature Espresso shot is about 44.6 mg. The key thing for UK drinkers is that a Grande latte or cappuccino has the same two shots as a Tall. You pay for more milk, not more coffee.
Starbucks UK caffeine by drink and size
| Drink | Short | Tall | Grande | Venti |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Espresso (single / doppio) | 45 mg / 89 mg | |||
| Caffè Americano | 45 mg | 89 mg | 134 mg | 178 mg |
| Caffè Latte | 45 mg | 89 mg | 89 mg | 134 mg |
| Cappuccino | 45 mg | 89 mg | 89 mg | 134 mg |
| Caramel Macchiato | 45 mg | 89 mg | 89 mg | 134 mg |
| Caffè Mocha | 57 mg | 107 mg | 113 mg | 164 mg |
| Flat White (Short only) | 89 mg | |||
| Cortado (Short only) | 71 mg | |||
| Freshly Brewed Coffee (Pike Place) | 132 mg | 210 mg | 255 mg | 324 mg |
| Cold Brew | 193 mg | 265 mg | 285 mg | |
| Iced Latte | 89 mg | 89 mg | 134 mg | |
| Iced Americano | 89 mg | 134 mg | 178 mg | |
| Iced Brown Sugar Oat Shaken Espresso | 86 mg | 128 mg | 171 mg | |
| Matcha Green Tea Latte | 28 mg | 57 mg | 83 mg | 112 mg |
| Chai Tea Latte | 26 mg | 39 mg | 52 mg | 66 mg |
| Coffee Frappuccino | 23 mg | 31 mg | 40 mg | |
| Classic Hot Chocolate | 13 mg | 20 mg | 26 mg | 32 mg |
Filter coffee is where Starbucks UK gets strong. A Grande Pike Place has about 255 mg, nearly three times a Grande latte. Cold brew is similar at about 265 mg in a Grande. If you want a gentle Starbucks, any milk drink up to Grande is under 90 mg. If you want a strong one, it's the filter or the cold brew.
Blonde Roast espresso is very slightly lower in the UK guide: about 85 mg for two shots against 89 mg for Signature Espresso. Decaf espresso has about 1.8 mg a shot, so a decaf Grande latte has under 4 mg.
Starbucks UK vs other UK coffee chains
For milky coffees, Starbucks is the lowest-caffeine chain on the UK high street. In August 2026, Which? found a Costa medium cappuccino had over three and a half times the caffeine of a Starbucks Tall (325 mg vs 89 mg). Its 2023 study, before Starbucks updated its testing, had the gap at nearly five times.
| Chain | Cappuccino | Latte | Espresso | Filter |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starbucks UK (Tall) | 89 mg | 89 mg | 45 mg | 210 mg |
| Costa (medium) | 325 mg | 200 mg | 100 mg | n/a |
| Greggs (large) | 235 mg | 208 mg | 75 mg | n/a |
| Caffè Nero (regular) | 221 mg | 175 mg | 67 mg | n/a |
| Pret | 180 mg | 180 mg | 180 mg | 271 mg |
Part of the gap is the beans: Starbucks and Pret use only Arabica, while Costa and Greggs blend in Robusta, which has about twice the caffeine. Part is shots: Starbucks UK uses fewer, smaller ones.
How Starbucks UK 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, with single doses of up to 200 mg. The NHS advises no more than 200 mg a day in pregnancy.
- Healthy adults (400 mg): four Grande lattes (about 356 mg) still fit. One Grande filter plus one Grande cold brew (about 520 mg) doesn't.
- Single dose (200 mg): every espresso drink up to Venti is under it. A Tall filter (210 mg) is just over, and a Grande filter or cold brew is well over.
- Pregnancy (200 mg): two Tall or Grande lattes (about 178 mg) fit. A Grande filter or cold brew is over on its own.
For pregnancy advice in more depth, see caffeine and pregnancy, and check your own limit with your midwife or GP. For the general picture, see how much caffeine is too much.
What a Starbucks UK drink does to your sleep
With a typical 5.5-hour half-life, a Grande latte (89 mg) takes about 5 hours to drop under 50 mg, the level most sleep research treats as low enough not to matter. A Grande filter coffee (255 mg) takes about 13 hours, and a Grande cold brew (265 mg) about 13.5. A Grande filter at 1 pm still leaves about 75 mg at 11 pm.
Show as a table
| Half-life | 1 h | 3 h | 6 h | 9 h | 12 h | 24 h |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 h | 220 | 158 | 94 | 56 | 33 | 4 |
| 5.5 h | 228 | 180 | 123 | 85 | 58 | 13 |
| 7.5 h | 234 | 198 | 150 | 114 | 86 | 28 |
mg of active caffeine, hours after one 255 mg drink.
So for an afternoon Starbucks in the UK, a latte or cappuccino is a much easier fit than filter or cold brew. For cutoff times by drink, see when to stop drinking coffee before bed.
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 Starbucks UK Grande latte?
About 89 mg, the same as a Tall, because both get two espresso shots in the UK. A Venti has about 134 mg.
How much caffeine is in a Starbucks espresso shot in the UK?
About 45 mg for a single shot of Signature Espresso and 89 mg for a doppio, according to Starbucks UK's 2026 guide. A U.S. shot has about 75 mg.
How much caffeine is in a Starbucks UK flat white?
About 89 mg. In the UK the flat white comes in one size (Short) with two shots.
How much caffeine is in a Starbucks UK Americano?
About 45 mg Short, 89 mg Tall, 134 mg Grande and 178 mg Venti. Unlike the latte, the Americano adds a shot at every size.
How much caffeine is in Starbucks UK filter coffee?
About 132 mg Short, 210 mg Tall, 255 mg Grande and 324 mg Venti for Pike Place freshly brewed coffee.
How much caffeine is in a Starbucks UK cold brew?
About 193 mg Tall, 265 mg Grande and 285 mg Venti.
Does Starbucks UK matcha have caffeine?
Yes. A Matcha Green Tea Latte has about 28 mg Short, 57 mg Tall, 83 mg Grande and 112 mg Venti. A Tall has more caffeine than a single espresso shot.
Why does Starbucks UK have less caffeine than the US?
Mostly because UK shots have less caffeine: about 45 mg against about 75 mg in the U.S. Both countries put two shots in a Grande latte, so the shot makes the difference (89 mg vs 150 mg). Filter coffee is closer but still lower in the UK: about 255 mg for a Grande against about 310 mg.
Does Starbucks have less caffeine than Costa?
Yes, for milky coffees. A Starbucks UK Tall cappuccino has about 89 mg and a Costa medium about 325 mg. Starbucks filter coffee (210 mg Tall) is stronger than most milk drinks at either chain.
Sources
- Starbucks UK. Nutrition & Allergen Guide, Summer Beverages, July to September 2026 (version 03/06/26; caffeine per drink and size, caffeine per bean type).
- Which?. Caffeine levels in high street coffees still vary significantly, August 2026, and press release, 25 August 2026.
- Which?. A little or a latte? Which? finds huge differences in high-street coffee caffeine levels, March 2023.
- 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, 200 mg in pregnancy).
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.