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How Much Caffeine Is in Tim Hortons Coffee? Every Size, Plus Tea and Iced Capp

Tim Hortons caffeine by size: a medium Original Blend has about 205 mg, an XL 330 mg, an XL steeped tea 210 mg. Full tables and Health Canada's limit.

The short answer

  • A medium Tim Hortons Original Blend has about 205 mg of caffeine. Small 140 mg, large 270 mg, extra large 330 mg.
  • Dark Roast has slightly less: 195 mg in a medium.
  • Steeped tea is surprisingly strong: 125 mg in a medium and 210 mg in an XL, more than a medium coffee.
  • A medium Iced Capp has about 140 mg, a medium French Vanilla 80 mg and a medium decaf 9 mg.

For a lot of Canadians, "a double-double" is the unit of coffee. But Tim Hortons caffeine varies more than the ritual suggests. A medium Original Blend has about 205 mg of caffeine, a small French Vanilla about 60 mg, and an extra-large steeped tea about 210 mg. Which one you order changes your day's total by more than a coffee's worth.

Below is how much caffeine is in Tim Hortons coffee, tea and iced drinks by size, using the same values as the Caffeine vs Water drink catalog. The brewed coffee figures most sources use trace back to caffeine data Tim Hortons published in 2008. Treat them as solid estimates, not measurements of your cup.

Tim Hortons coffee caffeine by size

DrinkSmall
~10 oz / 286 ml
Medium
~14 oz / 425 ml
Large
~19 oz / 563 ml
XL
~23 oz / 678 ml
Original Blend140 mg205 mg270 mg330 mg
Dark Roast130 mg195 mg260 mg315 mg
Decaf6 mg9 mg12 mg

A double-double has exactly the same caffeine as a black coffee of the same size: cream and sugar add calories, not caffeine. Dark Roast has a little less than Original Blend, because darker-roasted beans are less dense, so the same scoop holds slightly less coffee.

Two larges is over the limit. Health Canada advises healthy adults to stay under 400 mg a day, and under 300 mg if pregnant or breastfeeding. Two large Original Blends (about 540 mg) is well over the first; a single XL (330 mg) is over the second. More in how much caffeine is too much and caffeine and pregnancy.

How Tim Hortons compares with Dunkin' and Starbucks

Medium brewed coffeeSizeCaffeine
Tim Hortons Original Blend, Medium14 oz205 mg
Dunkin' Hot Coffee, Medium14 oz210 mg
Starbucks Pike Place, Tall12 oz235 mg
Starbucks Pike Place, Grande16 oz310 mg

Tim Hortons and Dunkin' are almost identical size for size. Starbucks brews stronger: its 12 oz Tall has more caffeine than a Tims 14 oz medium. Full breakdowns are in Dunkin' caffeine by size and Starbucks caffeine by drink and size. For the UK, see Costa Coffee caffeine by size.

Tim Hortons steeped tea caffeine

SizeVolumeCaffeine
Small~10 oz / 286 ml90 mg
Medium~14 oz / 425 ml125 mg
Large~19 oz / 563 ml175 mg
Extra large~23 oz / 678 ml210 mg

Tims steeped tea is brewed strong, so it has far more caffeine than a tea bag in a mug at home (about 47 mg per 8 oz). An XL steeped tea has slightly more caffeine than a medium Original Blend coffee. If you switched to tea to cut back, the size matters more than the leaf. More on this in caffeine in tea.

Iced Capp, iced coffee and specialty drinks

DrinkSmallMediumLarge
Iced Capp110 mg140 mg170 mg
Iced Coffee (Canada)60 mg130 mg160 mg
French Vanilla60 mg80 mg110 mg
Americano (U.S.)95 mg140 mg170 mg
Espresso shot (U.S.)45 mg

The Iced Capp is often treated as a treat rather than a coffee, but a medium has about 140 mg, more than a small Original Blend. French Vanilla is made from a sweet powdered mix that contains a little coffee, so it's one of the milder caffeinated drinks on the menu. Tim Hortons iced coffee is also much lighter than Dunkin's, where a medium iced has about 297 mg.

Recipes and sizes differ between Canada and the U.S., so the espresso and Americano values above are U.S. figures. A Tim Hortons espresso shot, at about 45 mg, is one of the lightest among the big chains.

The strongest and weakest Tim Hortons orders

Most caffeineCaffeineLeast caffeineCaffeine
XL Original Blend330 mgSmall decaf6 mg
XL Dark Roast315 mgMedium decaf9 mg
Large Original Blend270 mgSmall French Vanilla60 mg
XL steeped tea210 mgSmall iced coffee60 mg
Medium Original Blend205 mgMedium French Vanilla80 mg

When to have your last Tims of the day

With a typical 5.5-hour half-life, a medium Original Blend (205 mg) takes about 11.5 hours to drop below 50 mg, the level most sleep research treats as low enough not to matter. A large (270 mg) takes about 13.5 hours and an XL (330 mg) about 15.5 hours. A 2023 meta-analysis of 24 studies recommended stopping a regular coffee at least 8.8 hours before bed.

A medium Tim Hortons Original Blend (205 mg) with three half-lives: fast (4 h), typical (5.5 h) and slow (7.5 h). The dashed line is 50 mg, a sensible bedtime ceiling.020406080100120140160180200Sleep line · 50 mg0 h3 h6 h9 h12 h15 h18 h21 h24 h4 h half-life7.5 h half-life5.5 h half-life
A medium Tim Hortons Original Blend (205 mg) with three half-lives: fast (4 h), typical (5.5 h) and slow (7.5 h). The dashed line is 50 mg, a sensible bedtime ceiling.
Show as a table
Half-life1 h3 h6 h9 h12 h24 h
4 h1771277645273
5.5 h18314599684710
7.5 h188159120916923

mg of active caffeine, hours after one 205 mg drink.

So a medium on the drive home at 4 pm still leaves about 90 mg at 11 pm for a typical adult; a medium decaf leaves almost nothing. Try your own order in the caffeine bedtime calculator, or see the full cutoff table in when to stop drinking coffee before bed.

In Caffeine vs Water, a medium Tims is already in the catalog, so the app can show how much room you have left before bed ("You can still have ~60 mg") and when your next one would still leave you under target.

Frequently asked questions

How much caffeine is in a medium Tim Hortons coffee?

A medium Original Blend has about 205 mg of caffeine. A medium Dark Roast has about 195 mg and a medium decaf about 9 mg.

How much caffeine is in a Tim Hortons extra large coffee?

About 330 mg for an XL Original Blend and 315 mg for an XL Dark Roast. That's most of Health Canada's 400 mg daily limit for adults in one cup.

Does a double-double have more caffeine?

No. A double-double is regular coffee with two creams and two sugars, so it has the same caffeine as a black coffee of the same size: about 205 mg for a medium.

How much caffeine is in Tim Hortons steeped tea?

About 90 mg in a small, 125 mg in a medium, 175 mg in a large and 210 mg in an extra large. An XL steeped tea has slightly more caffeine than a medium coffee.

Does an Iced Capp have caffeine?

Yes. A small Iced Capp has about 110 mg, a medium about 140 mg and a large about 170 mg.

Sources

  1. Health Canada. Caffeine in Foods (400 mg a day for adults, 300 mg if pregnant or breastfeeding).
  2. Caffeine Informer. Caffeine in Tim Hortons brewed coffee (from Tim Hortons' 2008 published caffeine data).
  3. Gardiner C, et al. The effect of caffeine on subsequent sleep: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Med Rev, 2023.
  4. Mayo Clinic. Caffeine content for coffee, tea, soda and more.
  5. Brand nutrition pages and caffeine databases, 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.

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